Ben Marcus

"Is a non-remote horizon always a concealment? If a portion of sky has been carved and set loose to rest upon land, is it the result of an illegal language spoken in the town?" Ben Marcus, from A Horizon Grammar A hybrid of artist's book and catalog, this unique publication, designed in collaboration with the artist, is divided into three separate books. One features photographs of Sky-wreck, Mirra's conceptually multi-layered, 2001 installation at the Renaissance Society, accompanied by an essay from Hamza Walker which explicates Sky-wreck'stangled mathematical, visual and poetic aspects, and how these interwoven forms of signification within the piece ultimately "question the ability for that which is unfathomable to assume representation." Another section contains reproductions of Mirra's earlier work, meditated on from a more personal standpoint by poet and friend of Mirra, Jen Bervin, with footnotes from Mirra herself. The third section is an intensely beautiful collaboration between Mirra and experimental fiction writer Ben Marcus, juxtaposing Mirra's exquisite working drawings for Sky-wreck with Marcus's surreal poetic response to them entitled A Horizon Grammar.

Log of the S.S. The Mrs. Unguentine is a masterpiece of modern domestic life, a comic novel of closeness and difficulty, miscommunication and stubborn resolve. "Forty years ago I first linked up with Unguentine and we made love on twin-hulled catamarans, sails a-billow, bless the seas . . ." So begins the courtship of a certain Unguentine to the woman we know only as “Mrs. Unguentine,” the chronicler of their sad, fantastical tale. For forty years, they sail the seas together, alone on a giant land-covered barge of their own devising. They tend their gardens, raise a child, invent an artificial forest—all the while steering clear of civilization. Rarely has a book so perfectly registered the secret solitude of marriage, how shared loneliness can result in a powerful bond.

In The Age of Wire and String, hailed by Robert Coover as "the most audacious literary debut in decades," Ben Marcus weilds together a new reality from the scrapheap of the past. Dogs, birds, horses, automobiles, and the weather are some of the recycled elements in Marcus's first collection--part fiction, part handbook--as familiar objects take on markedly unfamiliar meanings. Gradually, this makeshift world, in its defiance of the laws of physics and language, finds a foundation in its own implausibility, as Marcus produces new feelings and sensations--both comic and disturbing--in the definitive guide to an unpredictable yet exhilarating plane of existence.

'I wake up and I have to make the right choice,' he said. Master-stylist Ben Marcus returns with a wonder-cabinet of brain-rearranging stories. From the horrifyingly strange to the deeply touching, each story is a literary masterclass unlikely to leave the reader unchanged. From parent/child relationships thrown agonisingly off kilter, to intensely moving scenarios of dependence and emotional crisis; from left-alone bodies to new scientific frontiers, Ben Marcus is the great chronicler of the contemporary uncanny and the peculiar future. Piece by piece, he takes us apart.

Mavericks and more, a celebration of feminine beauty, athleticism, wisdom, and skill when the surf is bombing—Women Who Surf profiles some of the world’s most inspiring female surfers ranging from Bethany Hamilton to Wrenna Delgado. Each surfer tells her story, highlighting her personal challenges, accomplishments, and philosophy, as well as inspiring readers and providing them with practical how-to suggestions on maximizing not only their own potential in surfing but in life as they lead the charge and push their limits at infamous big-wave spots like Teahupoo in Tahiti, Waimea Bay, and Peahi/Jaws in the Hawaiian Islands. The profiles by accomplished author and editor Ben Marcus are complemented by stunning color photography by leading adventure photojournalist Lucia Griggi. Featured surfers: 1. Rochelle Ballard 2. Wrenna Delgado 3. Bethany Hamilton 4. Maya Gabeira 5. Keala Kennelly 6. Andrea Moller 7. Leah Dawson 8. Mercedes Maidana 9. Easkey Britton 10. Alana Blanchard 11. Bianca Valenti 12. Paige Alms 13. Alison Teal 14. Sally Fitzgibbons 15. Rosy Hodge 16. Janet Macpherson 17. Pauline Ado

The short story is a barometer for the state and shape of literature. New American Stories presents the boldest, most innovative and most resonant fiction coming out of the American literary scene. Ben Marcus, author of The Flame Alphabet and Leaving the Sea, has here curated an anthology that gives the lay of the literary land. From established masters of the form like Don DeLillo and Lydia Davis to neoteric trailblazers such as Rebecca Curtis and Rachel B. Glaser, this collection sees Marcus trying to 'prove that the distinctions we erect between styles and approaches to fiction can be essentially meaningless'. The result is a must-read, must-own volume for readers of literary fiction.

