GET LIT with CHOICE QUALITY WORDS & LITERARY LATTÉS. Since 2012. New Features added each month.

FEATURED for Autumn 2024—

Jesse James Ziegler, Sierra Arts Mixer, Reno, 9-26-24. Credit JMK
The hardest working man in the poetry business!
The ULTIMATE GUIDE to Reno’s Poet Laureate Jesse James Ziegler— Replete with Profile, interview and his poetry. 
Profile here.
Interview here.
Poetry here with exclusive publishing premier of Jesse’s “The Perfect Day.”

 

Was this the start of a Literary “Lakequake”? Lake Tahoe Literary Festival debuted in Tahoe City, CA October 11

J.Macon King with Perry King lit up the Tahoe Literary Festival opener with theatrical poetry.
The Tahoe Literary Festival weekend kicked off with a free evening of jazz, poetry and prose Oct. 11 at Tahoe Wine Collective in Tahoe City.
Poetry & Prose was enjoyed by about 80 folks at the Boatworks hosted by Scott Green of Tahoe Poetry Collective. An evening with featured poets and writers included Green, Reno Poetry Laureate Jesse James Ziegler, MillValleyLit publisher and novelist J.Macon KingKaren Terrey, Teresa Breeden, Roxy Hankinson, Edward Manzi, John Merryfield, Cheyenne McGregor and others.  

 

Poet Cheyenne McGregor.
Event MC Poet Scott Green.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tahoe Literary Festival founders Priya Hutner and Katherine Hill with Reno Poet Laureate Jesse James Ziegler.

MillValleyLit is a proud sponsor of this exciting inaugural event.

eeeee

 

King read poetry “deconstructed” from his novel at the Tahoe Literary Festival, Tahoe City, Lake Tahoe,  Oct 11. With Jesse James and other presenters.
Circus of the Sun
MillValleyLit publisher J.Macon King’s debut novel of 1979 San Francisco’s cultural, sexual and political maelstrom.  Available from Amazon.
 

 

Penny Bear, 205,000 pennies, 1.5-ton. at Heritage Plaza, Tahoe City, by Lisa and Robert Ferguson. Big hugs from our editor Perry King and writer Tom Fitzmorris, June, 2024. Credit JMK

 

Summer issue’s Literary Latte:

Way Down Upon the Ganges River, 1987. Adventure memoir by Gene “Tarzan” Fischer

“I now head to Varanasi, a city located on the Ganges River where Hindu dead are taken to be burned or cleansed by the river. The 1500-mile river is considered sacred and spiritually pure, although one of the most polluted in the world.”

 

Get LIT and keep us fired up. NEW Free original-design spiral notebook for a donation of $50.00 or more. While supplies last. Donate via Venmo Venmo profile (perry-king-5) or PayPal  Info on donating and free notebook here.

Grant Flint’s prize winning short story: The Night F. Scott, Papa, Tall Tom, and Wee Willy Faulkner Came to Maxwell Perkins’ Birthday Party

“I was there the night of Maxwell Perkins’ party, his 53rd birthday party. Best editor in the last century. ‘Genius editor of geniuses.’ More important was who was at that party— 

Hemingway. Fitzgerald. Giant ol’ Thomas Wolfe. And weird Faulkner. William Faulkner. In one place, altogether. Never before, never again.”

 

 

I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly and the Family Stone

by Mill Valley Literary Review Poetry Editor, Jeff Kaliss 

 
 
 
 
 

TRIPPING WITH A VIPER: The Unexpurgated, True Story Of Neal Cassady & Anne Murphy

Tripping with a Viper author Anne Marie Maxwell (aka Anne Murphy, as she was known in the 1950s and 1960s) tells her autobiographical story of her adventures as a longtime lover and romantic, travel partner of Beat icon Neal Cassady “without fiction, face-lifting or varnish, just as I’ve sometimes painfully and often gratefully recalled it,” says Maxwell.

