On SPIRIT GARDEN: "In Spirit Garden, poet-scholar-playwright Joe Martin sings ecstatically of the One, the hidden integrity of opposites & the living mystery of existence. He not only fuses Sufi, Buddhist & Jewish paths in a troubadour's transcendence both timeless & time-bound, his thirty poems share the page with Enrique Castanon's haunting figures which shift foreground and background to meta-illustrate the gestalt of Martin's vision." Kirpal Gordon, author, Giant Steps Press blog On FOREIGNERS: "[An] absurdist mind grenade... Joe Martin's first novel paints this neo-European shadow landscape with panache a gifted American writer." Richard Peabody, Editor, Gargoyle On RUMI'S MATHNAVI: A Stage Adaptation "Absolutely remarkable and memorable lifting the veils one after another." Lida Saeedian, co-translator of The Pocket Rumi On PARABOLA: SHORTER FICTIONS "...through the tightly structured geometry of this metaphorically rich [work is a] recognition of the search we undertake to fi x a place for ourselves and try to make sense of a confusing, alienating and often combative world." Cheryl Pallant, High Performance

Foreword by Vadge Moore, drummer for the Dwarves From the darkest rat hole basements to flash arenas, here is a wild ride through Rock's worst moments. Rife with confessionals, Gigs from Hell strips the mythology and starry-eyed allure of life on the road to its barest essentials - puke, rip-offs, come-downs and the odd stab at glory. Collected and translated from drunken rock-speak by music writer Sleazegrinder, this book offers a rare glimpse at what it's really like to tour, record and survive in the cut-throat music industry. Illustrated.

Izzie is restless, and eager to be treated like an adult. So she decides it's time to make some changes. But the new Izzie comes with new problems. First, there is Josh Harper, an older, cute but wild boy. Then there is her mother, who is opposed to every part of the "new Izzie". And then there is one night at Nesta's house, when Izzie decides to make cocktails . . . In the process, Izzie learns a great deal about herself and what it means to be grown up, but not before she's upset just about everyone along the way.

The story of the birth of Punk, with a capital P, in the only country where it was a mainstream movement: the UK, told entirely by eye-witnesses whose words, then and now, have been held up to the light of hindsight.

Why is Randy Newman - enigmatic, audacious composer responsible for Tom Jones hits and the music to both Toy Story and Monsters Inc - still almost completely unknown? With detailed precision, Courrier delves into the reasons for Newman's peripheral status on the cultural landscape suggesting that, at heart, he has always been a musical outsider and has built a career in the mainstream by donning a brilliant disguise. An illuminating portrait of the artist as a masked man.

Originally published: Montreal: Bongo Beat, 2009.