In our latest episode, we talk with writer, director and producer Daisy Eris Campbell, a leading counter-cultural voice in the U.K. We explore the legacy of Robert Anton Wilson and Ken Campbell, the cult classic Illuminatus novels and their legendary 9-hour theatrical adaptation, Daisy's play Cosmic Trigger and the mad fun it spawned, the KLF and burning money, the jesting religion of Discordianism, and much more. We cram a lot into this talk, so as you listen, remember Wilson's Rule #23: If you don't laugh, you've missed the point; if you only laugh, you've missed your chance at illumination.
Links:
http://www.hilaritaspress.com/ (WIlson's work as well as Daisy's Cosmic Trigger play, about to be published!)
http://rawtrust.com/ (All things RAW)
https://cosmictriggerplay.com/ (info on Daisy's production)
https://kencampbell.urbandrum.co.uk/ (Ken Campbell monologues & interviews...not to be missed!)
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Special Guest: Daisy Eris Campbell - Episode No. 38

A conversation from March that we only now just published. We're a bit over-read, over-worked and feeling the general wear-and-tear of COVID-19 and related challenges. We talk about the Philip Roth bio (prior to revelations about the biographer); Raymond Smullyan; the new bio of the painter Lucian Freud; the challenge of directed reading; and the Picasso bio project of the late John Richardson--and much more.
Music attribution:
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

The Reading Blues & Other Sorrows - Episode No. 39

We're back with a truly new episode, wherein Roman introduces his theory of "Roaming Entropy," to describe the unplanned, inspired meanderings of a unprogrammed reading life. Rob is also thinking about the Eastern Mediterranean of old, with his reading on the Ottoman Empire, Orhan Pamuk's "Istanbul" and the minor classic that is Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet."
Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Roaming Entropy, Alexandria Quartet & Pamuk - Episode No. 40

We talk Thomas Mann and "The Magic Mountain," and agree (oh boy) to start reading the work Mann considered his masterpiece, "Joseph and His Brothers."

Thomas Mann & Other Investigations - Episode No. 41

We chat with Greg Gerke, the writer and founder of the literary journal "Socrates on the Beach," about his new essay (link below), a cri de coeur about the state of publishing today and why information can never be literature. Read Greg's essay: https://greg-gerke.medium.com/for-feeling-bookish-podcast-why-i-created-the-literary-journal-socrates-on-the-beach-small-446d4931d058
Socrates on the Beach: https://socratesonthebeach.com/
Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Does Literature Have a Place in the Culture? - Episode No. 42

We talk with Sergio Pitol translator George Henson, who is the first translator of the Mexican master's work into the English language. We discuss why Pitol is largely unknown in North America (something we hope to change!)and why you should love and treasure Pitol's "The Trilogy of Memory." In January 2022, Pitol's  1984 novel "The Love Parade" will be available from Deep Vellum Publishing. We've read it, and we recommend it highly. Order it here: https://tinyurl.com/mrxnsxv9
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Discovering Sergio Pitol - Episode No. 43

We're in a moment of rapid, disorientating change: the fourth industrial revolution, Web 3.0, machine learning, unregulated capitalism, climate change--the list is long and challenging. Roman and Rob share some of their recent readings/investigations and how it's helping them think about technology, economics, and art in a world that seems to change by the week. They talk about George Dyson's "Darwin Among the Machines," Michael J. Sandel's "The Tyranny of Merit," and Benjamin's Labatut's "When We Cease to Understand the World," among other books.
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

