The Lives of Writers

Michael talks with David Shields about THE VERY LAST INTERVIEW, the consequence of choosing art over life, the link between humor and hopelessness, the plots underneath his collage or "plotless" work, books that are about what they're about, a new co-written film I'LL SHOW YOU MINE, the beauty and inevitable failure of an interview, new projects, and more.David Shields is the author of The Very Last Interview (NYRB, 2022) and over twenty previous books, including Reality Hunger and How Literature Saved My Life. He's also the director of the film Lynch: A History and cowriter of the film I'll Show You Mine.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Brad Listi about starting The Nervous Breakdown, developing the Otherppl podcast, his co-authored literary collage BOARD, his new autofiction novel BE BRIEF AND TELL THEM EVERYTHING, how his life got Buddhist and literary, balancing self-expression with the concerns of a reader, podcasts and books as engagements with consciousness, Twitter, psychedelics, confusion, the connection of his new book to his first book, and a new project about the last 100 days of 2020.Brad Listi is the author of the novel Be Brief and Tell Them Everything (IG Publishing, 2022). His other books include the novel Attention. Deficit. Disorder and the nonfiction literary collage Board, co-authored with Justin Benton. He is the founding editor of The Nervous Breakdown and the host of the literary podcast Otherppl.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Amy Barnes about her life of writing, the influence of fairy tales, literalizing metaphor, the flash fiction form, her collection AMRBOTYPES (Word West Press), the ways in which the words get on the page, and more.Amy Barnes is the author of the flash fiction collection AMBROTYPES (Word West Press) and the chapbooks Mother Figures and Clean up on Aisle Five. She edits for a variety of literary magazines, including Fractured Lit, Gone Lawn, and Ruby Literary. Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Susannah Q. Pratt about convincing her family to attempt not buying new things for a year, feeling overwhelmed by objects in the home, the commerce systems that wrap into our lives, the way the things we own might either define or confine us, writing into ambiguity, the way this all connects to her first book MORE OR LESS, and much more.Susannah Q. Pratt is the author of More or Less: Essays from a Year of No Buying  (EastOver Press, 2022). Her work has appeared previously in Literary Mama, Motherwell, The Mindful Word, Chicago Parent, Under the Gum Tree, Essay Daily, The Week, and More. She lives in the Chicago area.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Guest host Mike Nagel talks with Graham Irvin about donating sperm, getting into reading and writing in high school, the influence of Burroughs and Brautigan, his first book LIVER MUSH (Back Patio Press), Jack Handey, the thematic glue or arc of a poetry book, books changing as life changes, and more.Graham Irvin is the author of Liver Mush (Back Patio Press). He grew up in North Carolina and lives in Philadelphia, and you can follow him on Twitter at @grahamjirvin.Podcast theme: Dj Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Mike Ingram about co-founding Barrelhouse, co-hosting the Book Fight podcast, attention, the evolution of his creative nonfiction book NOTES FROM THE ROAD, a novel in progress, the constraints of cnf vs the novel, and more.Mike Ingram is the author of Notes from the Road (Awst Press). He's a co-founding editor of the literary magazine Barrelhouse and the co-host of the literary podcast Book Fight. He teaches at Temple University.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.  

Michael talks with Scott Mitchel May about moving back to the midwest, working as political staffer, writing novels as practice to write more novels, The World According to Garp, his first story collection, ads on podcasts, book length, and more.Scott Mitchel May is the author of the story collection Dekalb, Illinois Is a Paradise What Eats Its Own. His stories have appeared in Rejection Letters, The Daily Drunk, Maudlin House, Bending Genres, and elsewhere. He lives in Wisconsin.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet. 

Michael talks with Sara Rauch about the imaginative properties of creative nonfiction, writing into questions without answers, writing about affairs and heartbreak, the making of the second Autofocus book XO, trying to connect everything and make it mean something, dealing with the reality of with putting very personal writing into the world, and more.Sara Rauch is the author XO, the second book published by Autofocus, which is out today, so go check that out. She is also the author of What Shines from It: Stories, which won the Electric Book Award for Alternating Current Press. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Shane Kowalski about working at the post office, reading tastes changing, keeping a daily fiction blog for ten years, his collection of fiction SMALL MOODS, writing weird stuff in a traditional program, the daring use of ellipsis, and more.Shane Kowalski is the author of the full-length fiction collection Small Moods (Future Tense, 2022) and the chapbooks Dog Understander (Frontier Slumber Press) and How I Solve How I Feel (Ghost City Press). He lives outside of Philadelphia.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Cynthia Arrieu-King about filling blank books as a kid, quilting, her creative nonfiction book THE BETWEENS, writing about race, taking breaks, collaging anecdotes on a theme, and much more.Cynthia Arrieu-King is the author of four books of poetry, including Futureless Languages (Radiator Press, 2018) and Continuity (Octopus Books, 2021), in addition to the literary nonfiction book The Betweens, which also came out last year with Noemi Press.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.