Mark Coleman
@markcoleman.bsky.social
writer, reader, diehard New Yorker, chief cook and bottle-washer
writing an essay about Nobel Prize winning author Patrick Modiano; each of the half-dozen novels I’ve read is haunted by a fraught period in young adulthood I call The Silver Summer
November 4, 2025 at 6:47 PM
writing an essay about Nobel Prize winning author Patrick Modiano; each of the half-dozen novels I’ve read is haunted by a fraught period in young adulthood I call The Silver Summer
photo by Tom Duncan: 48 Ninth Avenue in 1973. The 14th Street corner looks just as desolate as it did when I lived there 1981-85. The ground-floor diner where I bought coffee every morning was a Luncheonette and the building hadn’t yet been painted white. Otherwise exactly the same. Eerie.
October 28, 2025 at 12:19 AM
photo by Tom Duncan: 48 Ninth Avenue in 1973. The 14th Street corner looks just as desolate as it did when I lived there 1981-85. The ground-floor diner where I bought coffee every morning was a Luncheonette and the building hadn’t yet been painted white. Otherwise exactly the same. Eerie.
Just when I thought Greil Marcus has lost his touch he comes up with this
October 10, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Just when I thought Greil Marcus has lost his touch he comes up with this
Honored to be included in this week’s Memoir Monday, curated by savvy editor Sari Botton. Link to essay about my big teenage misadventure in replies. Thanks!
June 23, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Honored to be included in this week’s Memoir Monday, curated by savvy editor Sari Botton. Link to essay about my big teenage misadventure in replies. Thanks!
Interviewing Brian Wilson in 1986, while he worked on his first solo album, was a peak experience. He was warm, cogent and funny. When I asked about the other Beach Boys, who toured without him that summer, he said “Mike Love is an asshole!” I didn’t quote him on that. Thank you for all the music
June 11, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Interviewing Brian Wilson in 1986, while he worked on his first solo album, was a peak experience. He was warm, cogent and funny. When I asked about the other Beach Boys, who toured without him that summer, he said “Mike Love is an asshole!” I didn’t quote him on that. Thank you for all the music
Cleaning out files I found pics of my St Marks Place apt in 1986; exiting front-door with police escort, frolicking on the roof
May 30, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Cleaning out files I found pics of my St Marks Place apt in 1986; exiting front-door with police escort, frolicking on the roof
Ignore the literary clickbait and post the obscure novel no one else is reading today
May 28, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Ignore the literary clickbait and post the obscure novel no one else is reading today
Lester Bangs died April 30 1982. He wrote about rock & roll in visceral prose that perfectly captured the 1970s. When I started writing for The Village Voice later in ‘82 editor Robert Christgau still had a pink phone message slip from Lester tacked above his desk, dated the day before he died. RIP
May 1, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Lester Bangs died April 30 1982. He wrote about rock & roll in visceral prose that perfectly captured the 1970s. When I started writing for The Village Voice later in ‘82 editor Robert Christgau still had a pink phone message slip from Lester tacked above his desk, dated the day before he died. RIP
RIP Mario Vargas Llosa, master storyteller; even in translation his prose and voice transported you to new worlds - a friend confiding their wildest experiences
April 15, 2025 at 12:34 PM
RIP Mario Vargas Llosa, master storyteller; even in translation his prose and voice transported you to new worlds - a friend confiding their wildest experiences
RIP John Peck aka The Mad Peck inventor of comic record reviews also artist, DJ, rock critic, record collector
April 11, 2025 at 10:44 PM
RIP John Peck aka The Mad Peck inventor of comic record reviews also artist, DJ, rock critic, record collector
Hal and I shared history. Two years ago he emailed me after reading my essays about NYC in the early 1980s. Turns out that in 1989 Hal moved into the same dump that was my first Manhattan address in 1981. He lived there until he died, according to his NY Times obit.
March 6, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Hal and I shared history. Two years ago he emailed me after reading my essays about NYC in the early 1980s. Turns out that in 1989 Hal moved into the same dump that was my first Manhattan address in 1981. He lived there until he died, according to his NY Times obit.
Artist Hal Hirshorn passed away on February 4 at age 60. He used 19th Century techniques such as salt print photography to create uncanny out-of-time images (see below). Photo of Hal by James Maher
March 6, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Artist Hal Hirshorn passed away on February 4 at age 60. He used 19th Century techniques such as salt print photography to create uncanny out-of-time images (see below). Photo of Hal by James Maher
“I saw a Rohmer film once. It was kind of like watching paint dry.” Gene Hackman RIP
February 27, 2025 at 11:18 PM
“I saw a Rohmer film once. It was kind of like watching paint dry.” Gene Hackman RIP
I heard “Why’d Ya Do It” recently, first time in years; the raw power of her voice plus the frank brutality of her words stopped me in my tracks. She turned the sweet sound of her 1960s singles into jagged tenderness on “Broken English” RIP
January 30, 2025 at 11:52 PM
I heard “Why’d Ya Do It” recently, first time in years; the raw power of her voice plus the frank brutality of her words stopped me in my tracks. She turned the sweet sound of her 1960s singles into jagged tenderness on “Broken English” RIP
Adapted from a John Cheever short story, this is a one of a kind movie that everyone should see at least once.
January 27, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Adapted from a John Cheever short story, this is a one of a kind movie that everyone should see at least once.
Greenland on the Hudson
January 25, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Greenland on the Hudson
Reading Gary Indiana’s Do Everything In The Dark and after just a few pages I’m looking in a cracked mirror; on the nose, as they say
January 23, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reading Gary Indiana’s Do Everything In The Dark and after just a few pages I’m looking in a cracked mirror; on the nose, as they say
luxury auto dealership district aka 11th Ave Manhattan
January 12, 2025 at 11:48 PM
luxury auto dealership district aka 11th Ave Manhattan
Thomas Schütte at MOMA is a must-see, his work in a variety of mediums is always interesting, his sculptures are mesmerizing
January 5, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Thomas Schütte at MOMA is a must-see, his work in a variety of mediums is always interesting, his sculptures are mesmerizing
“You’ll be visited by three spirits”
December 24, 2024 at 10:25 PM
“You’ll be visited by three spirits”
Post you from a different era
Fresh off the boat in NYC 1981, before I shed the baby fat and embarrassing 1970s haircut
Fresh off the boat in NYC 1981, before I shed the baby fat and embarrassing 1970s haircut
November 22, 2024 at 9:56 PM
Post you from a different era
Fresh off the boat in NYC 1981, before I shed the baby fat and embarrassing 1970s haircut
Fresh off the boat in NYC 1981, before I shed the baby fat and embarrassing 1970s haircut
Post a picture you took to bring some Zen into the Zone
November 16, 2024 at 10:51 PM
Post a picture you took to bring some Zen into the Zone
One book
One movie
One album
One tv show
One movie
One album
One tv show
November 8, 2024 at 1:10 AM
One book
One movie
One album
One tv show
One movie
One album
One tv show
The building I lived in 1985-89 is now luxury apts. Amazing what the Meatpacking District has become. Last photo is the same corner in 1985, by Frank Rose. White building was home. And The Old Homestead Steakhouse is still there, cow sign intact.
October 23, 2024 at 9:21 PM
The building I lived in 1985-89 is now luxury apts. Amazing what the Meatpacking District has become. Last photo is the same corner in 1985, by Frank Rose. White building was home. And The Old Homestead Steakhouse is still there, cow sign intact.