Alive Poets Society is back for Season Two—and now episode 2! We survived the quarantine and returned to the mic to bring you another season of your favorite (or else) podcast! Tom and fellow writer/editor Jesse talk about a wonderfully weird story, “Heart Site,” by the amazing Janalyn Guo. We dive into this fantastic and surreal tale by exploring how the crones do what they do, how hearts work in the story (not biologically), and how an Ice Dragon would get recked by a Kraken in a battle to the death (which is completely unrelated to the story). “Heart Site” can be found in The Collagist (link below) or her short story collection Our Colony Beyond the City of Ruins, which I highly recommend."Heart Site" Link: http://thecollagist.com/the-collagist/2015/5/3/heart-site.htmlShout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music. Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to read and watch along with us. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

Alive Poets Society

A Crone, Titan, and Ogre Walk Into A Heart... – Reading "Heart Site" by Janalyn Guo

Alive Poets Society is back for Season Two! We survived the quarantine and returned to the mic to bring you another season of your favorite (or else) podcast! Tom brought in friend and fellow writer/editor Jesse to talk about the oh-so-sexy Jake Gyllenhaal and his terrific role in the movie Nightcrawler.  We discuss how the movie crawls under your skin, why it is so anxiety-inducing to watch, and how capitalism (of all things) is at the heart of what makes this movie itch and ache. Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to read and watch along with us. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.comPlease rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

All The Best Dead Bodies in All The Best Places - Watching Nightcrawler by Dan Gilroy

Tom and Holly again welcome the special guest Mary to the mic. Mary is a friend of the Pod and an avid/professional reader. She suggested the 2019 movie JOJO Rabbit directed by Taika Waititi. We discuss the comedy of the movie and how it creates a complex look at Nazi’s during this time period. The role of Imaginary Hitler sparks our interest, and we agree that Yorki is the best character ever. After we debate the dynamics of Nazi’s in the movie, we end on everyone’s favorite segment, reviewing a review in The Review Review. The review fairs well as it gets many triangles from us (no, you’re not supposed to know what that means yet).Sorry for the delayed release schedule as Corona is throwing a hefty wrench into things. More episodes are coming soon though, so stay tuned!Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music. Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to read and watch along with us. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

It’ll Make You Laugh, Cry, and Stab Someone With a Kitchen Knife – Watching JOJO Rabbit by Taika Waititi

Tom and Holly welcome the incredibly special guest Mary to the Poet’s round table. Mary is a friend of the Pod and an avid/professional reader. The discussion of the story “Beautiful Monsters” by Eric Puchner begins with us talking about the strong prose of the piece and the odd relationships of the characters. We then dive into a discussion of nature vs. nurture, and the strange dynamics of the older man and woman’s relationship. Our discussion takes turns into the realms of psychology, sexuality, and science. We then pose an important question regarding the story and its resonance. You can read the piece in The Best America Short Stories 2012 by Heidi Pitlor and Tom Perrotta. Come back in two weeks to hear us talk about the hilarious movie Jojo Rabbit and everyone’s favorite segment, reviewing a review in The Review Review.  Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to read and watch along with us. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

Where Is The Miracle? – Reading “Beautiful Monsters” by Eric Puchner

Tom and Holly headline the ninth episode of APS where we discuss Roma directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Tom and Holly butt heads when it comes to how enjoyable they found this movie. After that fistfight, they dive into some of the movie’s core themes such as guilt, despair, work, and toxic masculinity. Holly drops some knowledge on the creation of the movie, and how it differs from most movies one normally watches. We end with everyone’s favorite segment, reviewing a review in The Review Review. It’s a good one.Come back in two weeks to hear us discuss the wonderfully imaginative short story “Beautiful Monsters” by Eric Puchner.Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to read and watch along with us. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

Nude Ninjas Unite! – Watching Roma by Alfonso Cuarón

Tom and Holly host the eighth installment of Alive Poets Society, an episode where we discuss the short story “A Manual For Cleaning Women” by Lucia Berlin. Unfortunately, the story was not a fan favorite. Tom and Holly begin with a couple of things they liked about the piece, but the conversation quickly dives into the many shortcomings of the piece. Between the writing style, characterization, and theme, Tom and Holly are not impressed. You can read the piece (and come up with your own opinions about it) here: http://www.shortstoryproject.com/story/a-manual-for-cleaning-women/ just make sure your opinions agree with ours… or else (that’s the correct use of ellipses (you’ll get that joke after listening)).Come back in two weeks to hear us dissect the award-winning film Roma which is now stream-able on Netflix.Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to get the scoop on what we are reading/watching for next episode. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

For All The Truckers Tuning In – Reading “A Manual For Cleaning Women” by Lucia Berlin