 

The “Tandem Story” 

by Rebecca and Gary

The English professor told his class one day, “Today we will experiment with a new form called the Tandem Story. The process is simple…

Plus La-te-da * Hooligan * Peekaroony * Switcharoo * Filibuster * Quagmire. What’s your best words ever?

eeeee

Circus of the Sun
MillValleyLit publisher J.Macon King’s debut novel of 1979 San Francisco’s cultural, sexual and political maelstrom. Available from Amazon.

In the wake of his girlfriend leaving him, young musician Jack has sworn off women, yet the reforming bad boy cannot resist the incandescent, liberated artist Bretta and her creative entourage. The pair sense they have found their Masterpiece of Love—until the return of Bretta’s enigmatic friend unveils disturbing secrets.

“…an ambitious and poetic story of love and creativity. At times racy and poignant… King deftly includes details that bring the book’s characters and events to life.” —Pacific Sun.

“More than a love story, this is a portrait of the city of San Francisco… The prose leans towards the poetic, which results in gorgeous, Kerouac-ian vignettes…seeming like a movie played on fast forward…” Kirkus Reviews.

“A great, lyrical portrait of an era…a spot-on recreation about a great time of history…and I enjoyed the sheer trip of it. Beautifully observed writing—the emotions in the story are true and moments of life are rendered with clarity.” —Louis B. Jones, author of four New York Times Notable Books, including Ordinary Money and Particles and Luck.  

“…sets forth a story-within-a-memoir so skillfully that you forget this is a work of fiction. …Captures the ups and downs of an intense relationship deftly. —Rick Dale, The Daily Beat.

Buy Circus of the Sun on Amazon $15.95.

Also from J.Macon King:

Released on Kindle’s newly launched Vella in episodic format. “Stories told one short episode at a time.”

If you, and/or your children, enjoy the semi-dark, mischievous fantasies of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Roald Dahl, and Harry Potter, take a look at King’s  short novel, Ruby Robs The Tooth Fairy. The first three episodes are free on Vella.

 

From Spring ’24—The international literary flavors of:

Elemental Skin, book of Irish poetry from Catherine Ronan
review by Jeff Kaliss, Poetry Editor

“Just after midnight
on the outskirts of city,
the moon gave birth
to an everlasting sun.”

 

 

 

Antoinette Vella Payne. Poet Spotlight from Jeff Kaliss.

“Started out in a 1953 red Chevy Bel Air
with red vinyl seats.
brought from my brother’s friend  for five hundred dollars in 1969.”

 

Poet Mary McColley in the West Bank.

“I feel like a shard of glass, or a prism, where I want the place, or the experience, to pass through me and refract into a variety of words, colors, phrases, imagery, that paint a picture for other people.”
With Profile presented by Poetry Editor Jeff Kaliss.

Unfiltered! 

“I once ran away to Germany for a while to live with a girl I had never met…”
Like the Camel straights the author once smoked, this memoir of a first visit to Germany is UNFILTERED. “Mega Bright” excerpt from Thomas-Wolfgang Rohan’s true stories in Got a Cigarette?  

 

 

 

 Poetry by Geoffrey Heptonstall, Cambridge, England.

From his newly published collection of poetry: A Whispering.
“…When I fell for her there was no motion to compare.
The earth was weightless, the moon a madman’s lantern…”

Plus:

Book review: Like a Rolling Stone

Wenner’s obsession with glamorous rock gods and celebrities, and their lifestyle, would give him more intimate knowledge of them than the “Plaster Casters,” to soon transform himself into a certified celebrity.

 

 

 

 

Book review: The Will of the Many by Australian writer James Islington.

From Book Reviewer Nick King. The novel follows the journey of a young orphan who becomes a fugitive after the assassination of his royal patron by the newly established government.

 

 

Previous issues:

April is National Poetry Month.

Book Club of California in San Francisco salutes April’s Poetry Month.

