This week in my newsletter, The Usonian, I spotlight Black Rock Desert (home of Burning Man) and Empire, Nevada, inspiration for the Oscar-winning film “Nomadland.”
Both areas exist in the shadow of one of the most impressive bodies of water in North American geologic history—Lake Lahontan, which once spanned 8,500 square miles of modern-day Nevada.
Read the piece here. Thanks for reading!
Check out my second interview in The Usonian, with poet Robin Rosen Chang about her debut poetry collection The Curator’s Notes, recently released by Terrapin Books. Read the article here.
I’ll also be giving away one copy of the book in the first-ever “Usonian Raffle”—click on the form within the article to enter to win by Wednesday, April 21, 11:59 PM PT!
Thanks for reading!
After a long hiatus, I’m bringing back my Medium movie blog. Join me each week as I try to keep up with HBO Max / Warner Bros. releases!
This week I spoke with literary scholar David Ting about the inspiration for “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” which draws heavily from Jack Kirby’s “Fourth World” stories. You can find the article here.
Thanks for reading!
I’d like to thank PenDust Radio for taking the time to interview me about my short story, “The Peacock,” which they published as a podcast last year (available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts).
Check out the interview on YouTube for some insight into my composition of this one!
Check out the latest issue of my newsletter, in which I spotlight Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in Central Nevada—and the prehistoric marine reptiles which once lived there.
Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date with all The Usonian has to offer—tune in a couple weeks to read an interview with an amazing poet who has a new book out, as well as more dispatches from the high desert.
Till then.
This week I joined “Film at Fifty” podcast host Brian Rowe for an episode about Get Carter, an influential British crime movie from 1971 starring Sir Michael Caine.
“Film at Fifty” is a podcast looking back at movies from fifty years ago.
In this episode, we talk about Caine’s enduring career through the vein of this groundbreaking and labyrinthine film.
Check it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!
I’m pleased to unveil the first entry in my monthly interview series in The Usonian, my new newsletter about storytelling and design. This week I spotlight the literary translation work of Jennifer Shyue, who travels across literary borders in Cuba and Peru.
Subscribe today and keep on the lookout for my next issue, coming March 30, about the strange case of aquatic dinosaurs in Nevada!
50 years ago this week, the film career of George Lucas began with the visually dazzling sci-fi film THX-1138. Brian Rowe was generous enough to invite me back on his podcast to discuss THX-1138 and the influential career of George Lucas. I do also go out on a limb and suggest that The Phantom Menace is better than its reputation suggests? Maybe??
The podcast is available on the Film at Fifty podcast channel on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!
I am excited to formally launch my new Substack newsletter The Usonian on storytelling and design. Read my introductory post “The Before-Times” for a glimpse of the year that has passed and the year to come.
Subscribe at harrisonblackman.substack.com today to receive all essays, interviews, and posts to come directly to your inbox!
I’m starting a new (free) Substack newsletter, “The Usonian” about storytelling and design, arriving in early 2021. The Usonian will be a one-stop shop for updates about my writing as well as feature my insights into urban design and storytelling.
Read my launch post and subscribe here. Thank you for reading!
