The Chills at Will Podcast

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The Chills at Will Podcast is a celebration of the visceral beauty of literature. This beauty will be examined through close reads of phrases and lines and passages from fiction and nonfiction that thrills the reader, so much so that he wants to read again and again to replicate that thrill. Each episode will focus on a different theme, such as "The Power of Flashback," "Understatement," "Cats in the Cradle," and "Chills at Will: Origin Story."

Episodes

Monday Aug 05, 2024

Episode 246 with Ruben Reyes, Author of There is a Rio Grande in Heaven, and Brilliant Tactician of the Weird, the Quirky, the Joyful, the Sad, and the Resonant

Monday Aug 05, 2024

Notes and Links to Ruben Reyes’ Work

For Episode 246, Pete welcomes Ruben Reyes, and the two discuss, among other topics, his childhood love of sci fi and fantasy, his family’s diverse language history, formative and transformative books and writers, lessons learned from early writing, and salient themes and issues in his collection like agency, power dynamics, notions of “home,” grief, and various forms of violence, as well as larger narratives about the immigration system, family units, and traumas and silences.

Ruben Reyes Jr. is the son of two Salvadoran immigrants. He completed his MFA in fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

He is a graduate of Harvard College where he studied History and Literature and Latinx Studies. His writing has appeared in Audible Originals, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Florida Review Online, Business Insider, The Acentos Review, Strange Horizons, Poynter, and other publications.

His debut story collection, There is a Rio Grande in Heaven, is forthcoming from Mariner Books. Originally from Southern California, he lives in Brooklyn.

Buy There is a Rio Grande in Heaven

Ruben Reyes’ Website

At about 1:45, Harvard and secret clubs and “annoying social clubs” are discussed

At about 3:00, Ruben details the “chaotic” and exciting leadup to the August 6 publication date of his collection

At about 3:45, Ruben shares “generous feedback” from blurbists and other early readers

At about 5:50, Ruben shouts out upcoming book events-Brooklyn with Greenlight and Bryant Park, and Libro Mobile in Santa Ana

At about 6:50, Ruben talks about growing up in Diamond Bar and how it’s emblematic or not of LA and California

At about 8:00, Ruben expands upon his language history and that of his family, and he also talks about growing up on fantasy books and Michael Crichton and other “conceptual sci-fi” works

At about 10:35, Pete and Ruben strategize on how to get JK Rowling off Twitter and her “misguided” diatribes

At about 12:30, Ruben talks about formative writers and writing from his high school and college days

At about 14:15, Ruben discusses early writing and lessons learned from the work

At about 16:30, Mad appreciation for Borges and how his work was against the “conventional craft”

At about 18:30-Ruben highlights the influence of magical realism and its limits and strengths

At about 20:00, The two discuss the evocative epigraphs for the story collection, from Roque Dalton and Ray Bradbury

At about 23:35, The two discuss the opening short from the collection and the multiple stories that feature “Alternate Histories”; Ruben highlights Jamel Brinkley’s guidance

At about 26:45, Ruben explains why he thinks the story has two starting points, and the two discuss the second story, “He Eats His Own” with its mangoes, ritual, and power dynamics and immigrant sagas

At about 29:10, Ruben responds to Pete’s questions between the balance and relationships between allegory and plot

At about 31:00, Pete wonders if Ruben “stands in judgment of [his] characters”

At about 33:50, Pete asks Ruben about the ramifications of the relationship between Steven and Tomás, a Salvadoran immigrant who has experienced a lot of grief; Ruben expands on his interest in “escape valves” for characters

At about 36:35, The two discuss “Self-Made Man” and its connection to the complexities of immigration

At about 38:40, Ruben discusses “baselines” and the ways in which he resolved to write “three-dimensional characters” and focused on systems and reasons for traumas

At about 40:30, Agency as a theme in the story is discussed through “Quiero Perrear…” and its dynamic characters

At about 42:00, Pete and Ruben delight in the opening line of “Quiero Perrear…” and its connections to Kafka’s Metamorphosis

At about 44:20, Pete is highly complimentary of “My Abuela, the Puppet,” and Ruben explains the story’s genesis and connections to real-life

At about 47:20, “Salvadoran Slice of Mars” as a way of showing inadequacies of the immigration system is discussed

At about 48:55, The themes of “do-overs” and mourning and grief and the ways in which we view those who have passed are discussed in connection with a particularly meaningful story

At about 52:20, Ruben discusses the historical fiction involving El Salvador’s 1932 Matanza of a story in the collection that is one of the “alternate histories”

At about 53:45, the two discuss the incredible work of Roberto Lovato and ideas of “unforgetting” and silences and trauma

At about 55:50, Ruben responds to Pete’s question about a story that lays out an alternate history of Selena as Ruben brings up systems and fame and the ways that celebrities are treated after their deaths

At about 58:40, Ruben details how immigrants often think of “What if” so often

At about 59:40, “Variations on Your Migrant’s Life” is explored, and Ruben talks about its inspirations

At about 1:04:15, Valeria and Oscar Ramirez Martinez (graphic picture discussed is not featured in article) and their story, fictionalized in a gutting final story, is discussed

At about 1:07:15, Ruben shouts out places to buy his book and gives his contact info/social media info

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 this and 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.

I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.

Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!

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 Episode 245 with Shannon Sanders, who is a Black writer, attorney, and author of the linked story collection Company, which was winner of the 2023 LA Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Additionally, her short fiction was the recipient of a 2020 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers.

Please tune in for Episode 247 with Christina Cooke. Her writing has appeared in/is forthcoming from The Caribbean Writer, PRISM International, Prairie Schooner, and Lambda Literary Review, among others. A MacDowell Fellow and Journey Prize winner, her critically-acclaimed Broughtupsy, her debut novel, is out as of January 2024.

The episode will go live on August 13.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Friday Jul 26, 2024

Episode 244 with Annie Liontas, Dedicated Educator and Master Chronicler of the Micro, Macro, and Personal in Their Varied and Resonant Memoir, Sex with a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery

Friday Jul 26, 2024

Notes and Links to Annie Liontas’ Work

For Episode 244, Pete welcomes Annie Liontas, and the two discuss, among other topics, their childhood love of books after early years of learning English as a second language, their teaching life, formative and transformative books and writers, the hot literary scene in Philly, and salient themes and issues in their memoir like writing emotionally-charged material, “invisible disability,” traumatic brain injuries and their personal history, as well as larger narratives about TBI in the carceral system, NFL, and beyond.

Annie Liontas is the genderqueer author of the memoir Sex with a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery, which was featured on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross and selected as SELF Magazine’s Book of the Month. Their debut novel, Let Me Explain You, was selected as New York Times Editors Choice. They co-edited the anthology A Manner of Being: Writers on their Mentors, and their work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Gay Magazine, NPR, Electric Literature, BOMB, Lithub, The Believer, Guernica, McSweeney’s, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. A graduate of Syracuse University’s MFA program, they are a professor of writing at George Washington University. Annie has served as a mentor for Pen City’s incarcerated writers and helped secure a Mellon Foundation grant on Disability Justice to bring storytelling to communities in the criminal justice system. They co-host the literary podcast LitFriends and live in Philadelphia.

Buy Sex with a Brain Injury

Annie's George Washington University Bio

NPR's Fresh Air Interview with Annie

Emma Copley Eisenberg Writes about Sex with a Brain Injury for Electric Lit

LitFriends Podcast with Annie and Lito Velazquez

At about 1:40, Annie talks about their experience with the legendary Terri Gross

At about 3:45, Annie talks about their upbringing and Greek family lineage

At about 5:20, Annie homes in on their early days in frustration in transmitting ideas in English

At about 6:20, Annie responds to Pete’s questions about how Greek affects their English writing and reading

At about 8:30, Annie discusses their early love of reading

At about 11:30, Annie and Pete discuss pleasurable reading and the idea of “favorite books”

At about 12:15, Annie and Pete nerd out over Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Pete recommends “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”

At about 13:40, Annie speaks to ideas of representation in what they have read

At about 15:20, Annie talks about “wonderful” professors in their time at Syracuse

At about 16:20, Annie highlights Justin Torres, Yiyun Li, and other writers whose work is favorited by their students

At about 17:50, Annie highlights Philadelphia’s huge amount of talent-writers like Marie Helene Bertino, Emma Eisenberg, and Liz Moore

At about 20:15, Pete and Annie talks about Annie’s memoir’s exposition and opening lines; Annie expounds upon seeds for the book

At about 23:00, Pete shouts out Ingrid Rojas Contreras’ The Man Who Could Move Clouds

