Harrison Blackman
@hblackman.bsky.social
190 followers 120 following 130 posts
A shamus of the tiger sort. Writer of cities, Mediterranean, suspense. Fulbright scholar, WGA screenwriter, narrative journalist. Substack: THE USONIAN.
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As a neuroscientist, Joel Finkelstein studied mind control in mice. But when he realized social media was influencing human behavior, he set out to build an early warning system for hate. My latest for Princeton Alumni Weekly—and my most ambitious feature to date. paw.princeton.edu/article/joel...
If there was ever a movie about my life, it should be called ONE DEADLINE AFTER ANOTHER
Why are Greek movies so strange? It turns out they've been "weird" for a while, and not for the reasons you might think. My latest essay for the Los Angeles Review of Books. @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social #film #architecture lareviewofbooks.org/article/cris...
Crisis Makes Weird | Los Angeles Review of Books
Harrison Blackman discusses the aesthetics and politics of Greek cinema’s Weird Wave.
lareviewofbooks.org
Without “At the Mountains of Madness,” we probably wouldn’t have sci-fi horror classics like “The Thing” or “Alien.” Read on for the spookiest chapter in The Usonian’s Narrative Architecture series. www.theusonian.com/p/the-grandd...
The granddaddy of them all
From "The Thing" to "Prometheus," all sci-fi horror owes Lovecraft a cold one
www.theusonian.com
Religious scholar Georges Florovsky lived an odyssey of a life, from the last days of the Russian Empire to New York City. He also really, really loved his Xerox machine. paw.princeton.edu/article/he-f...
He Fled Europe and Became ‘The Patron Saint of Photocopying’
paw.princeton.edu
It was a thrill to speak with Ligaya Mishan about her singular path to one of the most interesting jobs in the world: co-chief restaurant critic for The New York Times. paw.princeton.edu/article/new-...
New York Times Critic Ligaya Mishan ’91 Seeks Magic in the Dining Experience
‘Restaurants are some of our last gathering places,’ Mishan says.
paw.princeton.edu
Adobe builder, artist and chef Anita Rodríguez has lived a dynamic life from her home in Taos, New Mexico. Learn about her classic recipe for the “Chicana on the run” in “The Stovetop Enchiladas This New Mexican Grandma Has Been Making Her Whole Life.” www.allrecipes.com/anita-rodrig...
The Stovetop Enchiladas This New Mexican Grandma Has Been Making Her Whole Life
In Taos, New Mexico, artist and builder Anita Rodríguez has spent a lifetime cooking. Her stovetop enchiladas—layered in a wok with red chile, cheese, and eggs—reflect both her Chicana roots and her p...
www.allrecipes.com
For the last 6 years I’ve been working as a Book Development Consultant. Whether you’re trying to write your memoir or finish your passion project novel, I can help you shape the manuscript for the big-time or for self-publication. Learn more at harrisonblackman.com/consulting
It was a joy to return to Taos, New Mexico this past summer and write about the dynamic changes to the legendary town, adding a new chapter to its historic, mystical place in the firmament of the Wild West. paw.princeton.edu/article/magi...
The Magic Is Back in Legendary Taos, New Mexico
Taos is undergoing a revival worthy of its storied history and mystical reputation, Harrison Blackman ’17 writes
paw.princeton.edu
Kirsten Bakis' "The Lives of the Monster Dogs" may be the weirdest novel I've ever read. A riff on "Frankenstein" and "The Island of Dr. Moreau," "Monster Dogs" shouldn't work, but does. Here's why. www.theusonian.com/p/monster-dogs
Monster Dogs
A closer look at maybe the weirdest novel ever
www.theusonian.com
“I've never seen so many trees in my life." Check out my travelogue of visiting the real-life inspiration for Twin Peaks (subscribe to Usonian+ to read the whole post). #TheUsonian www.theusonian.com/p/now-enteri...
Now Entering the Real Twin Peaks
"That gum you like is going to come back in style"
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If I subscribe to MS Office, will I also get access to MS NOW?
The best sci-fi novel I’ve read in years is the debut of Case Q. Kerns: interconnected stories that entangle and cascade in ways reminiscent of Philip K. Dick and David Mitchell. Learn more from my conversation with this new, exciting voice. www.theusonian.com/p/case-q-ker...
Case Q. Kerns's "Habitat"
An inventive debut sci-fi novel reminiscent of David Mitchell and Philip K. Dick
www.theusonian.com
If J. Robert Oppenheimer knew that the Manhattan Project would result in transforming his beloved Los Alamos into a creepy strip mall, maybe he would’ve thought twice about building the bomb? Read my impressions in The Usonian+. www.theusonian.com/p/now-enteri...
When I started reading Neal Stephenson’s CRYPTONOMICON, I had no idea that I was about to embark on one of the most exhausting and tedious literary experiences of my life. harrisonblackman.substack.com/p/cryptonomi...
Cryptonomicon
The lack of propulsion in Neal Stephenson's doorstop "thriller"
harrisonblackman.substack.com
As a neuroscientist, Joel Finkelstein studied mind control in mice. But when he realized social media was influencing human behavior, he set out to build an early warning system for hate. My latest for Princeton Alumni Weekly—and my most ambitious feature to date. paw.princeton.edu/article/joel...
Fascism is on the rise. But a classic YA novel from Greece may hold advice for how to resist. Literary translator Karen Emmerich on her recent translation of Alki Zei’s wonderful and transporting “The Wildcat Behind Glass." www.theusonian.com/p/the-wildca...
The Wildcat Behind Glass
Karen Emmerich on her new translation of Alki Zei's classic novel
www.theusonian.com
Like a strobe light throbbing in a red-curtained room, film and TV was forever altered and energized by David Lynch. www.theusonian.com/p/david-lynch
David Lynch
On his unique legacy shading the history of Hollywood cinema
www.theusonian.com
“Night Film,” Marisha Pessl’s 2013 thriller, is intriguing for its use of paratextual devices that deliver exposition and advance the mystery about an enigmatic, Brian De Palma-esque director. www.theusonian.com/p/night-film
Night Film
Multimodal storytelling in Marisha Pessl's thriller
www.theusonian.com