Jennifer Makowsky

Jennifer Makowsky began writing for PopMatters in 2005. In addition to writing about music, film, and books, she writes fiction and poetry. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appeared in The Portland Review, Gargoyle, 2 Bridges Review, Pamplemousse, Gravel, and others. She lives in Tucson, Arizona where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. Currently, she teaches English to adult refugee students at Pima Community College.

Recent

Sad About the Times: Lost Tracks of the '70s That Sound Vaguely Familiar

Sad About the Times evokes 1970s nostalgia with 21 obscure tracks that never made it big, but sound like they could have.

Music

Howe Gelb's Latest Is a Welcoming Call to Gather Around

Listening to Howe Gelb's Gathered is like being at a dinner party with Gelb at the head of the table, telling stories, offering his sagacity, and taking the listener on clever lexical excursions.

Music

12 Must-Have Songs for Your Halloween Playlist

Before you go out to your favorite haunted house or visit your favorite witchy woman, be sure to have the proper monster music handy.

Music

'Ghosts: A Haunted History' Is Sure to Grip the Believer and the Skeptic Alike

Comprehensive, fascinating, and eye-catching, Lisa Morton's Ghosts: A Haunted History is the only book you'll ever need about the world's most notable supernatural entity.

Reviews

Square Pegs and Southern Inhospitality in Melanie Sumner's 'How to Write a Novel'

This is a charming and touching reflection on family, belonging, and walking the shaky line between childhood and adulthood.

Books

'Boo' Is a Beacon of Light in YA Literature

Funny, uplifting, and poignant, Neil Smith's YA novel, Boo, is a fresh take on life, death, and friendship.

Books

Having Trouble Sleeping? Relax, It's All in Your Mind

Funny and direct, as well as useful and nurturing, Sane New World is a must read for anyone who has been up at night worrying about the future or regretting the past.

Books

The 10 Best Songs About New Beginnings

In honor of a new year, here is a list of songs that can help nudge even the idlest of souls off the couch in 2015.

Music

Alex Capus' Latest Book Is a Wild Ride Through the Wild West

Filled with six charming tales about the American West in the 19th Century, Skidoo is an off-the-wall history lesson about the American Frontier most of us were never taught in school.

Books

A Rural Youth is Curated in John Updike's 'Olinger Stories'

John Updike is able to highlight the details of domestic life in a way that turns the mundane into something sacred and significant.

Reviews

'The Girls from Corona del Mar' Is a Serious Study of Female Friendship

The challenges of adulthood can alter the friendships we forge in childhood.

Books

The 10 Best Sappy Love Songs of the 1970s

If you were a child of the 1970s, you no doubt grew up hearing these tunes slipping out your parents' eight-track player and car radio. The songs on the list are sappy, high-drama love ballads -- and for that they're being celebrated.

Music

Pop Ten

Outside Lands 2019 in Photos

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Mixed Media

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PM Picks

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Sad About the Times: Lost Tracks of the '70s That Sound Vaguely Familiar

Sad About the Times evokes 1970s nostalgia with 21 obscure tracks that never made it big, but sound like they could have.

Howe Gelb's Latest Is a Welcoming Call to Gather Around

Listening to Howe Gelb's Gathered is like being at a dinner party with Gelb at the head of the table, telling stories, offering his sagacity, and taking the listener on clever lexical excursions.

'Ghosts: A Haunted History' Is Sure to Grip the Believer and the Skeptic Alike

Comprehensive, fascinating, and eye-catching, Lisa Morton's Ghosts: A Haunted History is the only book you'll ever need about the world's most notable supernatural entity.

Square Pegs and Southern Inhospitality in Melanie Sumner's 'How to Write a Novel'

This is a charming and touching reflection on family, belonging, and walking the shaky line between childhood and adulthood.

Vintage Contemporaries Original

'Boo' Is a Beacon of Light in YA Literature

Funny, uplifting, and poignant, Neil Smith's YA novel, Boo, is a fresh take on life, death, and friendship.