At about 23:50, The two discuss the ways in which Annie uses second person and tropes about concussions in the memoir

At about 26:40, Pete wonders about Annie’s decisions in summarizing three main injuries and compliments the draw of the structure; Annie talks about suspense and withholding and shares a resonant quote from George Saunders

At about 29:30, Annie discusses “the longitudinal experience” that goes into “I will have my life” that ends the second chapter

At about 31:05, Annie responds to Pete’s questions about writing emotionally-charged material about beloved people

At about 33:05, Annie talks about people doubting the severity of their injuries and a “five-year plan”

At about 36:10, Annie shares interesting history about the rail industry and its “bonkers” track record-pun intended-in connection to injuries and “faking”

At about 38:30, Pete asks Annie about effects of the brain injury

At about 41:05, Pete’s got jokes! and Annie talks about the physical effects of their brain injuries

At about 42:25, Henry VIII’s possible brain traumas are discussed, as are Harriet Tubman’s

At about 45:15, “Lying as a social act” is discussed in context of Annie’s injury and subsequent ill effects

At about 48:20, Annie discusses their mother’s life and connections between addiction and brain trauma, including Marchell Taylor’s moving fight for better care for TBI victims in the carceral system

At about 54:00, Pete highlights a resonant excerpt from the book, Page 67, revolving around queerness

At about 57:15, Pete and Annie cite examples from the sporting world and the ways in which women’s health concerns are not treated equally

At about 58:30, the NFL and concussions are discussed

At about 1:01:55, Pete and Annie discuss Q&A’s with Annie’s wife, and Pete wonders about the choice to use redacted parts

At about 1:04:30, Annie juxtaposes the different ways in which Tig Notaro and Ernest Shackleton dealt with trauma

At about 1:08:50, Annie highlights the greatness of and beautiful relationship with Ursula von Ridingsvard

At about 1:12:00, Annie shouts out their publisher and places to buy the book, as well as how to contact them and find them online; they give background information on her podcast

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 episode will go live on July 31.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Thursday Jul 18, 2024

Episode 243 with Kathleen Rooney, Author of From Dust to Stardust, Keen Chronicler of Early Hollywood, Versatile Wordsmith, and Lover of Poetry and Whimsy

Thursday Jul 18, 2024

Notes and Links to Kathleen Rooney’s Work

For Episode 243, Pete welcomes Kathleen Rooney, and the two discuss, among other topics, her childhood love of story and her later connections to Chicago and Chicagoland, her devotion to words and sentences and poetry, her fascination with Colleen Moore and her Fairy Castle, seeds for From Dust to Stardust, and salient themes and issues in her book like stereotyping, early Hollywood, the burdens carried by young women and all women in Hollywood, and the power of cinema.

Kathleen Rooney is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press, a nonprofit publisher of literary work in hybrid genres, and a founding member of Poems While You Wait, a team of poets and their typewriters who compose commissioned poetry on demand. She is the author of the novels Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey, and her latest poetry collection Where Are the Snows, winner of the XJ Kennedy Prize, was released in Fall of 2022 by Texas Review Press. Her latest novel, From Dust to Stardust, came out in September 2023. She lives in Chicago and teaches at DePaul.

Buy From Dust to Stardust

Kathleen's DePaul University Bio

“Checking out Historical Chicago: Kathleen Rooney’s From Dust to Stardust” From Chicago Review of Books

At about 2:00, Kathlen talks about her early years in various parts of the country and her love of cities

At about 3:35, Kathleen talks about her great love of the written word, and always wanting to “tell stories”

At about 5:30, Kathleen gives background on Chicagoland

At about 8:10, Various parts of IL and connections to David Foster Wallace are discussed

At about 9:30, Kathleen discusses formative writers, including “classic” poetry and how she is “attracted to words”

At about 14:00, Kathleen cites music influences like Bob Dylan, a “fellow word pervert” and B96 in Chicago and 90s hip hop

At about 15:50, Kathleen talks about how her Irish heritage has influenced her writing, and how her protagonist was limited by Irish tropes

At about 18:00, Kathleen gives some background on “thin places” from Gaelic yore, its connections to the book’s epigraph, and some plot summary/exposition for the book

At about 22:15, Kathleen builds on earlier discussion of the early history of Hollywood and various locations for shooting movies, after Pete and she reflect on the beautiful Cinema Paradiso and ideas of the magic of cinema

At about 24:05, Kathleen details her interest in Colleen Moore, and also gives seeds for the book

At about 26:15, Kathleen describes Chicago’s incredible Fairy Castle of Colleen Moore

At about 28:20, Pete and Kathleen talk about other vanity/aspirational projects of the 1920s and on, Hearst, etc.

At about 29:20, Pete gives background on the book’s main character’s, Eileen’s, early fascination with movies

At about 30:15, Kathleen outlines the Eileen’s family and various backstories and influences on Eileen

At about 32:50, Pete asks Kathleen about her book’s structure-flashbacks and flashforward, and how the memories are narrated/formatted

At about 36:50, Kathleen remarks on how she used flashbacks a little differently than some other popular movies

At about 37:45, Pivotal early scenes that lead Eileen to Hollywood are recounted, and Kathleen expands on the insular environment of early Holywood

At about 41:00, The two discuss the infamous D.W. Griffith and his connections to the book

At about 42:00, Kathleen discusses the ways in which casting and life affect women, especially young women, and their choices

At about 44:40, Kathleen talks about the various iterations of A Star is Born and its significance in Hollywood history

At about 46:00, Marion Davies and her unfair/incomplete reputation are explained

At about 47:30, Pete notes the ways in which Doreen is her own biggest fan and supporter and her agency and hard work

At about 48:40, Kathleen shares her connections to Edna Ferber, the real-life writer referenced in the book

At about 51:30, Kathleen responds to Pete’s questions about typecasting in early Hollywood, and what research Kathleen used for the parts of the silent film era

At about 54:30, Pete wonders about redemptive actions and motives for Eileen’s father and his help with the Fairy Castle

At about 57:20, Kathleen shouts out a few Chicagoland bookstores and other places to buy her book, and also gives social media//contact info

At about 58:25, Kathleen talks about the magic of Poems While You Wait

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.

Please tune in for Episode 244 with Alexandra Alessandri. She is the author of several books for children, including Isabel and Her Colores Go to School (2021), and Grow Up, Luchy Zapata (2024), a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection; her books have received numerous distinctions, including the International Latino Book Award

The episode will go live on July 23.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Wednesday Jul 10, 2024

Episode 242 with Santiago Jose Sanchez, Author of Hombrecito, and Standout Writer of Multiple Points of View, Beautiful Sentences, and Resonant Visuals and Scenes

Wednesday Jul 10, 2024

Notes and Links to Santiago José Sanchez’s Work

For Episode 242, Pete welcomes Santiago José Sanchez, and the two discuss, among other topics, their childhood in Colombia and Miami, their experiences with bilingualism, formative and transformative reading, especially in his college years, how teaching informs their writing and vice versa, the wonderful multiple points of view in Hombrecito, salient themes in his collection like masculinity, immigration, queerness, familial ties, reinvention and Americanization, and ideas of home.

Santiago José Sánchez, a Grinnell College assistant professor of English and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, is a queer Colombian American writer. Santiago’s writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, ZYZZYVA, Subtropics, and Joyland and been distinguished in Best American Short Stories. They are the recipient of a Truman Capote Fellowship from the University of Iowa and an Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellowship from Lambda Literary. Their debut novel is Hombrecito, out as of June 25.

