The Sears Christmas Wish Book was (truly) great American literature

“The Sears Christmas Wish Book was, for me, a kind of foundational text — a secular counterpoint to the Bible stories I learned around that time in Sunday School. I paged through the holiday catalog’s 620 glossy pages as if they amounted to an intoxicating graphic novel of desire, rich with abundance and possibility.” – Rolf Potts, from “Literature of Desire”

In this episode Rolf reads an audio version of his Christmas-themed essay “Literature of Desire,” and discusses the wonders of the Sears Christmas Wish Book with novelist Tod Goldberg (@todgoldberg). Tod is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, including the novel Gangsterland, which is currently being developed into a television series. He is also the director of the University of California-Riverside Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA, and the co-host of the Literary Disco podcast.

Introduction (00:35 – 11:20)

• Vintage Sears Wish Book online archive
• What Exactly is Christmas Tree Flocking? from Mental Floss
• Klonopin (anxiety medication)
• Janis Ian (singer-songwriter)
• Enchroma glasses (to correct colorblindness)

Literature of Desire essay (11:20 – 32:20)

• Richard Warren Sears (catalog founder)
• Mr. Sears’ Catalog (video) from PBS’s American Experience
• Sears Catalog Home (ready-to-assemble houses)
• That ’70s Show, Happy Days, Good Times, Welcome Back, Kotter (TV shows)
• Christie Brinkley and Renee Russo (fashion models)
• Pong (video game)
• Big Jim’s P.A.C.K. (toy line)
• Jay J. Armes (private investigator)
• JJ Armes action figure (TV commercial)
• “Is Jay J. Armes For Real?” from Texas Monthly
• WishBookcom

Sears Wish Book memories (32:20 – 50:10)

• Action figures (dolls marketed to boys)
• Toughskins (jeans for children)
• Huffy (bicycle brand)
• BEST (showroom retail store)
• “Kerouac’s Fantasy Baseball Obsession” from Mental Floss
• Coleco’s Electronic Quarterback (game)

This episode was sponsored by the Paris Writing Workshop, an intensive one-month course in the artistic heart of Europe.

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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