Jack White’s label Third Man Records has announced the launch of a new publishing wing, Third Man Books. The imprint’s first title, Language Lessons: Volume I, is a box set comprising a 321-page collection of poetry, prose, and art, as well as a double-LP compilation. It will be commercially available August 5.
Language Lessons comes in a hardcover clothbound sleeve and is co-edited by Third Man’s Ben Swank and Chet Weise, creator of the Nashville literary event Poetry Sucks. The book features original pieces from over twenty highly-acclaimed writers including the Pulitzer Prize nominee Dale Ray Phillips, National Book Award finalist & National Book Critics Circle winner C.D. Wright, and National Book Award & Pulitzer Prize finalist Adrian Mateika. Punk pioneers Richard Hell and Tav Falco have also contributed works of nonfiction. The set also comes boxed with five broadside poems suitable for framing.
In addition to the printed material, two vinyl records contain previously unreleased music varying from blues and jazz to pop and psychedelic punk. This eclectic mix of artists includes the likes of William Tyler, Destruction Unit, Ken Vandermark, Paul “Wine” Jones, Sampson Starkweather, and many more.
Language Lessons is currently available for pre-order at Third Man and will be available at select bookstores and record shops beginning August 5. Third Man Books will preview the box set on Saturday, July 26 during the Newport Folk Festival, which Jack White is headlining.
Full details are available here.