Buy Hombrecito

Santiago's Website

New York Times Review of Hombrecito

At about 2:35, Santiago talks about their early relationship with the written word, and their early fascination with and exposure to storytelling

At about 4:55, Santiago expounds upon how Hombrecito is a “love letter” to their mom, and their special relationship with her

At about 6:00, Santiago speaks to the interplay between English and Spanish in their life and in their writing

At about 9:15, Santiago talks about Colombian Spanish and its uniqueness

At about 11:20, Santiago highlights books and writers (like Greenwell’s Mitko) and a class with Professor Michael Cunningham that grew their huge love of writing and literature

At about 13:25, Santiago discusses ideas of representation, including works by Justin Torres, that made them feel seen, but also gaps in representation

At about 14:40, Santiago cites Small Rain by Greenwell, Ocean Vuong’s new book, Ruben Reyes, Jr.’s There is a Rio Grande in Heaven, and Melissa Mogollon’s Oye as exciting and inspiring

At about 16:05, Santiago responds to Pete’s question about how writing informs their teaching

At about 18:30, Pete and Santiago rave about Jamil Jan Kochai’s “Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” and Santiago talks about their students loving the story

At about 22:45, Santiago gives background on using different points-of-view and terminology for the narrator(s) in Hombrecito

At about 26:40, Santiago describes the book as “autofiction”

At about 28:10, “He lives between the world and his own mind,” a key quote from the beginning of the book, and the narrator’s mother, are explored through a discussion of an early pivotal scene, which also bring talk of a certain type of sexism/misogyny directed at single mothers

At about 32:15, Santiago explains the ways in which they use and views the term “queer”

At about 34:10, Pete gives a little exposition of the book, featuring a scene where the book’s title is first introduced-Santiago expands on the book’s title and its myriad significance

At about 38:10, An understated scene that ends Part I is discussed; Santiago describes their mindset in writing the scene in that way

At about 40:55, The two explore the narrator’s insistence on calling his mother “Doctora” upon their move to Miami

At about 43:10, Santiago gives an explanation of the book’s oft-referenced “portal”

At about 46:00, The last scene where the narrator is “Santiago” and an important transition, is looked at

At about 46:50, The two reflect upon ideas of Americanization, and a supposedly-perfect/”normative” family dynamic that Santiago and their mother seek out

At about 53:25, Santiago’s mother and brother and their circumstances early in their time in Miami is discussed-Santiago details the “reshaping” of the family’s situation

At about 56:05, Pete asks Santiago about the narrator’s first lover and what repelled and brought them back together so many times

At about 59:35, Santiago explains how the book is “a lot about silences” and focuses on the short and incredibly-powerful Chapter 11

At about 1:01:45, Pete cites the previously-mentioned meaningful and resonant flashback

At about 1:02:50, The book’s last section and its focus on the narrator and his father’s ever-evolving, ever-loving relationship is discussed

At about 1:06:00, Santiago shares some of the feedback they have received since the book has been released, as well as information on their upcoming tour

At about 1:10:35, Santiago reads an excerpt from the book that forces the reader to salivate and smile

At about 1:12:45, Pete tells a story about translation gone wrong for the fourth or fifth time-eek!

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.

Please tune in for Episode 243 with Kathleen Rooney, who is founding editor of Rose Metal Press and a founding member of Poems While You Wait. She teaches English and creative writing at DePaul University and is the author, most recently, of the novel From Dust to Stardust, as well as the poetry collection Where Are the Snows.

The episode will go live on July 16.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Tuesday Jul 09, 2024

Episode 241 with Antonio Lopez, Passionate Poetician, Author of the Award-Winning Gentefication, and Transmitter of Beauty and Pain Through His Creative, Heartfelt, and Wordsmithy Words

Tuesday Jul 09, 2024

Notes and Links to Antonio Lopez’s Work

For Episode 241, Pete welcomes Antonio Lopez, and the two discuss, among other topics, his bilingual and multicultural childhood in East Palo Alto, E-40 Fonzarelli, his experiences with bilingualism, formative and transformative reading, the greatness and timelessness of James Baldwin, seeds for Gentefication in the rhythms and cultures and camaraderie of home, his life as a politician and working together with the community towards a stellar achievement, and salient themes in his collection like faith, gentrification and attendant outcomes, grief, trauma, joy, the power of art, and youthful rage and passion.

Antonio López is a poetician working at the intersection of poetry, politics and social change. He has received literary scholarships to attend the Community of Writers, Tin House, the Vermont Studio Center, and Bread Loaf. He is a proud member of the Macondo Writers Workshop and a CantoMundo Fellow. He holds degrees from Duke University, Rutgers-Newark, and the University of Oxford. He is pursuing a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University. His debut poetry collection, Gentefication, was selected by Gregory Pardlo as the winner of the 2019 Levis Prize in Poetry. He recently won a Pushcart Prize for his poem “Our Lady of the Westside.” As district representative for California State Senator Josh Becker, he served as the liaison for the Latinx, veteran, and Muslim communities of State District 13. Antonio has fought gentrification in his hometown as the newest and youngest council member for the City of East Palo Alto, and he is now the city’s mayor.

Buy Gentefication

Antonio's East Palo Alto Mayoral Page

KQED Interview

At about 3:00, The two discuss the diversity of the Bay Area

At about 4:20, Antonio speaks about “education as a pillar of [his] life” and his relationship with languages and the written word and nurturing schools in East Palo Alto

At about 7:15, The two sing the praises of PBS as an educational force, and Antonio recounts an amazing 3rd grade story involving the great Levar Burton

At about 11:50, Antonio details some of his favorite texts from childhood, including The Hatchet!

At about 13:20, Antonio responds to Pete’s questions about ideas of representation in what he read and how he was educated, and Antonio expounded upon the interesting ways in which he grew up in an under resourced school and in the Silicon Valley

At about 17:30, The two discuss the huge gap in wealth between Peninsula cities

At about 20:00, Pete quotes from the book’s Acknowledgements in asking Antonio about his “origin story”; Antonio talks about the personal gaze and gaze from outside East Palo Alto

At about 22:25, Antonio reminiscences on the visual and aural feasts, including the music, of his community and the ways in which English was “malleable” and formational for him

At about 26:20, The two discuss the ways in which East Palo Alto achieved a huge change, culminating in zero homicides in 2023

At about 30:30, Antonio reflects on the idea that “all art is political”

At about 32:25, Pete highlights impressive and creative verbs and language Antonio uses

At about 34:50, Pete asks about the pronunciation of the poetry collection and Antonio details the significance of the title

At about 37:10, Pete quotes from the book’s Prologue from Pardlo and asks Antonio about an early reference in the collection to James Baldwin; Antonio expounds upon the “mill”

At about 41:25, The two discuss a memorable line about school reading that didn’t feel familiar for Antonio and other resonant lines about education

At about 44:15, Antonio responds to Pete’s question about “the borderlands” referred to in the collection

At about 47:45, Antonio gives background on a powerful poem, “Las Chacharas” and its sequel, as well as ideas of relativism as seen in the writing

At about 50:40, Antonio talks about a “narrative wrapped around [him]” and his pride and ambivalence

At about 54:15, The two explore ideas of gentrification and losses and beautiful gains that come with immigration, as featured in the collection, including a true story involving Antonio’s paternal grandparents

At about 57:20, Pete compliments the poem from the collection that is a sort of tribute to his mom, and Pete wonders about the usage of “Usted” and “Tú”

At about 1:00:25, The two discuss coming-of-age themes in the collection, and Antonio expands upon ideas presented in a four-part poem

At about 1:02:15, E-40 (!) and youthful and chaotic energy are the topics of discussion-Antonio reflects on the word “hyphy”

At about 1:04:25, The two discuss religion and Catholicism/Christianity’s links to colonialism and Antonio’s beginnings with Muslim communities

At about 1:08:40, Antonio talks about the importance of hadiths and a memorable poem from the collection-a letter written to a hate crime, the murder of Nabra Hassanen

At about 1:12:45, DBQ’s are highlighted and unique grading rubrics, as rendered in Antonio’s work

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.

Please tune in for Episode 242 with Santiago José Sánchez, a professor of English and a queer Colombian American writer whose writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, ZYZZYVA, Subtropics, and Joyland and been distinguished in Best American Short Stories. They are the recipient of a Truman Capote Fellowship from the University of Iowa and an Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellowship from Lambda Literary.

The episode will go live on July 10 or so.

Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Thursday Jun 27, 2024

Episode 240 with Marcela Fuentes, Author of Malas, and Master of Epic Family Sagas and Resonant Profundity

Thursday Jun 27, 2024

Notes and Links to Marcela Fuentes’ Work

For Episode 240, Pete welcomes Marcela Fuentes, and the two discuss, among other topics, her childhood in borderland Texas, her experiences with bilingualism, formative and transformative reading, the greatness and timelessness of Selena, seeds for Malas in fairy tales and the title’s multilayered meanings, working in flashback and flashforward to illuminate racism and Texas/borderland histories, and salient themes in her collection like toxic masculinity, the burdens and triumphs of motherhood, grief, trauma, addiction, and ideas of fractured and reworked families.

Marcela Fuentes is a Pushcart Prize-winning fiction writer and essayist. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and was the 2016-2017 James C. McCreight Fiction Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Indiana Review, The Rumpus, Texas Highways Magazine, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and other journals. Her work has been anthologized in New Stories from the Southwest, Best of the Web, and Flash Fiction International. Her story, “The Observable World” appeared in the Pushcart Prizes XLVII : Best of the Small Presses 2023 Edition. She was born and raised in Del Rio, Texas.

