creative writing at UCLA Extension and has published nine books. He has served as a senior leader at multiple media outlets, including Time Out Chicago and MTV.com. He also spent one lucky season in the Wrigley Field press box covering the Chicago Cubs.
Sennett's new novel is Shadow State.
Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. Sennett's reply:
I'm two-thirds of the way through Bob Dylan's The Philosophy of Modern Song, which comprises 60-plus essays on songs that have hit his creative trip wires over the years. I'm listening to the audio version of the book, which intercuts Dylan's direct narration with passages read by actors such as Rita Moreno, Sissy Spacek, Jeff Bridges and John Goodman. It's a delightful flight of fancy, reminiscent of Dylan's old Sirius XM show, Theme Time Radio Hour.Follow Frank Sennett on Twitter.It's at turns moody and atmospheric, elliptical and playful, and always insightful. My favorite essay so far is the one in which Dylan adopts the persona of the narrator of "Blue Suede Shoes," written by Carl Perkins in 1955 and recorded most memorably by Elvis Presley the following year. In character, Dylan stretches to hilarious heights of hyperbole in describing the many terrible things you may do to him so long as you do not, under any circumstances, mess with his beautiful blue footwear, which defines his very existence and haunts his every waking, and probably sleeping, moment. It's one of the funniest essays I've read (or heard) in years. This book is a treat, and its author a treasure.
The Page 99 Test: Shadow State.
My Book, The Movie: Shadow State.
--Marshal Zeringue
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