Northern Sketches by Gary Bunting

Every once in a while an artist comes along who stops you in your tracks. Gary Bunting's writing is that way. Gary is from Yorkshire, which is in the North of England. His writing feels as if it were recorded many years ago, with its gravestones and cold sea and cobble streets, its Northern light like a watercolor painting. It feels old, mysterious, and substantial like Joyce's Dubliners or a lost poem from a lost book in a dusty, sunlit bookshop. But listen close and you will witness the modern day come through in a way that feels natural and truthful as can be.

You'd be remiss to see that this is both timeless and the story of now, of 2021 in the midst of medieval stone, brooding sky, and churchyard steps. It's McDonald's and the timelessness of October sunshine, the ancient stillness of fall and gaudy neon slogans. Gary's writing moves effortlessly between the immensity of death, morning coffee, achingly evocative childhood memories, department stores, bank holidays, abandoned mills, the sound of poolhall balls hitting against each other, love, townhall bells, gardens, amusement park rides, letterboxes, work, bad neighbors who surprise you how bad they truly are, lazy days, the sound of a match struck, sun through clouds, the ebb and flow of the tides, travel, homemade scones, blooming flowers, penny arcades, wild moors, the laugh of the one you love most, solitary farmhouses, sea gulls, lobster pots, domesticity, piano music, that Friday feeling, loneliness, train journeys, coastal towns, hushed streets, margarine on toast, daily chores, the setting sun, yard work, and so much more. As a pony he knows much more than one trick. As a town he has many horses.

His work is also funny. In the midst of his beautiful, deliberate, ironclad-lovely writing, you might not catch how funny he can be (and you'd be missing out to do so). Gary brings a lot to the table as they say. His reach is deep, his touch graceful.

I want the cassette tape of Gary Bunting's Northern Sketches to be one of your favorite things this fall. I want it to be a companion for these changing days and I will stop at nothing until you fall in love with him and his beautiful writing. The text for each track is provided on the Bandcamp listing. Read along. Listen on a quiet day. Give him your ear and your time. This is good for you.

-Adam Gnade

A record label releasing audio recordings of writers' work. Poems backed by noise. Novels as audio books. Stories on cassettes. Curated by Adam Gnade. Currently accepting submissions.