This Moment of Rapid Change - Episode No. 44

Roman talks with José Vergara about Joyce's influence on Soviet and post-Soviet Russian literature. We talk literary heritage, the dangers of translating Ulysses under Stalin, the birth of Social Realism (and its ugly stepsister, Capitalist Primitivism), the schizophrenic nature of the late Soviet period, émigré writing, and Joyce's continued influence on contemporary Russian writers. A fascinating talk that sheds much light on both Joyce and Russian lit.
Writers discussed include: Yury Olesha, Vladimir Nabokov, Andrei Bitov, Sasha Sokolov, and Mikhail Shishkin (cameos of sorts by Victor Pelevin and William Gaddis).  
José's book, "All future plunges to the past : James Joyce in Russian literature," was published by Cornell University Press in 2021. https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501759901/all-future-plunges-to-the-past/

James Joyce in Russian Literature - Episode No. 45

We revisit a classic this week. In the 1950s, Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov had to teach literature at Cornell University to make ends meet. He lectured on canonical European authors and his lectures were eventually collected into this book. Nabokov takes an eccentric, personalized approach to reading literature and we take a close look.

Episode No. 2 - Vladimir Nabokov's Lectures on Literature

This week we look at a classic novel from the Austrian master Thomas Bernhard. "The Loser" chronicles the fate of two young piano prodigies who befriend and study with a fictional piano genius named Glenn Gould. Bernard spares no one in a book that is both hilariously funny and deadly serious. "The Loser" is a deep dive into the mind of an obsessive.

Episode No. 3 - The Loser by Thomas Bernhard

The Leopard is a classic of 20th century Italian literature. We dig deep into this novel of lost memories and aristocratic decline, while managing to reference James Joyce's sexy peaches, church relics, Soviet birth certificates and Michael Corleone.

The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa - Episode No. 7

We venture into science fiction this week with a classic by Ursula K. Le Guin, We also welcome a guest host, the writer Heston Hoffman, who dispels our anxieties about approaching science fiction. We pursue a number of interesting tangents, including gender, sexuality, genre fiction and what Heston learned from reading only female authors in 2018.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin - Episode 8

This is the book everyone is talking about. It's a 50-year-old book, just republished by the New York Review of Books Classics. We disagree sharply on the book's merit, while finding time to discuss the challenge of reading big books, why Thelonious Monk loved the Hudson River, what happened to Harold Brodkey and a new biography of the Chinese master Li Bai.

Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson - Episode 9

We finally take on the South African master Coetzee. He's a bit intimidating to many, but we dive in, and look at his novel about a fictional Russian writer named Fyodor Dostoevsky. Heston Hoffman joins us, and we discuss Joseph Frank, the political atmosphere of 19th century Russia and whether Coetzee is an Afrikaner, African or Australian writer...This podcast features excerpts from the song Terminal 7, by Thomasz Stanko. Obtained from the Internet Archive. Available under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

The Master of Petersburg by J.M. Coetzee - Episode No. 12

Let's go deep with fully-drawn tricksters, agitators, dreamers and faux intellectuals--it's Dostoevsky's Demons and we're talking God, Mother Russia, Shakespeare and why Demons gets under your skin. Join us for an extended conversation on the Russian master who previewed much of the psychology inquiry and political tumult of the 20th Century. Music credit: Passage of Time (Duet) by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial  (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/52856 Ft: Doxent Zsigmond

Demons by Dostoevsky - Episode No. 13

We examine this underappreciated 20th Century classic. A cautionary tale of what happens when you stop being a tourist and truly become a traveler. Our conversation also stumbles upon Leonard Bernstein, Camus, Edward Said, A Farewell to Arms and Norwegian philosopher  Arne Naess....Music: “October" from the album Chapter Four / Fall, by Kai Engel, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles - Episode No. 14

We do it all the time as readers, but it's a great mystery: why and how do we get emotionally involved in fictional characters? It's a massive question and we bring in Spinoza, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Harold Bloom, Walter Isaacson, Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino to help answer the question. There is no one answer, of course, but we have fun chasing down the various leads...Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Why are Fictional Characters So Real to Us? - Episode No. 16

