'How to Prepare for the Past': Brian Cullman with Joe Boyd at 21 Soho, London
Join us for a special book talk with Brian Cullman in celebration of his debut How to Prepare for the Past, in conversation with author extraordinaire Joe Boyd.
June 9, 7 PM ET • London: 21Soho | 3-5 Sutton Row, London W1D 4NR, United Kingdom
How To Prepare for the Past sees the author travel from New York’s East Village to London in the age of Nick Drake and Sandy Denny, to Tangier with Paul Bowles, and to Marrakech, Paris, Lisbon, and Rome—tracking the ghosts of songs and the friendships that defined an era including Nick Drake, Lester Bangs, Tim Hardin and more.
Blending memoir, criticism, and travelogue, How to Prepare for the Past offers the witty curiosity of Geoff Dyer’s But Beautiful, the intimacy of Patti Smith’s Just Kids, and the humor and soul of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity.
A longtime contributor to The Paris Review, Rolling Stone, and The Village Voice, Cullman brings a novelist’s ear for rhythm and a poet’s eye for detail to his portraits of artists including Tim Hardin, Big Joe Turner, Lester Bangs, and Cheb Khaled.
“Brian Cullman always knew where the great music was hidden and writes about it with wit and elegance. His descriptions of close encounters with Nick Drake, Big Joe Turner, the Master Musicians of Jajouka, and so many others are as good as music reportage gets.”
—Joe Boyd, record producer and author of And the Roots of Rhythm Remain
About the Author
Brian Cullman is a writer & musician based in New York and in France. He has written extensively for The Paris Review, Antaeus, Rolling Stone, and The Village Voice and has won the ASCAP/Deems Taylor award for excellence in music journalism three times. He has three solo albums on Sunnyside and is currently a member of Lisbon-based group Rua Das Pretas.
About the Interlocuor
Joe Boyd is a record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked with Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band, R.E.M., Vashti Bunyan, John and Beverley Martyn, Maria Muldaur, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Billy Bragg, James Booker, 10,000 Maniacs. He was also one of the founders of the highly influential nightclub venue UFO.
About the Venue
https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events
Writer and musician Brian Cullman’s rapturous evocation of life in the bike lane, before the world was digital, when music was everything and magic was everywhere, encompassing friendships with Lester Bangs, Nick Drake, Big Joe Turner, Tim Hardin, and Paul Bowles.
Release: Apr 28, 2026
Paperback ISBN: 9798988670100 • 256 pages
UK release: Jun 11, 2026 • UK Price: £14.99
