Episode 86 with Mark Athitakis, Inquisitive Writer, Critic, and Chronicler of Literature for The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Many More

Episode 86 Notes and Links to Mark Athitakis’ Work 

 

        On Episode 86 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Mark Athitakis, and the two talk about Mark’s varied reading, his various writing and editing jobs, his role as book critic and literary reviewer, ideas of the critic as objective chronicler, and his work that highlights underappreciated writers and Midwestern writers.

 

 

 

       Mark Athitakis is a writer, editor, critic, blogger, reporter, essayist, white-paper-ist. He has written short and long pieces for publications like The New York Times and Washington Post, published two books, and provided editorial assistance from basic proofreading to deeper guidance on book-length projects. He has taught, consulted, and generally helped people tell their stories better. His particular expertise is in association/nonprofit content and literary criticism, but he delivers professional work in a variety of contexts.

 

October 4, 2021 Review in USA Today of Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads

September 13, 2021 Review in The Los Angeles Times of Rabih Alameddine's The Wrong End of the Telescope -“This Refugee Novel Knows it Can’t Change the World” 

 

Authory.com Page for Mark-links to 300+ past publications

 

Buy The New Midwest at Bookshop.org

 

At about 2:00, Mark discusses his multifaceted career and the different types of writing he does as a “white paper-ist”

At about 4:25, Mark talks about his childhood, as a child of immigrants from Crete, Greece, and the ways in which language and reading and immigrant tradition affected his later expertise with writing 

At about 7:30, Mark talks about his early reading and having his “head turned sideways” by writers like Nelson Algren and Harry Mark Petrakis who wrote about place, and immigrant communities such as he knew growing up in Chicago; he also references Paul Fussell’s Class and its impact on him

At about 13:30, Mark talks about more recent reading that has informed his love of literature and his own writing, including William Faulkner, Phillip Roth, Marilyn Robisnon, and admired critics like Parul Sehgal, Patricia Lockwood, Laura Miller, Leslie Jamison, and Elizabeth Nelson

At about 18:20, Mark responds to Pete’s question about moments in which he felt that his work resonated, and he talks about “really [taking] to it” when he began doing portraits of artists like Brian Wilson

At about 21:00, Mark talks about the importance of the alt-weekly in nurturing young writers, and the declining impact of these alt-weeklies

At about 22:25, Pete asks Mark about editing others’ work, especially with writing as a supposed solitary activity; Mark talks about his recent role as a writer-in-residence at the public library and what he learned from it

At about 26:40, Pete wonders about objectivity when it comes to criticism 

At about 30:05, Pete inquires into if and how reading as a critic affects Mark’s reading for pleasure; he also asks Mark about the philosophy of “bashing” and negative reviews

At about 36:25, Mark responds to the Pete’s musings about the “democratization of reviews” and how this affects him

At about 38:00, Pete and Mark discuss Jonathan Franzen and his role as “controversial”; Pete cites parts of Mark’s recent positive review of Franzen’s Crossroads

At about 42:15, Pete asks Mark about the portrait he wrote for the LA Times about Rabih Alameddine and if Mark sees a need to be an evangelist or activist with a book like this one

At about 49:30, Pete and Mark discuss The New Midwest, Mark’s book, and Mark talks about the genesis and aim of the book, with Belt Magazine providing impetus

At about 54:00, Mark discusses his desire to avoid putting Chicago and Midwestern literature in opposition to other literary scenes in his book, but instead to celebrate the Midwestern scene

At about 57:00, Mark salutes Marilynne Robinson in citing her as a true Midwest writer and underappreciated student and chronicler of the region

At about 59:30, the two discuss David Foster Wallace’s work as Pete asks Mark if he is a “Midwest writer” and Mark’s thoughts about his work

At about 1:03:20, Mark reads a piece of his that he deems a bit different from his usual-a piece from The Washington Post about “quarantine reading”; Pete and Mark discuss the article’s ideas

At about 1:08:00, Mark gives his contact information

        You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode. 

This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.

The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

Please tune in for the next episode, a conversation with Natalia Sylvester, YA author extraordinaire. She has written, among other books, the award-winning Running, and her upcoming book is Breathe and Count Back from Ten, comes out in May 2022. The episode will air on October 22.