It has been a science fiction phenomenon. President Obama loved it, it's a perennial Powell's Books best-seller. We debate its merits and drill down on "hard" vs. "soft" science fiction. We talk about the Thucydides Trap, who fears aliens, the history of science fiction in the west and Roman's karma with Philip K. Dick. Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu - Episode No. 17

Author Greg Gerke is our guest and we discuss his book of literary and film essays "See What I See," We talk William Gaddis, Bergman's film Fanny and Alexander, the role of emotion in reading and loving literature and the time Greg flew to the Midwest to interview his literary hero William Gass...Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Gaddis, Gass & the Compositional Self with Greg Gerke - Episode No. 18

Being a serious reader brings many joys, but also nagging anxieties: Should I be reading a different book? Should I read more classic lit instead of contemporary fiction? Is it problem that I read multiple books at once? Do I abandon books too frequently? Are my online activities ruining my attention span and making me jealous of others and their prodigious reading habits?...Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Anxiety & the Reading Life - Episode No. 19

In preparation for our upcoming Robert Musil podcasts, we discuss the creative explosion in Vienna before World War I. We talk about Musil, Gustav Klimt, composer Alban Berg, and others. We also look at  the parallels between U.S. decline and decadence and that of Habsburg Vienna. We also make curious references to Tim Leary's cosmos prophecy as well as the music of King Krule. Plus: don't forget to fill out your Tournament of Books bracket: https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2020-tournament-of-books-shortlist-and-judges
Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Vienna Modernism - Episode No. 21

We tackle Musil's big, modernist behemoth, but this episode isn't just for Musil readers, it's for anyone who has ever questioned what is modern life and what is it doing to us. We discuss fragmentation in the arts, the disappearance of the sense of a soul and the overriding sense that modern life is unreal, and there is little we can build a foundation on, except perhaps, to understand this singular, paradoxical truth.

Podcast Theme: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

"Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw9zXepzEzA&feature=emb_logo

Alban Berg (1885-1935): Fünf Orchesterlieder nach Ansichtskarten-Texten von Peter Altenberg, per soprano e grande orchestra op.4 (1912) --- Halina Lukomska, soprano --- Sinfonieorchester des Südwestfunks diretta da Ernest Bour

The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil - Episode No. 22

To conclude our reading of Robert Musil's "The Man Without Qualities," we talk with Musil scholar and translator Genese Grill. She helps us think through Musil's use of metaphor, the book's mysterious incompleteness, the nature of Musil's German prose and how he  aimed to bring us to the edge of the unknowable. Please see Episode No. 22 for more on Musil: https://soundcloud.com/user-63759823/the-man-without-qualities-by-robert-musil-episode-no-22
Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Robert Musil Scholar Genese Grill - Episode No. 23

A wide-ranging discussion on the humor of Arno Schmidt, Jean Giono under Nazi occupation, the poetry of Harold Norse, the literary talents of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, our feelings about Thomas Mann and why Roman's Russian father always suspected German soldiers were hiding in the basement. Plus, the big picture of why COVID-19 is forcing readers and thinkers to search far and wide for the meaning during this crisis.

Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Arno Schmidt, Jean Giono, Thomas Mann & More - Episode No. 25

Writers and thinkers such as Thomas Merton, Jack Kerouac, Raymond Smullyan, Gary Snyder, Alan Watts, Scott P. Bradley and Allen Ginsberg have been influenced by Zen and Taoism. We explore the effects Eastern Religions have had on western culture and writers, as well as their role on our life experiences. Roman talks about Chinese Taoist poets such as Du Fu, Su Tungpo, Li Po and Wang Wei. We also reference books by Seung Sahn, Natalie Goldberg and Shunyru Suzuki Roshi. Check out this article: "Aimless Wandering: Chuang Tzu's Chaos Linguistics" by Hakim Bey: http://www.strange-loops.com/philhakimchaoslinguistics.html
Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Taoism and Zen Literature & Thought - Episode No. 28

