House of Words
by Norman Harrison
The author takes a stroll through his 350 year-old house, Fontana Vecchia, former home of D.H. Lawrence and Truman Capote.

Violence
by Richard Weems
Get ready to rumble, as Richard Weems tackles professional wrestling and the allure of violence as a spectator sport.

Better to Burn Out
by Curt Cloninger
Think you're Punk? Think again. Curt Cloninger takes on pseudo-Punk posers and the masses which follow, pointing out that the true punks have already self-destructed.

The Writing on the Wall
by Stefene Russell

Long viewed as men's dirty little secret, with pen in hand Stefene sets out to prove that even women (sometimes) write on bathroom walls.

Car Maintenance, Explosives and Love and Other Contemporary Lesbian Writings
edited by Hawthorne, Dunsford and Sayer
reviewed by Candace Moonshower

A collection of lesbian writings which, unfortunately, is little more than a showcase for "a few excellent pieces within a framework of sometimes insipid and less-than-stellar works."

The Last Avant-Garde
by David Lehman
reviewed by Rachel Barenblat

Centered around the New York School of poets, this is a story about New York, Abstract Expressionism, and the fifties.

Stalingrad
by Theodor Plivier
reviewed by Jeffrey Alfier

WWII from the German point-of-view; a study not of strategy, but an epic tale of a nation led astray.

What To Read
by Camille Renshaw

So many books come out each year, and it's difficult for readers to know what to expect at bookstores next, much less what's any good. Our Fiction Editor's picks from the list of upcoming spring releases.

Steely Dan's "aja" may be a damn fine piece of music-making, but you can't escape the beat of the 80's hits on "Living in Oblivion, Vol. 4". While Milton Nascimento's "Yuarete" is touched by an otherworldly feel, and Wynton Marsalis's "Baroque Music for Trumpets" is pure virtuosity, kd lang's Grammy-snubbed "Absolute Torch and Twang" deserves a second listen. Finally, we have the 'dirty sexiness' of Dwight Yoakam's "Dwight Live" and discover that World Party's "Egyptology" is much more than just another Beatles rip-off.

Film Reviews
by Nick Burton

Revel in Fellini's stunning "Fellini Satyricon," take a romp through Nicholas Ray's 1954 cult-Western, "Johnny Guitar," wander the surreal and bloody landscape of Alejandro Jodorowsky's "Santa Sangre," then blast off with Jean Luc Godard's "Alphaville," the only film in history where the galaxy is saved by poetry.

Zine Reviews
by Gayle O'Brien

After enduring "New Hope International," our reviewer's faith in UK zines is resurrected by "Spike Magazine;" at the same time, she finds a gem in "Gadfly's" online version of its print magazine.