We have special guest host, Mitch Turck, on again for our seventh episode where we dissect the short story “To Get Rich Is Glorious” by Alexandra Chang. Holly starts us off by looking at the tone of the story, and how the narrator uses her/his distinct voice to add another layer of meaning to the text. Mitch and Tom jump in on how the tone of the story affected their reading of it for the better. The story leads us to discussions about materialism, communism, capitalism and every other fun -ism you can think of. The story has some thematic parallels to Snowpiercer which we make sure to mention (so listen to last episode if you haven’t you bums). A debate arises about what the author wants the reader to get out of the story, and if the story can be classified at all. We end on everyone’s favorite segment—reviewing a review in The Review Review. Stay tuned until the very end of the episode to hear some ASMR by Holly. Find The Review Review review here: http://www.thereviewreview.net/reviews/strong-start-new-online-journalCome back in two weeks to hear us dissect the award-winning film Roma which is now stream-able on Netflix.Find Mitch and his dope card game at https://mitchturck.com/ and https://gameoforigin.com/Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to get the scoop on what we are reading/watching for next episode. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

Add Us On Weibo – Reading “To Get Rich Is Glorious” by Alexandra Chang - Ep. 7

Sorry for the delay, but to make it up to you we have procured a super special guest host, Mitch Turck, for Alive Poets Society’s sixth episode. Mitch is a writer, advocate, and dreamer for all things driverless cars and AI—especially the part where AI kills all humans and takes over the world. With Mitch’s help, Tom and Holly dive into the cult classic film Snowpiercer directed by Bong Joon-ho. We start by discussing the dynamics of the train in terms of its social and economic structure. This leads us to a debate about the train’s structures and how they may or may not relate to our world. The conversation derails (pun intended) as we wonder if it would be better to ditch the train and sacrifice ourselves to the bittersweet numbness of the outside world. After each of us discuss who are heroes are (in the film and real life), we dive into the ever-present (at least in modern literature) black hole that is infanticide. We end by dropping an anecdote that redeems Bon Joon-ho in Mitch’s eyes.Come back in two weeks to hear us dissect the award-winning short story “To Get Rich Is Glorious” by Alexandra Chang which can be read here: https://www.all-story.com/volume/21/number/4/story/52Find Mitch and his dope card game at https://mitchturck.com/ and https://gameoforigin.com/Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to get the scoop on what we are reading/watching for next episode. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

My Dad Was A Fisherman – Watching Snowpiercer – Episode 6

In Alive Poets Society’s fifth episode, we dive into the social, cultural, and literary themes present in the extremely popular fantasy short story, “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu. After spending the first 40 minutes of the show debating on how we should pronounce the author and character’s names, we dive into the story. We debate how horrible each character is, and how the author builds empathy for the mother in the piece. The story leads us to a discussion on racism in American culture, and how Lil Wayne doesn’t think it exists. Our talk expands to America’s sway on the cultures of the world and how capitalism has aided in destroying cultures that are thousands of years old. We end with everyone’s favorite segment, reviewing a review in The Review Review. Tune in to hear all of this and much more.Come back in two weeks to hear us dissect the movie Snowpiercer with a special guest host! The movie is on Netflix now, so stop whatever you’re doing right now and go watch it. Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to get the scoop on what we are reading/watching for next episode. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.

Fantasy: Love Me Some Diversity – Reading The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu – Episode 5

In Alive Poets Society’s fourth episode, we talk about the cult classic film The Lobster directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. We start by diving into the wonky logic of the movie, and how it compares to other fantasy literature. We break down some of our favorite scenes, and how the movie uses juxtaposition to build its theme. After debating the ending, we come to an agreement about two things, one being an amazing metaphor that Tom made up (that you can’t steal because he’s already using it in a short story of his own). Come back in two weeks to hear us get into the short story “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu and politics! If you want a head start, you can read that story here: http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19022/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19022/pdf/Paper_Menagerie.pdfShout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to get the scoop on what we are reading/watching for next episode. Email us with questions, episode suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

Fantasy: What Would You Do For Love? – Watching The Lobster – Episode 4

In Alive Poets Society’s third installment, we (continue to) get spooky (in December) with the movie The VVitch directed by Robert Eggers—a movie currently on Netflix. The episode begins with some backstory as we get a glance into Maxwell’s search history and his father’s profession. Maxwell and Holly dive straight into the dialogue and how it affects the film’s believability and creepiness. Tom and Holly admit their deep fear of horror movies, but Maxwell makes a good case for them. After debating the true villain of the film, we do come to a consensus about one deeply important aspect of the movie—the twins and how they are the absolute worst. Tom breaks down his Pros and Cons chart regarding the end of the film. Lastly, the episode finishes on everyone’s favorite segment, reviewing a review in The Review Review. Unfortunately, this review doesn’t fare well under our scrutiny. Again, blame Holly's dog for any background noise. Come back in two weeks to hear us dissect The Lobster! (the movie The Lobster. We are not dissecting an actual lobster. Though, if that’s your thing, I’m sure there is a podcast out there for that too.)Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety to get the scoop on what we are reading/watching for next episode. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

