Welcome To All That

Bryan Borland is practically glowing these days. His first poetry collection, My Life as Adam, has just been published, and he’s obviously proud of it. Or at least I think he’s glowing. It’s hard to know when you do an interview via Facebook and email. But judging from the enthusiasm of his responses, this is something he really wants to do. Or, rather, needs to do. He doesn’t need the recognition, necessarily, but like anyone who has ever struggled with words even semi-professionally, he knows that although they can be your friend or your foe at different times, one thing never changes; they need you to express them. I throw a sort of stock opening question at him (‘What are your views on inspiration?’), but while his answer has things in common with what any self-respecting writer will tell you, it has the rhythmic energy readers will come to appreciate in the Borlandian school of poetry; a belief that being serious about your craft doesn’t have to mean you can’t also be playful. Continue reading →

The rise of social media was supposed to make it easier for people around the world who share the same interests to interact with each other, and to keep up to date on interesting developments. This should be true for fan culture as well. Therefore I was actually somewhat ashamed when I discovered that the new Hanson EP Stand Up Stand Up had been out for weeks when I finally heard of it during Christmas. Sure, I was hospitalized at the time of its release, and thus I had a decent excuse for why I wasn’t up to date, but still, ain’t a real Fanson supposed to get around such minor inhibitions when new material is made available? Of course he is. I took about thirty seconds to beat myself up about it and making a mental note that ‘becoming a better Fanson’ should be among my New Year’s resolutions, before I delved hungrily into the matter at hand. Continue reading →