 

2024 Winter Special Edition, Anniversary Celebration of:

“Beat at the Sweet” flyer January 8, 2012. Design by Daniel Yaryan.

And THE BEAT GOES ON… In celebration of the 10th plus 1 Anniversary of “Beat at the Sweet,” we’re telling the INSIDER STORY of this ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME event for the very FIRST TIME.

And highlighting one of the poets there, the late Jerry Kamstra, our favorite “Literary Outlaw.”

Welcome to the Home of the Literary Latte. Mill Valley Literary Review provides short work, poetry, articles, reviews, interviews, photos and art, from known and soon to be rich and famous creatives alike. Our click-ability allows you to read, for sun-filled days and sleepless nights, our amazing regular offerings as well as changing selections of back issue highlights. 

Previous interviews and stories featured Peter Coyote, Sam Shepard, T.C. Boyle, writer David Harris, Jennifer Egan, The Brotherhood of Love’s trippy LSD Tales, Fantasy Records and CCR backstory, San Francisco’s Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Philip K. Dick’s ex-wife Anne, contemporary Irish poets, Marin favorites Catherine Coulter, Susanna Solomon, Christie Nelson and more.  

Jerry Kamstra, The Frisco Kid himself. Photo Ken Collins.

The 10th plus 1 Anniversary of “Beat at the Sweet.” A Beat Poetry Reading (and music) in Tribute to Jack Kerouac & movie release of On the Road at Mill Valley CA. Sweetwater Music Hall Jan. 8, 2013:

T’was a night to remember featuring Kerouac’s pal Al Hinkle, Woodstock’s Wavy Gravy, “literary outlaw” Jerry Kamstra, poets Joanna McClure, Clark Coolidge, North Beach’s Sharon Doubiago, Daniel Yaryan, Beat expert Gerald Nicosia, musician Ramblin’ Jack Elliot,* MillValleyLit publisher\poet J.Macon King, Live Poets Society founder\MillValleyLit poetry editor Ari Maslow, and many more. 

Remembering “Literary Outlaw” Jerry Kamstra by Wallace Baine. 

Jerry Kamstra Obituary by Daniel Yaryan.

THE LAST BOHEMIAN WIZARD (in honor of novelist Jerry Kamstra) by Daniel Yaryan. 

 

And then there was this time…”

Poems and kind words by Ari M. Maslow upon the occasion of 10th plus 1 Anniversary of “Beat at the Sweet.”

 

 

Beat at the Sweet photos by poet and “Sparring Artists” founder Daniel Yaryan.

 

 

The Convoluted Backstory of Beat at the Sweet.

 
 

 
 
DONATIONS —  Please keep us LIT and fired up—Ad-free and support us supporting writers here. NEW. Free original-design notebook for donations of $50.00 or more. Info here.
SUBMISSIONS are now open. Send us your best short fiction, memoir, poetry now. Get started by using our GET LIT notebook. 

 

And the Beat Goes On….

 

“The Most Interesting Man” (you never heard of). 30 years after, John DeLorean’s friend and right-hand man, Walter Strycker, revisited the 80’s quintessential corporate tale.

Interview by J. Macon King.

Walter Strycker remembered.

 

 

Ice llama greets Perry at Mt. Rose, NV. Jan. 2024. Photo by King.

December 2023

Morris and his textile art.

“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” WILLIAM MORRIS 

Morris’s literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, including The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and more. A Victorian British textile designer, he was also a poet and artist.

 

SUBMISSIONS are now open! Send us your best short fiction, memoir, poetry now. 

DONATIONS? Please. GET LIT and keep us LIT —ad-free and supporting supporting writers here.

 

Free original design spiral notebook with donations of $50.00 or more. 

 

 

 

 

Buy our books here. 

 

 

everything with an asterisk: haiku of Bruce H. Feingold.

Five poems from his latest volume.

