Steve Erickson
$12
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As Jonathan Lethem put it, Steve Erickson’s journal of the last 15 months of the Trump presidency “sears the page.” Erickson, one of our finest novelists, has long been in an astute political observer, and American Stutter, part political declaration, part humorous account of more personal matters, offers a particularly moving reminder of the democratic ideals that we are currently struggling to preserve. Written with wit, eloquence, and a controlled fury as events unfold, Erickson has left us with an essential record of our recent history, a book to be read with our collective breath held.
STEVE ERICKSON is the author of 10 novels and two books about American politics and popular culture. For 12 years he was founding editor of the national literary journal Black Clock. Currently he is the film/television critic for Los Angeles magazine and a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Riverside. He has received a Guggenheim fellowship, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, and the Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award.
Reviews
“Erickson is a dedicated prosecutor, hilariously slashing judge and, as a stand-in for the common good, the victim, who may be guilty too.”
—GREIL MARCUS
“It sears the page—this is the book the moment deserves. Erickson’s raw refusal to kid himself is manifest in every line. I read it with my breath held as if I didn’t know the end.”
—JONATHAN LETHEM
“It’s evident on every page how deeply Erickson cares about his country…. The heavy American promise entailed by the Bill of Rights, Lincoln’s second inaugural and Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech are carried on every page of this diary…. Thankfully, Zerogram Press are equally ferocious in their mission to wrest and publish ‘the sort of work that is not merely sufficient but necessary.’”
—Chris Vaughan, OPEN LETTERS REVIEW, 4/26/22