Her debut novel MALAS is the Good Morning America Book Club pick for June 2024. Coming soon, the story collection MY HEART HAS MORE ROOMS THAN A WHOREHOUSE, from Viking Books.

Buy Malas

Marcela's Website

Marcela’s Appearance on Good Morning America

At about 2:00, Marcela describes her “surreal” experience being on Good Morning America

At about 4:10, Marcela discusses her early relationship with the written word and Spanish and English-speaking

At about 10:10, Sandra Cisneros, Yo Soy Joaquin, and Helena Maria Viramontes, are cited as formative and transformative writing and writers

At about 12:00, Pete recounts a surreal interaction with the wonderful Helena Maria Viramontes

At about 13:00, Marcla shouts out Vanessa Chan and Rufi Thorpe as contemporaries who thrill and inspire

At about 14:05, Marcela responds to Pete’s questions about seeds for the book-shout out Edward Carey!

At about 18:05, The two reflect on the book’s opening and a resonant first line

At about 20:55, Marcela gives background on Caimanes and the barrio where Pilar and José Alfredo, the first main characters, live, and why they like and hate it

At about 23:00, Uh, oh-the curse is discussed, as well as Pilar’s feelings at eight months pregnant

At about 24:35, Marcela talks about what she envisioned for Pilar, especially her backstory

At about 28:20, Ideas of suspicions and insecurities involving José Alfredo on Pilar’s part are discussed

At about 30:10, Pete and Marcela discuss Anglo/Mexican-American relations and the ways in which racism affected the hospital visit where Pilar is to give birth

At about 31:25, Marcela describes what it was like to write such a wrenching scene as the one in the hospital

At about 33:45, Pilar’s “dull anger” and the ways in which José Alfredo doesn’t show up for her

At about 34:40, Lulu Munoz is characterized, as she is introduced in a flashforward scene, and Marcela expands upon her character and her relationship with her “boss man” father

At about 38:10, Pete points out page 60’s use of “mala,” and Marcela expands on the word’s attendant meanings, especially with regard to the book

At about 40:00, Julio (Lulu’s father) and his bad behavior is discussed

At about 40:40, The two discuss some friends in Lulu’s friend group and the “messiness” of the night where Lulu’s beloved grandma dies and the chaos of the funeral

At about 41:55, Pete wonders about Pilar’s mindset and the ways in which Marcela envisioned her emotional state, as the book returned to 1951

At about 46:45, While discussing Lulu’s band and music likes, Marcela fangirls about Selena and talks about her personal connections to the great one

At about 49:40, The chaotic quinceañera set for Lulu and its attendant drama is discussed

At about 50:50, Pete compliments the 1970s scenes and the ways in which Marcela writes about this “adjacent history” of civil rights fights in Texas; Marcela gives background on real-life parallels and histories

At about 54:40, Marcela talks about exciting future projects, including her story collection

At about 56:50, Marcela highlights places to buy her book and gives out contact information and tour information

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.

Please tune in for Episode 241 with Antonio Lopez, who is a poetician working at the intersections of poetry and politics to fight for social change. His 2021 collection, Gentefication, was named one of the "Ten Notable Latino Books of 2021” by NBC. Antonio is a former Marshall Scholar and current Mayor of East Palo Alto. CA.

The episode will go live on July 2.

Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Sunday Jun 23, 2024

Episode 239 with Ben Purkert, Author of The Men Can't Be Saved and Thoughtful Writer of Complicated, Unforgettable Characters and Keen Chronicler of 21st Century Corporate Culture and Masculinity

Sunday Jun 23, 2024

Notes and Links to Ben Purkert’s Work

For Episode 239, Pete welcomes Ben Purkert, and the two discuss, among other topics, his awakening to wonderful literature and his early poetry and formation as a writer, Robin Williams’ indelible mark on Ben’s writerly development, Ben’s short but eventful time working at an ad agency, Mad Men, and profane poetry, as well salient themes in his book like masculinity, religious and personal identities, one’s possibly-unreliable perspective, reinvention, and ideas of art versus commerce.

Ben Purkert’s debut novel, The Men Can’t Be Saved, was named one of Vanity Fair’s Top 20 Books of 2023. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, Slate, The Wall Street Journal, Poetry, Kenyon Review, and he’s been featured by NPR, Esquire, and The Boston Globe. He is also the author of the poetry collection, For the Love of Endings. He holds degrees from Harvard and NYU, where he was a New York Times Fellow. He teaches in the Sarah Lawrence College MFA program.

Buy The Men Can't Be Saved

Washington Post Review of The Men Can't Be Saved

Review of The Men Can't Be Saved Review in Esquire

Ben's Webpage

At about 1:30, Ben recounts his story of meeting Martin Scorcese recently

At about 2:40, Congrats to n+1 mag!

At about 3:30, Ben talks about his early relationship with the written word

At about 5:30, Ben expresses his admiration for Robin Williams and how Williams was a “word guy” who led Ben to fiction

At about 8:00-Set Shot! Ben drops a poignant Louise Gluck quote and talks about writing and teaching inspiration from Dead Poets Society

At about 10:25, Ben talks about the writers/writing that “flipped the switch” for him, including Ben Lerner

At about 12:30, Ben cites Alexandra Kleeman and Andrés Barba (A Luminous Republic) as some of his favorite contemporary writers

At about 14:30, Pete and Ben discuss the book’s seeds in Ben’s work in advertising and the cultural phenomenon that was Mad Men, as well as the book as “grounded”/allegorical

At about 18:55, Pete asks Ben about the significance of his epigraphs

At about 21:15, The two discuss who might play the famous older man from the successful ad at the opening of The Men Can’t Be Saved

At about 22:10, Ben reads from the beginning of the book

At about 24:30, Ben talks about spending so much time on the book’s first page as he and Pete discuss a possible unreliable narrator in Seth

At about 26:40, The book’s exposition is recounted, including background of the ad agency

At about 28:10, Ben speaks to Pete’s supposition that Seth has some Patrick Bateman in him

At about 30:00, More plot is outlined, and characters like “Moon,” a pivotal character, is discussed

At about 31:30, Ben reflects on men’s health accounts and other accounts within advertising and how “branding”

At about 33:15, Seth’s Birthright trip and his work/life balance (or lack thereof) are examined

At about 36:45, Seth’s hearing about the city of Acre and ideas of fresh starts are discussed, especially with regard to a new job

At about 37:40, Ben talks about ideas of Seth reflecting on, or not, his sense of himself and his Jewish identity

At about 39:00, Ramzy and Seth and their routine and relationship is discussed

At about 42:20, The two discuss the character of Moon and ideas of masculinity and homophobia and homoeroticism within and without the book

At about 45:20, Ben talks about why he enjoyed writing a pivotal fight scene and the mechanics of same

At about 47:00, Ben tells an interesting story that gives background on the hilarious, X-rated poem written by Moon in the book-shout out Jessie Stephens and Uncle Fred!

At about 48:30, The two discuss sexual harassment and toxic masculinity in the book and within the ad agency

At about 49:30, The two discuss Seth’s faith journey and Jewish identity as epitomized through two quotes and Jewishness as seen through a connection at the Chabad House-Ben references an essay he wrote about the comfort/community offered

At about 53:45, Pete notes the skill with which Ben’s work does not deal in absolutes

At about 55:20, Ben talks about exciting future projects

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.

Please tune in for Episode 240 with Marcela Fuentes. Marcela is a Pushcart Prize-winning fiction writer and essayist; her debut novel MALAS was published on June 4 and has been named June’s Good Morning America Book Club Pick.

The episode will go live on June 27.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Sunday Jun 16, 2024

Episode 238 with Nina St. Pierre, Author of Love is a Burning Thing, and Master of the Introspective, Resonant, Thoughtful, and the Personal

Sunday Jun 16, 2024

Notes and Links to Nina St. Pierre’s Work

For Episode 238, Pete talks live with Nina St. Pierre at Sacramento’s Capital Books about her deeply personal, timely, and resonant memoir, Love is a Burning Thing.

Whether telling her own stories or reporting on the lives of others, Nina St. Pierre is drawn to boundary breakers and in-between places. Her debut memoir, LOVE IS A BURNING THING, came out May 7 from Dutton Books, and is available to order now. Set at the foot of a cosmic mountain, it's a story about fire, family, and what it means to believe; about the boundaries between mysticism and mental illness.

As a culture writer and essayist, she makes unexpected connections; whether profiling the sole woman in the Ruff Ryders street-bike crew or exploring the prophecy of the mystical udumbara flower. Read her work in GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Gossamer, Outside, Bitch, and more. Nina holds an MFA from Rutgers, was a 2023 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Nonfiction Literature, and a RESP Fellow. She lives in New York City.

