V. Vale

For those not in the know, RE/Search was part of the underground publishing movement of the 70s through 90s, in which small independent publishers - many of them run out of homes and apartments - contributed greatly to the print counterculture of the end of the 20th century.

The books published by RE/Search exhibited the kind of layout and format popular in the zine movement, populated by fringe artists eager to share their visions and passions not fit for mainstream commercialism. Issue 8/9, dedicated to cult icon author J.G. Ballard, has the feel of the thick, photo-copied fanzines of the time period, assembling previous interviews and eclectic materials both from and by the publication's focus.

Chock full of materials that were potentially invaluable to a pre-internet audience, the book is divided into four main sections: Interviews with the author, works by the author both Fiction and Non-Fiction, then a final autobiographical and bibliographical wrap-up.

For me, the interviews with Ballard were the most insightful and interesting, witnessing intelligent people musing about the future implications of mass media from the very future they are positing. Ballard's ruminations of the advancement of media technology is especially gripping, as in some ways he seems to predict the YouTube culture and the increased ability of the average individual to not only actively create their own reality, but to broadcast it as reality to others.

My least favorite part would be the biographical section, but this has more to do with my own lack of interest in author histories than Ballard's own life story.

Overall, an interesting read about Ballard, but probably more interesting as a snapshot of the history of counterculture publishing as a whole.… (més)

Can't review this book because the bell hooks (and Lydia Lunch, less so) interview motivated me in the same way as all the David Foster Wallace I've read did, not to be ironic, flippant, not to operate on default mechanisms of distrust, fear, and meanness, not to be afraid of loneliness, not to perpetuate hurt, and then talking about it I get very serious and humorless, and I can't be any of those things on the internet without also being self-editing. The internet is the exact place to be ironic and flippant and being otherwise feels downright unnatural. So allow me to sum up: good book! Well curated and edited. As a nascent feminist, still overcautious about most things, some of these women scare the living shit out of me but like I said, some of these interviews really cut to the quick, not just about sexism, but about failures in human relationships in general. I didn't like this at first because it lacked a sense of humor but it is okay to assert, without a wink to the audience, that some things deserve to be taken seriously.… (més)