Having Trouble Sleeping? Relax, It's All in Your Mind

Funny and direct, as well as useful and nurturing, Sane New World is a must read for anyone who has been up at night worrying about the future or regretting the past.

Alex Capus' Latest Book Is a Wild Ride Through the Wild West

Filled with six charming tales about the American West in the 19th Century, Skidoo is an off-the-wall history lesson about the American Frontier most of us were never taught in school.

A Rural Youth is Curated in John Updike's 'Olinger Stories'

John Updike is able to highlight the details of domestic life in a way that turns the mundane into something sacred and significant.

Haus Publishing

'The Girls from Corona del Mar' Is a Serious Study of Female Friendship

The challenges of adulthood can alter the friendships we forge in childhood.

The Instinct that Drives Wild Things in 'Gone to Earth' and 'The Wild Heart'

Outside Lands 2019 in Photos

Frank Santoro's 'Pittsburgh' Is a Permanently Preliminary Sketch of Life

The Sun Ra Arkestra Brings Interplanetary Music to San Francisco

Blanck Mass' 'Animated Violence Mild' Critiques Excess with Excess

'Infest the Rats' Nest' Sees King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Embrace Their Inner Thrash

On Difficulties with Acculturation in 'From Chernobyl with Love'

Bon Iver's 'i,i' Hangs Between Surrealism and Meaning

The Two Louis: "Pops" and "The Wildest"

The Pro-Wrestling Story Collectors: An Interview with Sports Authors Steve Johnson and Greg Oliver

Coastal Clouds Explores the Battle of Heart and Mind in "Comes From a Time" (premiere)

Power Pop's the Lilacs Endure with a New Song and Album (premiere + interview)

The Commonheart Share a Soulful Message of Love and Positivity on 'Pressure' (album stream + interview)

Japanese Soul Singer Nao Yoshioka Treks to Philly for New Single, "All in Me" (premiere)

The Good Graces Keep Their Loved Ones Close on "Snow Angels" (premiere)

Toronto's Bedouin Soundclash Cook Up a Ska-Pop Delight with "Salt Water" (premiere)

Marc Cohn and Blind Boys of Alabama Have "Work to Do" (album stream) (premiere)

Those Pretty Wrongs Remind Us "It's About Love" (premiere + interview)

Joshua Radin's "Going with You" is an Ode to Friendship (premiere)

Sad About the Times evokes 1970s nostalgia with 21 obscure tracks that never made it big, but sound like they could have.

Listening to Howe Gelb's Gathered is like being at a dinner party with Gelb at the head of the table, telling stories, offering his sagacity, and taking the listener on clever lexical excursions.

Before you go out to your favorite haunted house or visit your favorite witchy woman, be sure to have the proper monster music handy.

Comprehensive, fascinating, and eye-catching, Lisa Morton's Ghosts: A Haunted History is the only book you'll ever need about the world's most notable supernatural entity.

This is a charming and touching reflection on family, belonging, and walking the shaky line between childhood and adulthood.

Funny, uplifting, and poignant, Neil Smith's YA novel, Boo, is a fresh take on life, death, and friendship.

Funny and direct, as well as useful and nurturing, Sane New World is a must read for anyone who has been up at night worrying about the future or regretting the past.

In honor of a new year, here is a list of songs that can help nudge even the idlest of souls off the couch in 2015.

In honor of the band with the most U.F.O.s and robots, here are the ten best Flaming Lips songs based on all things science fiction.

Filled with six charming tales about the American West in the 19th Century, Skidoo is an off-the-wall history lesson about the American Frontier most of us were never taught in school.

John Updike is able to highlight the details of domestic life in a way that turns the mundane into something sacred and significant.

The challenges of adulthood can alter the friendships we forge in childhood.

While Kate Bush is a national treasure in the UK, US listeners don't know her so well. The following 12 songs capture her irrepressible spirit.

If you were a child of the 1970s, you no doubt grew up hearing these tunes slipping out your parents' eight-track player and car radio. The songs on the list are sappy, high-drama love ballads -- and for that they're being celebrated.