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."

Feeling Bookish

Thomas Mann & Other Investigations - Episode No. 41

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

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

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

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

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 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

We speak with Finnish translator Douglas Robinson about his "transcreation" of the unfished manuscript "Gulliver’s Voyage to Phantomimia" by Finland's modernist master Volter Kilpi. We talk about Finnish literature, Aleksis Kivi, the "found manuscript" motif in literature, Vladimir Nabokov's translation of Eugene Onegin, the influence of Nabokov's "Pale Fire" on Robinson's project, the linguistic fun of Rabelais, translation in China, the joy of reading the classical Chinese poets, and much more. More on the book: https://zetabooks.com/all-titles/gullivers-voyage-to-phantomimia-a-transcreation-by-douglas-robinson/ Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Transcreating Volter Kilpi - Episode No. 35

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 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

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 discuss a number of books from Roman's library, including 'Ferdydurke' by Gombrowicz; 'Under the Volcano' by Malcolm Lowry; 'The Mass Psychology of Facism' by William Reich; 'The Letters of Rainer Marie Rilke;' 'Hunger' by Knut Hamsun; and 'The String Quartet' by Paul Griffiths. We also touch upon Masha Gessen, William T. Vollmann, Shostakovich and why Milan Kundera and Paul Auster's stars have faded. Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Rilke, Gombrowicz, Malcolm Lowry & More - Episode No. 32

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

In the second installment of our Audio Essay podcast, Robert Fay remembers August of 1968 when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia. In that time of epic political turmoil, the Czech playwright Václav Havel, using imagination and his faith in writers and literature, took a surprising approach to the chaos and danger; an important model for our times. You can read a version of the essay here: https://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2019/01/vaclav-havels-guide-to-politically-dangerous-times.html Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Václav Havel on Politically-Dangerous Times - Audio Essay Edition

We launch our new "Audio Essay Edition" with Robert Fay's meditation on the writer-diplomat tradition. The list is illustrious, and includes Stendhal, Chaucer, Octavio Paz, Washington Irving and Pablo Neruda--and almost included Marcel Proust. Find out why this tradition has been overlooked and what similarities run through both crafts. You can also read the essay here: http://robertfay.com/2020/09/in-search-of-the-writer-diplomat-tradition/ Music attribution: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

The Writer-Diplomat Tradition - Audio Essay Edition

The Feeling Bookish Podcast is an ongoing literary conversation between the writers and old friends Robert Fay and Roman Tsivkin. It's everything from Thomas Bernhard to Ursula K. Le Guin. Produced by Heston Hoffman.

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Feeling Bookish

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