Stand up paddling (SUP) is experiencing fast growth in the United States and around the world. It can be enjoyed on inland lakes and rivers, as well as on the ocean and in the surf—but most important, it’s fun and a great way to stay fit. The Art of Stand Up Paddling will include everything both new and not-so-new paddlers need to know—from buying a board and getting started on your local lake to paddling rivers and surfing ocean waves. This revised edition features a brand new chapter on SUP Yoga, which combines the passion of yoga with the art of stand up paddling. Also included is a fascinating and controversial history of stand up paddling, which, although new to many, dates back hundreds of years to Peruvian fishermen, Venetian gondoliers, and Hawaiian beach boys. Chapters on surf-break etiquette, fitness, yoga, and the exhilarating potential for adventures on a stand up paddleboard makes this a complete resource for beginners and experienced paddlers alike.

I denne dystopiske og dypt originale thrilleren har språket selv blitt, bokstavelig talt, giftig bærer av et slags fundamentalt og dødelig allergen. Det begynner hos barna, stemmene deres, setninger, ord som gjør foreldrene grusomt og etter hvert fatalt syke. I sentrum for handlingen i Flammealfabet står en jødisk familie, Sam og Claire, som nettopp opplever at deres tenåringsdatter Esthers ord rammer dem som nålestikk. Den jødiske religionsutfoldelsen spiller selv en rolle og bidrar til den absurde mystikken, samtidig som boka her på sin mest mulig konkrete, og dermed bisarre, måte viser hvor vanskelig det kan være å snakke med sine barn, og en sentralt tema blir også hvor langt vår kjærlighet til barna strekker seg, på tross av at de utgjør en dødelig trussel. «Du er min leser, men jeg kan ikke stikke hånden inn i ansiktet ditt og hale ut hemmelighetene dine. Kanskje lever du i en tid da din egen jakt på ordene ikke er forbundet med en annens smerte, og du ubesværet kan omgås det akustiske våpenet, de opphopede skriftene. Til lykke, i så fall. Jeg husker også de dagene. Det er mitt oppriktige ønske at du nyter det.» «Dette er en roman som kødder med hodet ditt, og den eneste trøsten er mengden av sitater fra andre anmeldere som tilstår at den hadde en liknende effekt på dem. Med andre ord: Den er et mesterverk.» The Guardian, Nicholas Lezard Ben Marcus (f. 1967) er en av USAs mest originale unge stemmer og har i tillegg til Flammealfabetet gitt ut flere skjønnlitterære bøker, deriblant romanen Notable American Women (2002). Han har også publisert en rekke noveller, essay og kritikk i utgivelser som Harper's, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times, Salon, McSweeney's, Time, og Conjunctions.

Haunting in their tone, brilliant in their images--very like fantastic presences moving across glass--the twenty-one fictions in this startling debut collection seem both inexplicably familiar and like no writing we have seen before. The opening story leads us through a kaleidoscopic series of thoughts and memories around the act of writing a letter. Another, an intricately structured document of documents--household inventories, daily calendars, property deeds, an announcement--suggests the reality overflowing these mundane markers of our lives. Yet another traces the histories of five artifacts, while at the same time slyly assembling five miniature biographical portraits.

A bold new short story collection from one of the most exhilarating and innovative writers of our time. The stories in Leaving the Sea take place in a world which is a distortion of our own, where strange illnesses strike at random and where people disappear without a trace. Ben Marcus has created a labyrinth populated by disturbed, weary men; from the frustrated creative writing teacher to the advocate of self-inhumation; from Paul, whose return home leads him further into his isolation, or Mather, whose child is sick, to an unnamed narrator who spends his lonely evenings calculating the probabilities of his mother's imminent demise. Dark, funny and utterly unique, Leaving the Sea showcases a writer at the height of his powers.

By turns hilarious and heartfelt, dark and illuminative, Ben Marcus's Leaving the Sea is a ground breaking collection of stories from one of the single most vital, extraordinary, and unique writers of his generation. In the heartfelt "I Can Say Many Nice Things," a washed-up writer toying with infidelity leads a creative writing workshop on board a cruise ship. In the dystopian "Rollingwood," a divorced father struggles to take care of his ill infant, as his ex-wife and colleagues try to render him irrelevant. In "Watching Mysteries with My Mother," a son meditates on his mother's mortality, hoping to stave off her death for as long as he sits by her side. And in the title story, told in a single breathtaking sentence, we watch as the narrator's marriage and his sanity unravel, drawing him to the brink of suicide. Surreal and tender, terrifying and life-affirming, Leaving the Sea is the work of an utterly unique writer at the height of his powers.

