“If I’d been the one to give his eulogy, write his obituary, I’d have said that.” – Chloe N. Clark, “In The Dark, They Say You Can’t See What’s Coming For You”
I’m tired of people saying they’re embarrassed to podcast. Don’t get me wrong—a great many people, mostly men, absolutely should be embarrassed that they podcast. Still, podcasts do a valuable thing, which is give you interesting and/or funny information while distracting you from menial tasks. Without bragging, I do feel like both of my podcasts offer something valuable, which is (at minimum) two goofballs discussing serious literature. Where else can you get that? Disney? HBO? Netflix?? Absolutely not.
All of this is a warmup to say that both of my podcasts came out this week. Is there a blue moon for podcasting? This feels like it. In a truly stunning bit of synergy, both episodes talk about the books discussed on this very blog.
On The Line Break, Bob and I were joined by Isaac Pickell on the day that the LeBron news dropped but we’re here to talk about poetry. Apple | Spotty | SoundCloud
On Lazy & Entitled, Brendan and I did our second ever book club episode on Chloe N. Clark’s story collection, Every Galaxy A Circle. Apple | Spotty | SoundCloud
What I’ve Been Reading This Week
Two books by two good friends. Two books that more or less fit the summer reading criteria—or maybe it’s just that reading books by friends puts me in a good mood. Even when they scare the hell outta me or remind me of sad realities. Maybe because of those two emotions. These books are very different from one another, but still made a good pair. I’m talking, of course, about Every Galaxy A Circle by Chloe N. Clark and The Smallest Mistake We Call Human by Isaac Pickell.
Every Galaxy A Circle by Chloe N. Clark: so that I don’t end up repeating everything I said on the podcast—read this if you want to have a good time with some sci-fi horror. Emphasis on the horror. You’ll have a blast. But while my ars blogetica might best be described as “just have fun out there,” you come here for a little bit more than that. Chloe’s book is in fact deeper than genre fun, too, but I’m also not here to convince you that I went to college. These stories are obsessed with taking you right up a vast abyss—space, the ocean, caves, forests, graveyards, what you thought was a hallway. Once you’re there, you might see something impossible, or unbelievable, but whatever it is? You are going to live a long life re-evaluating your conceptions of the possible and believable. These stories operate on a sort of fairy tale logic, and if you don’t know by now that fairy tales are violent gorefests with frequently unexpected endings? Happy 16th birthday, thanks for visiting our web site. There’s also an obsession with remembering people, individual people. Cataloguing them, not in like a phrenology way, but in an Elpenor way. Each life is a treasure, these stories seem to say, which is why you should feel bad that that lady’s eating that person.
The Smallest Mistake We Call Human by Isaac Pickell:
so that I don’t end up simply repeating everything I said on the podcast—you should pick up this collection if you like thoughtful poems. Whatever subject matter is animating his writing, what I really appreciate is how Isaac is willing to show you his mind working. That’s not to say these poems feel first drafty, far from it. More like, Isaac has used writing to think through something, and in the draft of the poem that you see, he is consciously recreating his process through interestingly arranged language. Yes, these are family poems, but also political poems. Isaac and I share an inability to stop seeing the political in absolutely everything personal. The joy of reading Isaac is getting to see how he got to whatever he’s even thinking about—maybe the personal/political connection doesn’t feel as far-fetched, after reading a poem.
LINKS!
Something to listen to while you browse? DOMi & JD BECK has a new album out today, if I’m not mistaken. Good excuse to listen to this sick track they did with RM.
- This Week In ICE: Eventually Everyone Will Be Called A Terrorist by Sohini Desai in Defector, ICE’s Secret Weapon Is in Your Community by Melissa Gira Grant and Man Who Died Running From ICE Was Tourist With a Ticket Home by Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling in The New Republic, ICE arrests, 2015–2026: Variation in targeting, method, and geography by Chloe N. East, Caitlin Patler, and Elizabeth Cox in PNAS, Can States Come Together To Hold ICE Agents Accountable? Illinois Joins Others To Try by Francia Garcia Herndandez in Block Club, ICE Arrests Are Leaving Some Immigrant Families’ Cars Behind. These Volunteers Are Stepping In To Help by Tara Mobasher in Borderless Mag, Sixteen Minutes in a Burning Cell: What we know about Martinez Duncan’s death in Cook County Jail by Micah Clark Moody and Harley Pomper in South Side Weekly (not strictly ICE but also yes it is), An oasis inside the Cook County jail? by Shawn Mulchy in Chicago Reader (not strictly ICE but also yes it is)
- “Until We Said Okay” by Michell Nobis in Inscape
- Four Haiku Poems by Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca in Lothlorien Poetry Journal
- “The Invisible Man” by Joshua Hebburn in hex literary
- “somewhere under the yucca trees” by Meron Fikru in Plantin Mag
What’re you still doing here? Unless I’m mistaken, this song isn’t on an album yet, but man I love it a lot. I also love watching these two dudes play.
If you work in the service industry, may you clean up in tips this weekend. Especially if you work in a diner. Chloe writes such great descriptions of diners. Behind With Knife, of course, took place in a diner. Diner workers are angels, Denis Johnson has a whole story about it in Jesus’ Son. Bless the diner workers.
Sorry you got an email,
Chris