Plant Lust and Apocalypse (Edgar Oliver David Tibet Gnostic Gnostrils)

 

 

Brilliant Things I’ve Been Worshipping Lately

 1.) EDGAR OLIVER

So every once in a while I come across a book or author that stuns me into a stupor, that makes me realize just how small I am in the universe and just how insignificant of a writer I am. The last person to do this was Thomas Ligotti (in particular, TEATRO GROTTESCO). Recently it was a book called THE MAN WHO LOVED PLANTS by Edgar Oliver.

Edgar Oliver is mostly known as a Brooklyn-based playwright and poet but this book shows he has immense talent for prose. It is a brilliant and disturbing look at abandonment, lust, love, isolation, obsession, and alienation. In some ways it reminds me of Lautreamont’s MALDOROR. I plan on buying another copy because there are so many sentences (and whole paragraphs) that are so beautiful, I just have to highlight it for further contemplation. It’s that good.

This is a book that I recommend whole-heartedly. It’s available from the publisher, a very small press where all the money you spend goes right back into publishing really interesting books. Cool place. So please visit and perhaps pick up a copy of  THE MAN WHO LOVED PLANTS. Tell them I sent you. That probably won’t mean anything but I’ve always wanted to say that. http://www.goodie.org/pantherbooks/oliver.html

I ordered a few things from them and got the items very quickly. Very reliable place.

You can also get Edgar Oliver shirts and other stuff from Oil Can Press, another really cool independent publisher of zines, shirts, chapbooks, and music. Check it out:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/oilcanpress  Again, tell them I sent you, haha!

2.) CURRENT 93

I’ve been a fan of Current 93 since the last 90s but they’ve been around since 1982. It’s rare that a band that’s been around this long is not only this good but this fresh. I think David Tibet and company have really hit ahigh point with their last few albums. 2009’s ALEPH AT HALLUCINATORY MOUNTAIN is one of the best of their discography both musically and thematically. (the fact that they released a version recorded in mono just adds to their awesomeness)

The next year brought BAALSTORM, SING OMEGA and in 2011, they released HONEYSUCKLE AEONS. Those three, though they aren’t an official trilogy of any sort, make up the bulk of their material I’ve been listening to lately. Because I am very much interested in early esoteric Christianity (including Gnosticism, etc) as well as eschatology, perhaps I may have a bias towards these albums. Still, there are certain parts in the songs that are so heart wrenchingly personal; it makes you feel that Tibet is bearing his soul. Yes, even through the cryptic lyrics,  there is still heart and emotion buried in the Coptic blur. David Tibet also published a small hardcover book of the lyrics to ALEPH and I must say it is a beautiful collection of poetry. It’s quite expensive for such a small book (about $70 US) but well worth it.

As far as past C93 albums that I’ve been loving recently: HYPNAGOGUE: A DREAM PROLOGUE (heart-breaking!), SOFT BLACK STARS, BIRTH CANAL BLUES (a recent E.P. and a very scary one), and CHRIST AND THE PALE QUEENS MIGHTY IN SORROW.

3.) GNOSTIC GNOSTRILS

Okay, so this may be shameless but… Recently I started doing handwritten books. I fill up a blank 16-page hardcover book with writing commissioned on an individual basis for anyone interested. Basically you can give me up to 5 things to include (names, objects, themes, etc) and I include them in the stories, fragments, poems, and drawings I do in the book. Now, this has been a real fun and cathartic experience for me. I am able to do a personal book for people and handwriting it makes me feel that much closer to the material and to the person. Also, the material I write will NEVER be reprinted! That means the stories I send you will be the only copy. I will take pictures of each book for my own archives but again: I will never reprint the stories, poems, or drawings I send you! Each book is $23 (includes shipping in theUS) and $30 if you want me to read it to you on a YouTube video. Paypal address is gorshinary (at) juno (dot) (com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can check out the official GNOSTIC GNOSTRILS site at http://gnosticgnostrils.wordpress.com

I will also be making hand-bound books soon courtesy of the GNOSTIC GNOSTRILS imprint ASTRAL HOSPITAL.

 

 

Thanks!

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