"The author of the Book of Matthew begins with an exhaustive genealogy of his new prophet-protagonist. It somehow seems fitting that any praise for this book of Mark—that is, Mark Wadley's haunting and transcendent novella-in-stories, ALL BY OUR LONESOME—would begin with a similar list of forebears. Yes, there's the echo of Brad Watson here, and Barry Hannah, probably some Denis Covington, for good measure. There's also a reverent nod to James Agee and Carl Carmer. Writers of and for the melancholy American South. But there's whimsy here too—and magic, and music-of-the-spheres, and metafiction—and therefore, also, something of the Universal. For every echo of Job and the cynic-sage of Ecclesiastes, there's the moondance of Calvino's Cosmicomics; there's Dante's urge toward a sublime and out-of-this-world kingdom come; there's the vital, ancient wisdom of Eve, of Esther, and of Wisdom's Proverbs. Even more exciting for those of us who seek smart new voices for understanding the world we now inhabit in this uneasy meantime, there is the irrefutable truth that this young man, Mark Wadley, can spin a story that feels just like an old-time prophecy." - TJ Beitelman, author of JOHN THE REVELATOR

Author: Mark Wadley
Publisher: Grotesque Materials
Page Count: 105pp
Size: 4.25 x 7
Notes: paperback, limited
Date of Publication: June 14, 2018