The Bibliophallic Urge

By: Matthew Battles

Hardcore anti-legend and bibliophile Glenn Danzig talks about his library, which seems to be located in a grotto bathed in the glow of bioluminescent aquatic creatures. His bookishness calls to mind Jorge Luis Borges, who […]

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The Empire of Hilo

By: Matthew Battles

The hilo grip on culture may be esoteric, but it’s intimate and comprehensive. It’s a storied jazz combo from the mid-twentieth century — featuring Grammy winner Gene Puerling! It’s a high-concept, low-budget film festival ( […]

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Hi-Lo

By: Joshua Glenn

Hi-Lo Foods is a Jamaica Plain, Mass., supermarket whose sign we’ve always found inspirational.

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The Animated Poets Society

By: Matthew Battles

YouTube channel of the week: poetryanimations, where portraits and photographs of the likes of Baudelaire, Dickinson, and Tennyson are moved to recite their works, often in the poets’ own voices. My attention was captured by […]

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Calligraphy Lesson

By: Matthew Battles

Wong Fei Hung (played by the great Kwan Tak Hing) gives Master Ko a writing lesson. From The Magnificent Butcher (1979), directed by Sammo Hung.

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Monogrammed Death

By: Matthew Battles

We’d like to think the L and the B signify Low Brow. But they more likely represent the initials of engraver M. Lucas Brunn, who made this memento mori in Germany around 1600. From the […]

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Double Exposure (1)

By: Matthew Battles

Among the photos making the social-media rounds in the aftermath of the Turkish Airlines crash in Amsterdam yesterday was this haunting image: It was posted on Twitter by @Serguei with a caption (in French): “It” […]

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The Book Is a Weapon (1)

By: HILOBROW

In the game Clue there’s a library, but no little plastic book to use as a murder weapon. What’s up with that? Should be able to do in Col. Mustard, in the Library, with the […]

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