Buy Love is a Burning Thing

Nina St. Pierre: Website

Article in Los Angeles Times, 2024: “Opinion: My mother set herself on fire. Why do people choose to self-immolate?”

At about 1:10: Railroad Museum Talk!

At about 2:45, Pete asks Nina about connections to a Kate Zambreno quote about writing as “repair”

At about 5:30, Nina talks about the book’s formation at times as “meta” in the act of creation

At about 6:40-7:40, Nina responds to Pete’s asking if the writing of the book was “cathartic”

At about 8:05, Nina responds to audience question and talks about the “meta-ness” and inspiration from/connections to the movie Synecdoche, New York

At about 10:10, Nina responds to Pete’s questions about any hesitance in writing so personally about herself and others

At about 13:05, Nina talks about idealizing the past and or its opposite in writing the book

At about 14:55, Nina gives a summary of the book through a thematic description

At about 18:00, Transcendental Meditation and an important quote about obsession is discussed in terms of Nina’s mother

At about 23:10, Nina responds to Pete’s questions about her Midwest family and ideas of rebellion

At about 28:30, Nina and Pete discuss her family’s moving to Dunsmuir, CA, and her mother’s motivations in moving there, close to Mount Shasta

At about 30:50, Nina replies to Pete’s questions about things she took for granted that others didn’t know about, due to her constant moving and living in/visiting so many disparate places

At about 33:40-Shout out to Nina’s cool Love is a Burning Thing-themed nails, done by Claws by Joy!

At about 34:00, Nina describes the split between “Anita I” and “Anita II” (“walking in”) that her mother described so nonchalantly

At about 39:35, Nina homes in on her mother’s self-immolation and images

At about 42:15, Nina expands on different ideas in the West and East, specifically in Buddhist areas, of self-immolation

At about 46:40, Pete and Nina talk about a resonant scene that involves an adolescent Nina at a religious revival and she expounds upon her feelings during and after the “fervent religious experience”

At about 52:15, Nina reads from page 117, a scene involving the issues described above

At about 56:15, Pete asks Nina about the times she and her mother were not living together and worries Nina had

At about 58:30, Nina reflects on her perspective in looking back at her mother’s words in emails from a different time and place

At about 1:05:00, Nina gives her thoughts on connections between her mother and the archetypal “perfect female victim”

At about 1:11:20, Pete reflects on youth and obsession and compliments the book

At about 1:13:00, Niña gives out social media and contact info and book purchasing information, including a shoutout to Taylor & Co Books in New York

I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I’m enjoying the partnership! Look out for my interview with Ghassan Zeineddine around the middle of June.

I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.

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.

Please tune in for Episode 239 with Ben Purkert. He is a poet, novelist, and creative writing instructor, as well as the author of the 2018 poetry collection, For the Love of Endings. His latest is the critically-acclaimed 2023 novel, The Men Can't Be Saved.

The episode will go live on June 21.

Please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Thursday Jun 06, 2024

Episode 237 with Ghassan Zeinnedine, Author of Dearborn and Creator of Singular Communities and Universal Communities with Humor and Emotional Resonance

Thursday Jun 06, 2024

Notes and Links to Ghassan Zeineddine’s Work

For Episode 237, Pete welcomes Ghassan Zeineddine, and the two discuss, among other topics, his childhood in Saudi Arabia and Washington, D.C., his experiences with multilingualism, formative and transformative reading and his reading “obsession,” the resonance of Dearborn, Michigan, seeds for Dearborn, “Speedoman,” and salient themes in his collection like masculinity, grief, trauma, reinvention, and ideas of home.

Ghassan Zeineddine was born in Washington, DC, and raised in the Middle East. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin College, and co-editor of the creative nonfiction anthology Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging. His debut short story collection is Dearborn.

Buy Dearborn

Ghassan's Bio for Oberlin College

Dearborn Playlist from Ghassan from Largehearted Boy

At about 1:30, Ghassan talks about creative nonfiction as “a huge umbrella for many types of writing” and the anthology he edited

At about 3:40, Ghassan talks about the diversity of Arab ethnicities in Dearborn, Michigan, and its connections to his short story collection of the same name

At about 6:05, Ghassan talks about his childhood in Saudi Arabia, and how his Lebanese family ended up there

At about 10:55, Ghassan discusses his early relationships with reading

At about 13:20, Ghassan talks about the differences in dialects in Arabic, including accents of Lebanese-Americans from different Lebanese regions

At about 14:35, Ghassan describes the evolution of his “healthy obsession” with reading, including his DC schooling and how the “isolating experience” affected his tastes and led to wrestling and John Irving

At about 21:05, Ghassan highlights Percival Everett and James McBride as contemporary writers who thrills and inspires and challenges him

At about 24:00, Ghassan reflects on how teaching informs his writing, and vice versa; he highlights Morgan Talty’s Night of the Living Rez as a great teaching tool

At about 27:10, Ghassan shouts out places to buy his book, including Literati, and his contact/social media

At about 28:30, Ghassan and Pete marvel over the lives and practices of voice actors, and Pete shouts out the transcendent Edoardo Ballerini

At about 30:30, Ghassan responds to Pete’s questions about conceiving the book as a collection of stories

At about 32:40, Pete remarks on the coolness of shared characters in multiple stories; Ghassan gives background on these story connections and shouts out Elizabeth DeMeo as an incredible editor

At about 35:10, Pete lays out the collection’s first story and Ghassan talks about the story’s seeds from 2018-ish

At about 38:05, the two discuss ideas of masculinity and ambition and generational differences and the use of “Bro” as seen in the beginning story

At about 40:30, the two discuss the resonant and unique and heckuva lotta fun “Speedoman,” both the man himself, and the inclement themes and background connected to the story

At about 41:40, Pete shouts out Marquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” in comparing “Speedoman” to the magnificent Marquez story

At about 42:50, Ghassan talks about longing in the story and his use of the collective voices

At about 48:00, The two discuss the story “Marseilles” and attendant themes of masculinity and gender agency

At about 51:18, Ghassan provides background on the above story and the history of many Arab passengers on the Titanic

At about 52:20, Pete and Ghassan discuss meaningful female friendships and attempted mentorships in the collection

At about 55:25, Ghassan explains why “I Have Reason to Believe My Neighbor Is a Terrorist” was such a hard story to write

At about 57:00, Ghassan gives background on the above story that connects to government surveillance after 9/11

At about 58:40, Pete lays out themes of grief and trauma featured in the collection, including the memorable, “In Memoriam,” as well art as career versus practical professions, including through the memorable character Zizou

At about 1:02:10, Ghassan describes his experience growing up hearing stories, often tragic, of Lebanon

At about 1:04:05, Pete discusses the resonant and singular character of Ramzy in the resonant and visceral “Rabbit Stew”

At about 1:06:45, Reinvention as a throughline in the collection is discussed

At about 1:10:30, Ghassan talks about exciting future projects and writing about “obsessions”

At about 1:13:00, Ghassan points out to Percival Everett as an example of a writer who “has fun on the page,” as Ghassan endeavors to do

At about 1:13:45, Ghassan and Pete highlight some awards and nominations for Dearborn, as well as positive feedback from literary journals and readers

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.

Please tune in for Episode 238 with Nina St. Pierre. The episode is from a live conversation at Capital Books in Sacramento on May 31. Nina is a queer essayist and culture writer whose work has appeared in Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Gossamer, and many more publications. Her dazzling and resonant memoir, Love is a Burning Thing, is now out to rave reviews.

The episode will go live on June 11.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Saturday Jun 01, 2024

Episode 236 with John Glionna: Author of Buy No Friday Night Lights: Reservation Football on the Edge of America and Keen Observer of Rural Life, Dynamic Real-Life Characters, and the Underdog

Saturday Jun 01, 2024

Notes and Links to John Glionna’s Work

For Episode 236, Pete welcomes John Glionna, and the two discuss, among other topics, his journalistic awakenings and the writers who influenced him, his kinship with renegades and underdogs, what it was like embedding with a small town football team, the interesting characters and rich lives lived in rural areas, and salient themes like Native traumas, pride, declining enrollments in schools and on sports teams and the rises and falls of life in small-town América.

John M. Glionna is an award-winning journalist who has traveled the world as a newspaper and magazine writer. After twenty-six years at the Los Angeles Times he now works as a freelance writer. He is the author of Outback Nevada: Real Stories from the Silver State. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and Outside and has been included in Best American Sports Writing and Best Los Angeles Times Foreign Reporting.