Surfing California is your one-of-a-kind guide to more than 200 of the best breaks in the Golden State - from classic surf spots to lesser-known waves. This revised and updated, full-color guide now includes SUP-friendly spots, too--allowing surfers and paddlers alike to find the best breaks and all get along! Explore the surf from the Oregon border to the Mexican border, from North Jetty in Arcata to Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz to Huntington Beach Pier in Huntington Beach.

In The Age of Wire and String Ben Marcus welds together a new reality from the scrapheap of the past. Dogs, birds, horses, automobiles and the weather are some of the recycled elements in Marcus's first collection - part fiction, part handbook - as familiar objects take on markedly unfamiliar meanings. Gradually, this makeshift world, in its defiance of the laws of physics and language, finds a foundation in its own implausibility, as Marcus produces new feelings and sensations - both comic and disturbing - in the definitive guide to an unpredictable yet exhilarating plane of existence.

A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children's speech has become lethal. Radio transmissions from strange sources indicate that people are going into hiding. All Sam and Claire need to do is look around the neighbourhood: In the park, parents wither beneath the powerful screams of their children. At night, suburban side streets become routes of shameful escape for fathers trying to get outside the radius of affliction. With Claire nearing collapse, it seems their only means of survival is to flee from their daughter, Esther, who laughs at her parents' sickness, unaware that in just a few years she, too, will be susceptible to the language toxicity. But Sam and Claire find it isn't so easy to leave the daughter they still love, even as they waste away from her malevolent speech. On the eve of their departure, Claire mysteriously disappears, and Sam, determined to find a cure for this new toxic language, presses on alone into a world beyond recognition. The Flame Alphabet invites the question: what is left of civilization when we lose the ability to communicate with those we love? Both morally engaged and wickedly entertaining, a gripping page-turner as strange as it is moving, this intellectual horror story ensures Ben Marcus's position in the first rank of American novelists.

In The Flame Alphabet, the most maniacally gifted writer of our generation delivers a novel about how far we will go in order to protect our loved ones. The sound of children's speech has become lethal. In the park, adults wither beneath the powerful screams of their offspring. For young parents Sam and Claire, it seems their only means of survival is to flee from their daughter, Esther. But they find it isn't so easy to leave someone you love, even as they waste away from her malevolent speech. On the eve of their departure, Claire mysteriously disappears, and Sam, determined to find a cure for this new toxic language, presses on alone into a foreign world to try to save his family.

Stark and vibrant, the two halves of this sutured book expose the Frankenstein-like scars of the assemblage we call 'human.' In 'Another Governess' a woman in a decaying manor tries to piece together her own story. In 'The Least Blacksmith' a man cannot help but fail his older brother as they struggle to run their father's forge. Each of the stories stands alone, sharing neither characters nor settings. But together, they ask the same question: What are the wages of being? The relentless darkness of these tales is punctured by hope - the violent hope of the speaking subject.

Surfing has inspired fantastic and colorful graphic designs to advertise surfboards, surf shops, wax, wetsuits, magazines..., even skateboards and snowboards. Here are more than 1,250 to challenge collectors, inspire artists, and charm the surfing crowd. Written by a veteran enthusiast who knows his way around the surfing world, this exhibit-in-a-book, from many private collections and institutions, is the most comprehensive surf show ever attempted. Here are stickers, patches, and decals from before 1920 until today, documenting the history of surfing worldwide and providing classic and original designs of great beauty and style. The big-name surfboard makers are here, and the shops, organizations, and beaches are represented, from Hawaii to Mexico to Florida. Surfing movies, plastered cars, lifeguard stands, and icons who popularized the sport, from Duke Kahanamoku (1920s), to Greg Noll (1960s), to California Girls (always). Be startled with the creativity these designs show and enjoy them. Surfing has had a dynamic influence on modern life, and it is all captured here in its graphics.

Ben Marcus achieved cult status and gained the admiration of his peers with his first book, The Age of Wire and String. With Notable American Women he goes well beyond that first achievement to create something radically wonderful, a novel set in a world so fully imagined that it creates its own reality. On a farm in Ohio, American women led by Jane Dark practice all means of behavior modification in an attempt to attain complete stillness and silence. Witnessing (and subjected to) their cultish actions is one Ben Marcus, whose father, Michael Marcus, may be buried in the back yard, and whose mother, Jane Marcus, enthusiastically condones the use of her son for (generally unsuccessful) breeding purposes, among other things. Inventing his own uses for language, the author Ben Marcus has written a harrowing, hilarious, strangely moving, altogether engrossing work of fiction that will be read and argued over for years to come.

Here is an indispensable tool for anyone seeking an authoritative, up-to-the-minute understanding of the phenomena of everyday life and willing to accept that anything utterable can also be true. An astounding debut, The Age of Wire and String is a feat of fierce innovation and humor.