Original Poem: John Coltrane’s Cancer
Sean MurphyI've written a ton about John Coltrane, easily one of my all-time sources of light, love, and inspiration. But to tackle such a giant, creatively? It's part of a project…
Original Poem: What a Wonderful World?
Couple of things: if you only know Louis Armstrong because of his ebullient and impossible to not love rendition of "What a Wonderful World," you may be pleasantly surprised to…
Eddie Van Halen: Rock Music’s Book of Revelation
photo courtesy of Salvatore Ferro When it comes to Eddie Van Halen, we are talking about an artist everyone would agree was, through the typical combination of hard work, good…
Original Short Fiction: Anodyne, Ever After
Thanks, once again, to the great team at Exterminating Angel for allowing me in another issue with another group of great writers; it remains a pleasure and honor (only more…
Arkana’s Contributor Spotlight: Sean Murphy
(Personal note: Big thanks to the folks at Arkana for publishing my short story, provocatively entitled “Red State Sewer Side.” It’s definitely a commentary of sorts on some of the…
Goodfellas at 30: The Most Definitive American Movie of the Last Three Decades
First, a confession. I did not love Goodfellas the first time I saw it (in the theater, shortly after it opened, in October, 1990). Then again, this seems to happen with certain…
Jimi Hendrix: Five Decades Gone
It was 50 years ago, today. Attention, of course, must (and will) be paid, but the real question remains: what more can possibly be said, at this point, about Jimi…
Toots Hibbert: The Force of Life & Love in Music
Was Toots and his 1968 hit “Do the Reggay,” responsible for popularizing both the name and form of reggae that, a few years later — and in no small part…
Charlie Parker: The Bird’s Centennial
Charlie Parker: August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955 Here's a wonderful tribute from the always reliable Richard Brody at The New Yorker. Here's a poem, written toward the end…
August 26, 2002
I visited my mother’s grave the first several years for the same reason I used to attend church: it was expected, it was meant to make me feel better, it…