Buy No Friday Night Lights: Reservation Football on the Edge of America

John's Website

At about 2:20, John talks about his winding road to becoming a big reader-a “lover of the word,” and some inspirational words that put him on the path to journalism

At about 9:00, John talks about formative and transformative writers for him, including Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson, and Rick Bass

At about 13:00, John gives some tips on clever title choices

At about 14:10, John details connections to Ernest Hemingway and lessons learned

At about 16:10, John explains the greatness of Hunter Thompson, and talks about “being in the mind” of the great writers

At about 17:30-don’t follow the Hunter S. Thompson diet!

At about 18:55, John charts his viewing of Brown Buffalo and his own “Gonzo Journalism”

At about 20:00, John charts his time at The Los Angeles Times, including what made a “Glionna story”

At about 24:00, Pete lays out the book’s Preface and the two discuss Glenn Stout’s influence and support for John

At about 28:40, John talks about seeds for the book

At about 31:20, Pete and John discuss McDermitt, Nevada, and John’s connections to it and how the book developed

At about 35:00, John highlights Coach Egan and Coach Smith and his admiration for them that led him to continue embedding with the McDermitt High School Football Team

At about 37:40, John quotes Jane Smiley in talking about the vagaries of small town America-, including its true isolation and “Shakespearean” likeness

At about 40:00, John charts how his book progressed, including real-time blogs and controversy that followed in the town

At about 41:45, Pete and John lay out some of the book’s plotline and exposition and complicating factors

At about 47:15, Pete and John talk about some dynamic characters in the book: real-life coaches and players

At about 48:30, John responds to Pete’s question about writing about winners

At about 51:10, Pete and John discuss the ways in which the football team coaches had to be accommodating

At about 56:10, Herman Herford is discussed as an early chronicler of McDermitt, which helped John in his work,

At about 58:50, “Cowboy Bob” is discussed

At about 1:01:20, Jack Smith, coach, is discussed

At about 1:02:25, Pete and John talk about the book’s Epilogue and Native sites and the fight to restore dignity

At about 1:06:25, The Crutcher family and their strength and contemporary changes in Paiute-Shoshone reservation life are highlighted

At about 1:09:50, John describes giving each person in the book their “own story”

At about 1:12:10, John gives out contact info and encourages readers to be in dialogue

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.

Please tune in for Episode 237 with Ghassan Zeinnedine, professor of creative writing at Oberlin College, and co-editor of the creative nonfiction anthology Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging. His standout debut story collection is Dearborn.

The episode will go live on June 4.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Saturday Jun 01, 2024

Episode 235 with Jesse Tovar, Creative and Innovative Editor of Mobile Data Mag on Substack, and Dynamic Performer and Promoter of Standout Poetry

Saturday Jun 01, 2024

Notes and Links to Jesse Tovar’s Work

For Episode 235, Pete welcomes Jesse Tovar, and the two discuss, among other topics, his role as editor and poet, influences and inspirations in his own work, digital collections and his dynamic Substack, themes in his poetry, what he looks for in submissions, and his co-sponsoring of the reading series “Voices of California.”

Jesse Tovar is the founding editor of Mobile Data Mag on Substack and Systemic Dreaming on Threads. Tovar's work can be found in various anthologies, including Zzyzx (Size-icks) Writerz Podcast.

Jesse's Substack-Mobile Data Mag

Jesse’s Work with Los Angeles Literature

At about 2:25, Jesse discusses his early reading and relationship with the written word, and his bilingual childhood

At about 6:20, Jesse talks about transformative and formative works for him

At about 8:50, Jesse details his work at bookstore and promoting poetry

At about 11:00, Jesse cites Kazuo Ishiguro as a contemporary writer who inspires and thrills

At about 12:20, Jesse talks about how Chen Chen has inspired his own Substack and his goals with the project

At about 13:30, Pete and Jesse shout out Andrew Liu, a shared friend and standout

At about 14:10, Jesse describes the benefits of his digital journal

At about 15:30, Jesse responds to Pete’s question about what it’s like to be a submitter and a publisher

At about 17:20, Pete and Jesse read and discuss a poem from his digital journal-by Sacred Mami

At about 21:00, “Rackets and Grammy Origins,” a poem from Jesse, is read and explored

At about 26:35, The two read and discuss “Inner City,” a piece by Jesse, emulating José Vadi’s work for a prompt

At about 33:15, Pete and Jesse discuss October 2024’s “Voices of California, Part V,” set to be held at Medicine for Nightmares in San Francisco, the two shout out past guests and events, and shout out 2024’s performers

At about 38:40, Poetry and activism as inseparable is discussed by the two

At about 41:00, Jesse talks about upcoming projects

At about 42:20, Jesse discusses his recent collection as “super niche”

At about 43:10, Jesse shouts out his projects and contact info and social media

At about 46:25, Libros in Lincoln Heights and Pages Against the Machine are shouted out

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.

Please tune in for Episode 236 with John Glionna, an award-winning journalist who has traveled the world as both a newspaperman and magazine writer; work has been included in such national anthologies as “Best American Sports Writing” and “Best Los Angeles Times Foreign Reporting”; author of No Friday Night Lights: Reservation Football on the Edge of America, was published today, June 1.

The episode will go live today, June 1.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Thursday May 16, 2024

Episode 234 with Sasha Vasilyuk, Author of Your Presence is Mandatory, and Master Chronicler of Fiction that Parallels and Expands Upon Real-Life Secrecy, Grief, Trauma, and Shared Humanity

Thursday May 16, 2024

Notes and Links to Sasha Vasilyuk’s Work

For Episode 234, Pete welcomes Sasha Vasilyuk, and the two discuss, among other topics, her childhood in Ukraine, Russia, and then San Francisco, her experiences with multilingualism, early formative and transformative reading, seeds for Your Presence is Mandatory, including the ways in which Ukrainian Jewish grandfather’s experiences informed the book, gender balances in the USSR post-WWII, humanity and the ways it’s expressed in the book, connections between contemporary separatist movements and World War II, and salient themes like grief, trauma, and the ways in which secrecy affects generations.

Sasha Vasilyuk is a journalist and author of the debut novel Your Presence is Mandatory about a Ukrainian Jewish WWII soldier and his family who reckon with his lifelong secrecy, which is coming out in 2024.

Sasha has written a lot about Eastern Europe, art, culture, travel and business. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, TIME, NBC, Harper’s Bazaar, BBC Radio, USA Today, KQED, San Francisco Chronicle, The Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, and Narrative. She has won several writing awards, including the Solas Award for Best Travel Writing and the NATJA award.

Besides writing, she has founded a leading wedding PR company, the first coworking space in San Francisco, and the first U.S. magazine for Russian-speaking emigre teens. She also spent a year traveling alone around the world.

Sasha is a graduate of Lowell High School, UC Berkeley (BA in Comparative Literature and Italian Studies), and New York University (MA in Journalism). She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Buy Your Presence is Mandatory

Sasha's Website

Review of Your Presence is Mandatory in Los Angeles Review of Books

At about 2:55, Sasha talks about her language background, early life

At about 6:00, Sasha talks about early reading through talking about a trip to her San Francisco childhood home

At about 9:00, Pete tests Sasha’s British English and NorCal slang and Sasha talks about her experiences in ESL in school

At about 10:40, Sasha responds to Pete’s questions about if and how Russian enhances/affects her English writing

At about 13:15, Sasha shares her thoughts on A Woman Warrior and other formative and transformative texts

At about 16:20, Sasha highlights contemporary and not so contemporary books that challenge and inspire her, including Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate and Yaa Gaasi’s Homegoing

At about 19:10, Sasha shares a cool story about the origin of her cover

At about 21:35, Sasha gives background on the book’s seeds

At about 26:20, Sasha shares how Masha and other voices are important in the book

At about 27:20, Pete provides some of the book’s exposition and how a famous Yevtushenko poem is related

At about 28:45, Pete wonders about atheism and its connection to the Soviet Jews and Christians featured in her book

At about 32:10, Pete provides information on key characters in the book, especially Yefim and Niña, and Sasha addresses the note from the book that is a catalyst for important events in the book

At about 34:00, The two discuss Baltic/Soviet Union history that informs a lot of the book’s key events

At about 38:45, Sasha discusses the peculiarities of gender balance (due to the massive death from the WWII-era) that inform the relationship between Yefim and Nina and so many in the book and in real-life

At about 42:55, The two discuss Stalino/Donetsk, which features in the book prominently

At about 44:20, Pete reflects on how a possible extramarital affair is so suggestive of the secrecy of the post WWII Soviet Union

At about 45:00, Pete’s wondering about Yefim’s avoiding admittance of his Jewishness and how it paralleled Sasha’s grandfather; her response deals with a key question that propelled

At about 50:20, Pete compliments Sasha’s fresh take on the events of history/the book

At about 51:40, Pete highlights a key and well-drawn scene that takes place within Germany, and Sasha recounts her experiences in traveling in Berlin and Germany as a whole, and how humanity and nuance come into play

At about 57:20, Pete brings up The Book Thief in praising the ways in which Sasha portrays humanity and the closeness of history

At about 59:15, Sasha discusses her “post-pub weird mental state” and future projects

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.

