The June issue is here! Now available to read on believermag.com and in a store near you. Featuring: Lee Ellis on outlaw marijuana farmers in Humboldt County, Louis Chude-Sokei on P.T. Barnum’s “anicent” slave; interviews with Ken Baumann, Carolina López, Elif Shafak, and Peter Matthiessen; reviews of snowfall, Go, Dog. Go!; poetry by Rebecca Lindenberg, and more!
Read it: http://blvr.org/108
Buy it: http://blvr.org/buy108
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What’s Inside:
Carolina López interviewed by Lisa Locascio
Robert Bolaño’s widow talks about their life together, his books, and his love of the computer game Civilization.
Heart of the Emerald Triangle by Lee Ellis [Full Text]
Despite legalization efforts nationwide, outlaw marijuana farmers still run the economy—and the culture—of Humboldt County, California.
George Washington’s “Mammy” by Louis Chude-Sokei
P. T. Barnum alternately described one of his earliest sideshow characters, Joice Heth, as ancient and as less than human. The fact that his audiences believed either story says something troubling about America.
Sarah Braman interviewed by Ross Simonini
“The brain is good and there’s lots of stuff I need to use it for, but I’m not sure the studio is the best place for it.”
Road to Rapid City by Brian T. Edwards
A father builds an epic family road trip around American films that, it turns out, haven’t all aged particularly well.
“Birds”: a new poem by Rebecca Lindenberg [Full Text]
Peter Matthiessen interviewed by Jonathan Meiburg [Full Text]
An interview conducted shortly before his death, the author and explorer discusses Zen, nature, and nearly hitting the big time.
Elif Shafak interviewed by Kaya Genç
“There is a side of me that is mystical or irrational. It tells me that we are merely scribes, that we don’t own the stories we write.”
Real Life Rock Top Ten by Greil Marcus
Ken Baumann interviewed by Sabra Embury
“I feel like human beings were never meant to have such extreme attention. Ecologically, this edifice of culture that we’ve constructed totally supports a way of life that’s asymmetrical to what nature has built so slowly and surely.”
The Process with Jennifer Kabat
Longtime New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl discusses his elaborate annual Fourth of July fireworks display.
What the Swedes Read by Daniel Handler
Pillow of Air by Lawrence Weschler
“Comics” edited by Alvin Buenaventura
Reviews
Rachel Z. Arndt on P. D. Eastman [Full Text], Stephen Burt on Massachusetts snowstorms, Mary Mann on Ivan Vladislavic.
