Dear Reader,

It is inexcusable to not be well read, mainly because it’s so easy to fix. Just read more! But who has time? Only recently, when a friend asked what book I was reading, I had to admit that all I’d been reading was art copy. He found that unacceptable and told me how he makes it a priority to set aside time to read every afternoon, in addition to nighttime reading, bathtub reading—he probably even reads while he masturbates!

There are those kind of readers, and then there are readers like me. Then there are the Summer Readers. If I can swing a summer vacation that involves daytime lounging, count me in to catch up on my reading.

Even the well-read read in the summer. So with that in mind, we bring you our Summer Reading issue, where we put together some selections that include book reviews, interviews with writers, profiles on authors, and some prose offerings.

We mixed it up a bit too: Local artist moonlights as art detective novelist (or is it the other way around?)! Fiction LA writer/law professor Xyta Maya Murray says “Art Is Everything,” reviewed by Christopher Michno. Natasha Boyd revisits French filmmaker Eric Rohmer and his Catholic ways. LA artist Tom Knechtel treats us to the tiny world of Pat Sweet and her labor-of-love publishing company where miniature handmade books are created. Bunker Visionist Skot Armstrong reviews the new Dali biography, looking past the kitsch and rediscovering the painting. Max King Cap examines Black grief and reviews the posthumous catalog and exhibition from Okwui Enwezor now up at the New Museum in New York. Staying in New York, Sarah Sargent takes us to The Met for the Alice Neel show. LA skid row photographer Suitcase Joe’s new book gets critiqued by photographer (and Artillery photo columnist) Lara Jo Regan. And our excellent lineup of LA reviews includes Ezrha Jean Black’s take on Umar Rashid’s latest show at Transformative Arts.

Lastly, no worries, we didn’t forget the pandemic. This past year cannot be ignored; we’re all still licking our wounds. Unsurprisingly, as we re-enter the art world, we have noticed a lot of new work that addresses our recent human tragedy. At the same time, there have been rumors that some people are missing the pandemic ways. Regular contributor and poet John Tottenham was one of the first to extol the “pleasures of the plague” in these very pages. In his world, last year was the year that just kept on giving. John takes us on one of his adventures—a jaunt that finds him on an off-track betting and dive-bar excursion. Who knows who might show up sitting beside you in Vegas? We’re always up for a good laugh about the good ‘ole COVID days and glad that Tottenham always delivers.

Ah, those lazy days of summertime—Hop on a bus to Vegas for the weekend, plan an off-the-grid summer in Maine, swim on the shores of Galveston. It’s good to get away …and get into a book.