Please tune in for Episode 235 with Lindsay Hunter, whose novel, DON’T KISS ME, was published by FSG Originals in 2013 and was named one of Amazon’s 10 Best Books of the Year: Short Stories; her latest novel, Eat Only When You’re Hungry, was a Book of the Month Club selection, a finalist for the 2017 Chicago Review of Books Fiction Award, and a 2017 NPR Great Read. She has been a great help to me as the marvelous host of the podcast I’m a Writer But; her fifth book, 2023’s Hot Springs Drive, was named one of the 12 Best Thrillers of the Year by the Washington Post.

The episode will go live on May 22.

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Wednesday May 01, 2024

Episode 233 with Jazmina Barrera Velázquez, Author of Cross-Stitch/Punto de Cruz, and Wise Chronicler of the Vagaries of Friendship and History and their Effects on the World

Wednesday May 01, 2024

Notes and Links to Jazmina Barrera Velázquez’s Work

For Episode 233, Pete welcomes Jazmina Barrera Velásquez, and the two discuss, among other topics, her idyllic early childhood reading, her love for British, American, and Latin American authors, the ways in which Mexico City and Yucatán have informed her work, translation as an art, a craft, and a deep methods of editing, as well as salient themes from the story collection like evolving friendships, memory and tangibility, women’s agency, and one’s connection with her forebears and the sensitivities that come with living in a fragile world.

Jazmina Barrera was born in Mexico City in 1988. She was a fellow at the Foundation for Mexican Letters and at Mexico’s Fonca’s Program for young writers and she’s a member of the SNCA (National System of Art Creators in Mexico). She was a beneficiary of the residencies at Casa Estudio Cien años de Soledad. She has published work in various print and digital media, such as The Paris Review, El Malpensante, Words Without Borders, El País andThe New York Times. She has a Master's Degree in Creative Writing in Spanish from New York University, which she completed with the support of a Fulbright grant. She is the author of four books in Spanish: Cuerpo extraño, Cuaderno de faros, Linea nigra and the children’s book, Los nombres de los animales and Punto de cruz. Her books have been published in nine countries and translated to English, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and French. Her book of essays Cuerpo extraño (Foreign Body) was awarded the Latin American Voices prize by Literal Publishing in 2013. Cuaderno de faros (On Lighthouses) was long listed for the von Rezzori award and chosen for the Indie Next list by Indie Bound. Linea Nigra was a finalist for the National Book Critics Cricle’s Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Autobiography Prize, the CANIEM’s Book of the year award and the Amazon Primera Novela (First Novel) Award. Punto de cruz (Cross-Stitch) was a finalist in the Calamo Awards and long-listed for the Republic of Consciousness Prize. She is editor and co-founder of Ediciones Antílope. She lives in Mexico City.

Jazmina Barrera (Ciudad de México, 1988) fue becaria de la Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas y beneficiaria de las residencias de la Casa Estudio Cien Años de Soledad. Fue becaria del programa de Jóvenes Creadores del Fonca y es miembro del Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte. Estudió la maestría en Escritura Creativa en Español en NYU con el apoyo de la beca Fullbright. Sus textos han sido publicados en revistas como The Paris Review, El País, Words Without Borders, Malpensante y The New York Times, entre otras. Es autora de Cuerpo extraño, Cuaderno de faros, Linea nigra, Los nombres de los animales y Punto de Cruz. Su libro de ensayos Cuerpo extraño / Foreign Body ganó el premio Latin American Voices 2013. Linea nigra fue finalista del premio CANIEM al libro del año, del premio Primera Novela, del National Book Critics Circle Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize y del National Book Critics Circle Autobiography Prize. Cuaderno de faros fue parte de la longlist del premio Von Rezzori. Punto de cruz fue finalista del premio Cálamo y parte de la longlist del premio The Republic of Consciousness. Sus libros han sido publicados en nueve países y traducidos al inglés, italiano, holandés, portugués y francés. Es socia fundadora de Ediciones Antílope. Vive en la Ciudad de México.

Buy Cross-Stitch

Jazmina's Website

Review of Cross-Stitch in The New York Times

At about 3:00, Jazmina talks about her early reading and writing life, including experiential coolness and professional-style printed books

At about 8:45, Jazmina’s reciting of her first short story leads to her making an astute observation about the famous Ernest Hemingway quote

At about 10:40, Jazmina recounts some of the books and writers that ignited her love of reading

At about 12:00, Jazmina describes Harry Potter as a gateway to learning English

At about 13:05, Jazmina talks about her studying English literature at UNAM, and discovering many contemporary Latin American writers at NYU

At about 15:10, The two talk about the ways in which American literature is often translated abroad, but not the other way around as much

At about 17:05, Jazmina shares cool connections in her writing life to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s former writing haunts

At about 18:10, The two discuss Garcia Marquez legends about time in Mexico City

At about 19:20, Jazmina highlights “so many” Latin American standout contemporaries, including Mariana Enriquez, Dolores Reyes, Marta Jimenez Serrano, and Marina Azahua, Astrid López Méndez, Isabel Zapata, César Tejeda, Irad León, Paula Abramo, Mariana Oliver, Veronica Murguia, and of course, her husband, the brilliant Alejandro Zambra

At about 21:40-a cool Chilean word is introduced-”fome”

At about 22:35, Jazmina reflects on the gendered language of “padre” and other expressions that seem to speak negatively about women

At about 23:40, Jazmina speaks about the unique literary culture of Mexico City (en español),

At about 26:25, Jazmina discusses Ediciones Antílope as a place to publish more eccentric, daring books and poetry

At about 27:30, The two discuss translation, specifically with regard to Juan Rulfo’s work, and the ways in which titles are rendered

At about 28:45, Jazmina responds to Pete’s questions about how she sees the art of translation, and she responds through talking about “untranslatable” words, diminutive words, and the power of translators as “the closest readers”

At about 33:10, Jazmina provides background information on the book’s title and her experience with needlework/embroidery

At about 36:10, Jazmina talks about seeds for the book

At about 37:50, The two lay out the book’s exposition

At about 39:00, Jazmina responds to Pete wondering about the narrator, Mina’s, frustration/anger with her friend after a tragedy

At about 42:20, Jazmina describes the main character of Dalia

At about 44:35, Historical and mythical ideas of rebirth and needles bringing health and connection are discussed

At about 47:30, Jazmina talks about a “genealogy of women” that is connected to embroidery

At about 48:50, Jazmina responds to Pete’s questions about her family history with embroidery and her family connections to Yucatan and her interest in xmanikben

At about 51:20, Jazmina gives background on the indigenous communities of México and their rich history around textiles

At about 54:15, Jazmina gives background on the literacy program in Queretaro in the book and her real experience with it

At about 57:20, Pete traces some of the final scenes of the book and asks Jazmina about Citali’s world view

At about 1:01:35, Discussion of “empath” leads to discussion of “emos” and a shoutout to Daniel Hernández’s Down and Delirious in México City

At about 1:02:40, Pete points out an uncomfortable and well-written scene that highlights traumas in Citlali’s life

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.

Please tune in for Episode 234 with Sasha Vasilyuk, a journalist and the author of the debut novel Your Presence is Mandatory, which came out to great acclaim on April 23 of this year. Sasha has won several writing awards, including the Solas Award for Best Travel Writing and the NATJA award.

The episode will go live on May 7.

Please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Wednesday Apr 24, 2024

Episode 232 with Kate Brody, Author of Rabbit Hole and Master of Writing Intriguing and Flawed Characters and Crackling Plotlines

Wednesday Apr 24, 2024

Notes and Links to Kate Brody’s Work

For Episode 232, Pete welcomes Kate Brody, and the two discuss, among other topics, her early love of, and interest in, writing and reading, The Dave Matthews Band, formative and transformative teachers in grad school and 2nd grade, and salient themes and topics and craft decisions from her novel, Rabbit Hole, including online sleuthing, true crime, moralizing or lack thereof in fiction, and grieving.