 

 

 

November:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter is coming. Biscuit and Perry playing snowball near Tahoe Rim Trail, Nov. 2, 23. (photo J.Macon King)

 

 

To Sur, With Love: award-winning poem— ode to Big Sur, surfing, and adventurous life by J.Macon King.

“Sets of waves 1…2…3…4… Calm…
Across the beckoning Pacific Waves 1…2…3…4
They Ride Epoxy Ponies
through bobbing heads of Medusa’s kelp”

 

 
(Painting credit below.)

 

 

 

The “Algonquin Round Table” literary luminaries, included Dorothy Parker. Painting by Maxfield Parrish, still hanging above the Algonquin Hotel bar. 

The acerbic Dorothy Parker, poet, writer, wit, was a rare female member of the Algonquin Round Table, a compendium of early 20th-century literary luminaries who collected at the historic 1902 Midtown Manhattan hotel.

Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright George S. Kaufman, along with Harpo Marx, and Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Benchley—grandfather of Jaws author Peter Benchley—were some members of what they christened “the Vicious Circle.”  

Martini acrylic painting by Annika Hemming-e, Truckee, CA.

SUBMISSIONS are now open. Short fiction, memoir, poetry. Details here.

Are you a writer, poet, artist, photographer? Submit your work here. 

DO YOU WANT TO ENCOURAGE THE ARTS? Help us GET LIT supporting writers. Click here to donate or for sponsorship.

 

October:

Halloween Story : The Gravedigger’s Score
by J.Macon King

“So, what was that weird thing that happened here last Halloween?” Gerard asked.

“Couple of guys were in this same graveyard. One of them totally freaked. Maybe permanently. Had to be sent away to…someplace.”

Gerard shone the light in the grave and they peered in. A body was six feet down in a twisted position with the shovel on top of it.

 

20 Feet from Enlightenment: A Coming of Sage Story   

memoir humor by J.Macon King

I met a cute young thing in the Santa Monica mall who invited me to a nearby Nichiren Shōshū event. I naively thought it was going to be martial arts demonstration. Karate and “Kung Fu Fighting” studios were popping up in L.A. like, well, like Scientology branches. N.S. turned out to be incessant, swarm-of-bees Buddhist chanting to a Gohonzon (fancy piece of paper) in an Altar (box). Chanting mostly for money...

September:

RIP. Late author David Harris with one of the redwood trees in his garden. (Photo: J.Macon King)

David Harris Interview — activist, author, journalist  by J.Macon King. David discusses the war, dope smuggling, Hunter S. Thompson, his ex-wife, “Queen of the Scene” Joan Baez, and how Bill Walsh’s 49ers saved San Francisco. “Davis Harris wrote for Rolling Stone Magazine during its original years in San Francisco (folded with no staples), The New York Times, and penned twelve non-fiction books…”

August:

Landscape of Marin County, CA. Paintings by Jeb Harrison.

 

Dickens in Appalachia. The first sentence serves as a warning: “First I got born.” Demon Copperhead review by Jeb Harrison

 

 

 

 

July 2023:

 

 

How to Sing the Blues

 

 

 

 

Kurt before Einstein hair, 1964.

 

 

Kurt Vonnegut—Self-assessment

 

 

 

 

 

June 2023:

THE LITERARY UNITED STATES: A MAP OF THE BEST
BOOK FOR EVERY STATE

Illustration by Sarah Lutkenhaus, list by Kristin Iverson, courtesy Brooklyn Magazine.

 

Cover illustration Summer Issue 2015 by J.Macon King in style of New Yorker.

 

Missionaries give bread to war-weary Ukraine people. Courtesy: NYT.

 

 

Three short, stunning poems from Vyacheslav Konoval, a poet living in Kyiv, the capitol of Ukraine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nevada Nature photography by Eric Dennison.

 

 

 

 

 


Previous Issue Winter 2021-22 #21 here:

See recent issues here.