BOA Blog

In a recent PBS Newshour video story, legendary actor and comedian Bill Murray reads Lucille Clifton's poem "what the mirror said" at a Poets House benefit. Also in the video, Murray discusses the power of the poem, and the importance of poetry in his life.“Bill Murray loves poetry," says PBS. "He loves poetry so much he trades comedic one-liners for lines of poetry at a yearly benefit for Poets House, a nonprofit library and cultural center in New York City.”Of Clifton’s poem, Murray says: “I used to be able to look in the mirror and see who’s there, and sometimes...

Poker News Daily has placed James McManus' The Education of a Poker Player on its list of poker-related stocking stuffers! With the holiday season well upon us, reviewer Earl Burton suggests "a couple of books out there that might interest the poker fan in a person’s life."Calling Education "whimsical," Burton says: "author James McManus – the author of the seminal poker work Positively Fifth Street – has stepped back into the literary world, but not exactly with something that is entirely poker-related. While it is titled The Education of a Poker Player, McManus’ book is more a coming-of-age story rather than a...

        Publishers Weekly recently ran new reviews of James McManus' The Education of a Poker Player and Ray Gonzalez's Beautiful Wall.On The Education of a Poker Player: "McManus tracks the tribulations of boyhood with ironic humor in the seven linked stories that make up this portrait of a feisty young Catholic boy in 1960s suburban Illinois. . . . This entertaining coming-of-age tale treads lightly on issues of guilt, opting instead to allow witty cultural references and a likable voice to carry the narrative. The title is catchy, but the most memorable scenes here don't involve much...

Dan Klefstad, "Morning Edition" Host for Northern Public Radio, has announced that James McManus will be featured in the highly-anticipated 2015 Winter Book Series. The series, which airs Mondays in December during WNIJ's "Morning Edition" show, is the place for listeners and fans to learn about literature from northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. This December, it will feature "four books that belong on your shelf or e-reader," one of them being James McManus's new book The Education of a Poker Player. The Winter Book Series returns Mondays in December, featuring Craig Hart (December 7), Joe Gastiger (December 14), Christine Sneed...

Dallas Morning News has featured a new review of James McManus's fall 2015 book The Education of a Poker Player. Reviewer Alex Lemon praises the work, particularly McManus's voice, which he calls "fresh, original, and alive." "McManus’s straightforward prose sharpens slyly as Vince’s evolving narration comes of age. The Education of a Poker Player follows Vince as his inner life is shaped and reshaped by theological devotion, burgeoning sexuality, and the ramrod vicissitudes of the people that surround him . . . Hilarious tensions begin working their way through the story line because Vince is just as curious about his expanding world...