Kate Brody lives in Los Angeles, California. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Lit Hub, CrimeReads, Electric Lit, The Rumpus, and The Literary Review, among other publications. She holds an MFA from NYU. Rabbit Hole is her debut.

Buy Rabbit Hole

Review of Rabbit Hole in Alta Journal by Jessica Blough

Kate Brody's Website

At about 1:50, Lukewarm/Warm Dave Matthews Band takes!

At about 3:40, Kate talks about growing in New Jersey and about her childhood relationship with the written word, as well as her connections to Maine, a setting for her book

At about 7:00, Pete and Kate reflect on beautiful, long reading days

At about 8:00, Kate gives background on her reading and writing life in adolescence and beyond

At about 10:00, Kate discusses the transformative short story and writing classes and texts at NYU, including inspiration from Mary Gaitskill’s work and teaching and Professor David Edenbach's guidance

At about 13:00, Tali Axelrod’s (Doctor Axelrod) influence on Kate’s writing trajectory is highlighted

At about 14:25, Kate shouts out Lindsay Hunter, Alexandra Tanner, and Jennifer Bell as contemporary writers who thrill her

At about 16:55, Kate discusses how teaching informs her writing and vice versa

At about 20:50, Pete shouts out Rabbit Hole’s dynamic first line, as given kudos by Jean Kyoung Frazier on the book blurb, and Kate provides background on the line’s genesis and her choice to use present tense right away

At about 24:30, Pete remarks on the “banality of grief” done so well

At about 25:30, Angie is characterized and the book’s exposition discussed; Kate remarks on the memories and objects left behind by Angie, while speaking to experiences in her life that connect to the book’s events

At about 29:30, The two discuss ideas of legacy and remembrance, as shown through the characters in the book

At about 30:15, Clare’s marital situations and the unique family background of the Angstroms is highlighted and explained by Kate

At about 33:35-Pete asks for casting suggestions for Teddy, the narrator’s mother, Clare

At about 34:10-Kate discusses research and connections for the parts of the book on Reddit and true crime and crime fiction

At about 39:25, Pete brings up ideas of secrets that Teddy held about his sister and the rearrangement of memory that comes after loss

At about 40:30, Michaela, “Mickey,” is characterized

At about 46:00, Kate responds to Pete’s asking about Bill and how she sees him; she expands on ideas of moralizing in literature

At about 49:30, Kate outlines some “detours” in the plot

At about 50:25, Pete highlights a chaotic and funny scene that involves a dinner scene

At about 52:00, Kate talks about the scenes involving Teddy and the gun range and the importance of her having a gun

At about 56:10, The two discuss a cringeworthy and craftily-drawn and hilarious school dance scene

At about 59:15, Pete makes points about loneliness as a theme running throughout the book, and Kate reflects on this throughline

At about 1:04:00, Kate discusses ways of coping with trauma in the book

At about 1:05:00, Pete highlights Kate keen writing regarding unfulfilled potential and shares a moving

At about 1:08:50, Kate talks about her exciting next book

At about 1:10:55, P&T Knitwear, Skylight Books, and Vroman’s are highlighted as good places to buy her book

I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I’m looking forward to the partnership! Check out my recent interview with Gina Chung on the website.

I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.

Thanks to new Patreon member, Jessica Cuello, herself a talented poet and former podcast guest.

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.

Please tune in for Episode 233 with Jazmina Barrera Velasquez, who is a fellow at the Foundation for Mexican Letters. Her book of essays, Cuerpo extraño, was awarded the Latin American Voices prize from Literal Publishing in 2013, and she is the editor and co-founder of Ediciones Antílope, and author of, most recently, Cross-Stitch.

The episode will go live on April 30 or May 1.

Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, where you will find 10+ ways to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Monday Apr 15, 2024

Episode 231-April 13, 2024 Live Event to Launch Jose Vadi's Chipped, a reflective, creative, subtly brilliant essay collection

Monday Apr 15, 2024

Notes and Links to José Vadi’s Work

For Episode 231, Pete welcomes José Vadi, in Pete’s first in-store, live interview, as José launches his essay collection at Capital Books on K in Sacramento. It was a blast, due to José’s reflective, thoughtful, and witty answers, and the event featured great questions from the audience.

José Vadi is an award-winning essayist, poet, playwright and film producer. He is the author of Inter State: Essays from California and Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder’s Lens.

His work has been featured by the Paris Review, The Atlantic, ***the PBS NewsHour, the San Francisco Chronicle, Free Skate Magazine, Quartersnacks, Alta Journal of California, and the Yale Review***.

Buy Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lense

Los Angeles Times Review for Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lens

Chipped Book Tour Details

Jose's Website

At about 2:30, José talks about his book tour and initial days of publishing

At about 4:15, José talks about his mindset as the book comes out and the initial feedback he’s gotten, as well

At about 7:00, José responds to Pete’s questions about perspective and how he looks back at what he has written, particularly after having moved a few times

At about 9:15, José shouts out great Sacramento skate spots

At about 10:15, Jsoe talks about making his book about skateboarding “accessible” to non-skaters also

At about 11:45, José, freshly-hydrated, reads the book’s titular essay

At about 16:45, José’s reading leads to a discussion of the quote from the book “documentation is domination” from Ed Templeton, and José discusses the power of one’s board as an “extensión of [a person]”

At about 18:55, The two compare the destroyed boards with the raggedy basketball, and José alludes to Hanif Abdurraqib’s writing

At about 21:05, José talks about the adage from the book of “Time is a skater’s worst enemy” and attendant ideas of aging and obsession and pride

At about 23:20, José narrates and explores his essay about a big injury on the night on which Jake Phelps died, and José responds to Pete’s questions about “respecting the game [skating]” and its relation to injuries

At about 28:30, José and Pete discuss the frenzied and wonderful “Wild and Crazy” essay

At about 31:15, José discusses the phenomenon of skate videos and the DIY documentation of the 90s and early 2000s

At about 34:00, Pete asks José about what music he most identifies with his own skating history

At about 35:15, José discusses musical connections with his parents that came from the music scene in skating

At about 37:50, Pete asks José to discuss how he looked at the thrills and dangers of skateboarding and being “policed” by those in power as an adolescent

At about 40:05, José replies to Pete’s wondering about José’s view of progressive and inclusive cultures within skateboarding, especially with regards to contrasting the “old days” and more recent times

At about 42:20, Pete and José fanboy about Sun Ra-Pete regarding José’s brilliant essay about Sun Ra’s style and music and skateboarding, and José about Sun Ra’s prodigious brilliance

At about 44:00, Pete wonders about the process for José in creating Sun Ra as an imagined skateboarder in the essay

At about 45:10, Pete and José discuss José’s time with Youth Speaks, and Pete uses one scene as a metaphor for José’s stellar writing

At about 47:35, Pete highlights a story involving “power” as indicative of José’s successful writing style, and José tells an incredible story about losing the mic and then hugging Michael Franti

At about 49:20, “Never meet your heroes” is discussed in relation to Ed Templeton and his support for José and skating as a whole, as well as Ed’s major injury; José discusses how Ed’s example gave José agency to write and create and skate

At about 53:10-Lazer Round! Kings, Warriors, Lakers? Shout outs to Iain Bordem, Kyle Beachy, Molly Schiot, Percival Everett, and more!

At about 56:10, José talks about an exciting new project, an “East Coast version of Inter State”

At about 56:45, Audience questions!

I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I’m looking forward to the partnership! Check out my recent interview with Gina Chung on the website.

I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.

Thanks to new Patreon member, Jessica Cuello, herself a talented poet and former podcast guest.

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.

Please tune in for Episode 232 with Jazmina Barrera Velasquez, who is a fellow at the Foundation for Mexican Letters. Her book of essays, Cuerpo extraño, was awarded the Latin American Voices prize from Literal Publishing in 2013, and she is the editor and co-founder of Ediciones Antílope, and author of, most recently, Cross-Stitch.

The episode will go live on April 16 or 17.

Please go to ceasefiretoday.org for 10+ ways to make your voice heard regarding a necessary ceasefire in Gaza.

Episodes

José Vadi is an award-winning essayist, poet, playwright and film producer. He is the author of Inter State: Essays from California and Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder’s Lens.

His work has been featured by the Paris Review, The Atlantic, the PBS NewsHour, the San Francisco Chronicle, Free Skate Magazine, Quartersnacks, Alta Journal of California, and the Yale Review.

His work has been featured by the Paris Review, The Atlantic, ***the PBS NewsHour, the San Francisco Chronicle, Free Skate Magazine, Quartersnacks, Alta Journal of California, and the Yale Review***.