We examine the problem of great writers who were bad men, why Louis-Ferdinand Céline is a compelling, important writer for 2020, the paradox of Roman's essentialism versus relativism view of literature, and once more, we try to tap the mystery of how great books affect the business of living.
Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Essentialism vs. Relativism - Episode No. 31

The total or encyclopedic novel remains a rare and allusive find in this age or any other. In this audio essay, Robert Fay describes it as "the everything novel," and muses on Joyce, S. Yizhar, Tolstoy, Lucy Ellmann and the miraculous belief at the heart of the Catholic mass. In the end, Fay continues to ponder the unanswerable question: "What is the connection between life and literature?" This is The Feeling Bookish Podcast's "Audio Essay Edition." 
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Life, Literature & The Everything Novel - Audio Essay Edition

We talk with critic Steven Moore, the world's leading scholar on William Gaddis and the man who helped edit David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest." We talk about his approach to criticism; his "hierarchy of reading;" the influence of Stuart Gilbert's book on "Ulysses;" his love of "Finnegans Wake;" the importance of Catholicism to Alexander Theroux; Moore's relationship with David Foster Wallace; Gaddis' connection to the Beat milieu and how Moore reviewed William T. Vollmann's "Rising Up and Rising Down," and more. Please check out Moore's new book on Theroux: http://zerogrampress.com/2020/03/30/alexander-theroux-a-fans-notes/
Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Special Guest Steven Moore - Episode No. 33

We talk with Robert Musil translator Genese Grill about her new book "Theater Symptoms," which features the first ever English translation of Musil's theatrical criticism and new translations of two plays. We talk about legendary Musil translator Burton Pike, the importance of theater in 1920s Vienna, the staging of Musil's play "The Utopians," Martha Nussbaum's book on Greek tragedy "The Fragility of Goodness," Ludwig Wittgenstein, and much more. Learn more about "Theater Symptoms": https://www.contramundumpress.com/theater-symptoms
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Robert Musil's Plays & Drama Criticism - Episode No. 34

We welcome special guest Mauro Javier Cárdenas, the author of the novels "Aphasia" and "The Revolutionaries Try Again." We discuss his place in the Latin American literary tradition alongside Roberto Bolano and Julio Cortázar; the influence of Thomas Bernhard's prose style; the subject matter of his yet unpublished third novel; why, as a native of Ecuador, he writes in English; Dr. Seuss; SQL queries; Roman Catholicism; and much more. To learn more about Cárdenas and to order his books, visit: https://www.maurojaviercardenas.com/
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Special Guest: Mauro Javier Cárdenas - Episode No. 36

Robert Fay's newest audio essay is inspired by an Alexander Theroux piece titled: “Theroux’s Metaphrastes: An Essay on Literature."
Robert tries to understand why American fiction remains so linguistically stingy and wedded to "realist" and "minimalist" modes of expression. He looks at America's protestant inheritance, and finds interesting divergences between "Catholic" and "Calvinist" modes of art. You can read a text version of the essay here: https://robertfay.com/2021/02/the-calvinism-in-our-literature/
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

The Calvinism in Our Literature - Audio Essay Edition

We talk about the "The Diaries of Emilio Renzi" by the Argentine writer Ricardo Piglia with Piglia translator Robert Croll and the publisher of Restless Books Ilan Stavans. We discuss how these books fit into both the Argentine and Latin American literary tradition, along with Piglia's use of the Renzi alter ego, his artistic integrity and "the doubling" that occurs in these special books. Learn more about the books here:
https://restlessbooks.org/bookstore/the-diaries-of-emilio-renzi-a-day-in-the-life
Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

The Diaries of Emilio Renzi by Ricardo Piglia - Episode No. 37

Feeling Bookish Podcast focuses on maximalist, innovative novels and literature in translation. Periodic interviews with critics, writers and translators. Hosted by Roman Tsivkin and Robert Fay. Produced by Heston Hoffman. Email: robertfay23 at gmail

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