Horror Part 2: Anti Devil, Pro Details. The VVitch – Episode 3

“Love Bun” by Myriam Lacroix: https://www.therupturemag.com/rupture/love-bunIn Alive Poets Society’s second and third installments, we get spooky with horror-themed episodes. Broken up into two parts, in Part 1 we look at Myriam Lacroix’s brilliantly creepy short story, “Love Bun,” published in The Rupture (linked above). After forgetting to introduce ourselves, we dive into the prose of the piece, such as the unique dynamics of how the first and last lines play into the theme of the story. Holly declares her annoyance with the narrator, which leads to Maxwell's important reminder that eating your children is never a good thing. Maxwell later drops the hottest take in APS history—one which might make you stop listening forever! Tom gives us some insight into his past as he points out a common way in which parents traumatize their children, often without realizing it. A fiery debate arises regarding how creatives should approach writing characters from different circumstances, races, cultures, etc. Also, Tom would like to very much apologize for butchering the pronunciation of Lacroix’s last name twice, especially when Maxwell said it correctly just minutes before. If you haven't noticed, he's terrible with remembering and pronouncing names. Lastly, blame Holly's dog for any background noise.Come back for Part 2 to hear our analysis on the hit horror movie The VVitch, and your favorite ending segment where we review a review from The Review Review.  Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!

Horror Part 1: Eat Your Lover’s Heart Out–And Your Children’s. "Love Bun" by Myriam Lacroix – Episode 2

In our first-ever (and probably longest-ever) episode of Alive Poets Society, we dive into pre and post-apocalyptic literature in our speculative fiction themed episode. We analyze, philosophize, and comedicize (?) the two stories, “Escape from Spiderhead” by George Saunders and “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury, along with the film Children of Men (links to read and watch below). After introducing speculative fiction as a genre, we writers dive into Saunder’s prose, which demands questions like: Why is our generation so anxious? Should we take drugs to cure this anxiety? How does Saunders approach good vs. evil in the text? And is swallowing opioids and playing Borderlands a modern-day nirvana?         Next, we look at the flick Children of Men. The movie was a little too perspicacious in its predictions for our liking as we make connections between the ‘refugee crisis’ in the movie and the way America treats immigrants today. After breaking down the plot and mechanics of the film, we tap into some hidden motifs created through the weaving of Christian and Hindu allusions throughout the film. Holly and Maxwell make it clear that they wouldn’t help a cry baby under any circumstances, and we come to a conclusion about the number of Werther&apos;s Originals George W. Bush has to give to Michelle Obama in order to win back the approval of the American People. Lastly, we flaunt our detective skills as we crack the code of why this great movie tanked at the box office.         “There Will Come Soft Rains” sparks a discussion about speculative fiction as a whole, and why it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Maxwell agrees to fight the descendants of Ray Bradbury after besmirching his name. Holly suggests parading the streets with big cats, and Maxwell and Tom are here for it.         The episode ends with our final segment, reviewing a review from The Review Review (linked below). Apologizing in advance to the writer of said review, we up and down-tick the review based on its clarity, grammar, and overall writing quality. Spoiler alert, the review does not fare well.         Find us on Twitter @Alive_Poets and Instagram @TheAlivePoetsSociety. Email us with questions, suggestions, or money at TheAlivePoetsSociety@gmail.com. Please rate, share, and subscribe if you enjoyed!Shout out to Mayo Nice for the intro music.“There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury: https://www.btboces.org/Downloads/7_There%20Will%20Come%20Soft%20Rains%20by%20Ray%20Bradbury.pdf“Escape from Spiderhead” by George Saunders: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/12/20/escape-from-spiderheadChildren of Men: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/The Review Review review: http://www.thereviewreview.net/reviews/small-journal-big-teeth

Speculative Fiction: Were Saunders, Bradbury, and Alfonso Cuarón right?– Episode 1 of Alive Poets Society

Alive Poets Society is a podcast where three writers and readers--armed with degrees in literature and years of sharpened wit--analyze, philosophize, and comedicize (?) the best (or worst) literature and films of the past and present. Tune in if you'd like a deeper, more insightful look into your favorite stories, both on the page and the big screen. If you're a poet, live in a society, or are alive, this podcast is tailor-made for you.

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Alive Poets Society

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