"...the way I "think" about things, with quotes around think, is I tend to write them down..."
—Karl Marlantes
Ever since I first spoke with Karl Marlantes back in 2010, I've been looking forward to speaking with him again. I just felt that he and I hit it off back then as we talked about his first novel, 'Matterhorn,' a monumental story of an American soldier in the Vietnam War. The book was superb, and the conversation equally so. He's a man who thinks deeply and speaks clearly about matters of importance.
This time around, he and I spoke in his lodgings at the Marine's Memorial Club and Hotel in San Francisco. Not surprisingly, it was a bit on the Spartan side, but the lobby spoke of different times. It was rich, woody ... I lugged my gear upstairs and sat down with Marlantes to talk about a very unexpected pleasure, his new book 'What It Is Like To Go To War.' I really enjoyed this book, as it has a take on war that I've never read or seen before. It's one of those great "A-ha!" moments; what Marlantes speaks to in the book seems obvious in retrospect, but only in retrospect.
Sitting down to speak with Marlantes was a wonderful exercise in dissonance. The conversation was easy and enjoyable; it felt like we were shooting the shit over a beer, even as we talked about matters of personal intensity and national import. I think that is the strength of Marlantes' writing. His vivid prose, whether in fiction or non-fiction is informed by a wealth of scholarly knowledge and searing personal experience. You can hear him talk about his latest book by following this link to the MP3 audio file.
11-09-11:Nick Mamatas Interviewed at SF in SF on June 11, 2011
"It's a first contact story where we don't even realize that we're the ones being first contacted."
—Nick Mamatas
Nick Mamatas works on so many levels at once that it is not surprising he needs to talk fast. At any one moment you may be talking to subversive science fiction writer, the literary theorist, the non-fiction writer, or the sciencepunk provocateur. Or all of them at once.
The latter seemed to be the case when I put the microphone in the vicinity of Mamatas at the SF in SF show for June of this year. Of course, that may have something to do with 'Sensation,' his latest novel which he aptly describes in the pull quote above; at least, well, in part. It is also an experimental literary novel and an in-your-face sort of satire.
11-08-11 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read, Episode 17: Lawrence Lessig, 'Republic, Lost'
Here's the seventeenth episode of my new series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. The podcasts/radio broadcasts will be of books worth your valuable reading time. I'll try to keep the reports under four minutes, for a radio-friendly format. If you want to run them on your show or podcast, let me know.
My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.
The seventeenth episode is a look at Lawrence Lessig and his new book, 'Republic, Lost.'
It takes about ten seconds to decide that you want Lawrence Lessig on your side. I met him in the lobby at KQED, and it was immediately apparent that he is a man who has quiet and complete confidence in himself and his subject. When you meet the man in person, you'll want to know what is on his mind — and read what he has written.
My job, then, is to offer my listeners a clean and clear enough interview so that they can hear for themselves why they should read his book and take his fine words to heart. Lessig surely has confidence in his skills as a academic, a lawyer, a writer and cultural analyst. These are all hats he wore quite comfortably as we discussed the inspirations and writing process for 'Republic, Lost.' And we took a good chunk out of his thesis in the book as well, enough to give readers a flavor of his thoughts here while leaving the substantive content for your reading pleasure.
And it is a pleasure to read Lessig's book. Moreover, you can hear why it is a pleasure in the way he talks, the way he reasons right in front of your eyes. Here is a man who has taken a long hard look at this nation. He asks not just questions, but the right questions and explains why they are indeed the questions. Every word you hear him —the audio timbre of his voice — is a great reflection of the way he writes.
Lessig is confident all right, in his approach in his data and his analysis; not to the exclusion of other points-of-view. But he believes in what he is saying.
05-16-12: Commentary : Mark Sundeen Pays Out 'The Man Who Quit Money' : Over the Edges
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Interview with Mark Sundeen and Daniel Suelo : "What would happen if we actually practiced this stuff?"-Daniel Suelo
05-15-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Clive Barker 'Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War' : Impure Life
05-08-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Clive Barker 'Abarat' : Reading in Color
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Phone Interview with Mark Sundeen : "...over the years, I had heard through my friends that he had stopped using money and was living in a cave..."
04-30-12: Commentary : Christopher Moore Follows 'Sacré Bleu' : A Story in Color
Agony Column Podcast News Report: A 2012 Interview with Christopher Moore : "...it often isn't efficient to tell a story in chronological order..."
04-27-12: Commentary : Lisa Lutz on 'Trail of the Spellmans' : Meta-Fiction is Fun
Agony Column Podcast News Report: SF in SF from February 11, 2012 : Panel Discussion Moderated by Terry Bisson and Interviews with Rudy Rucker, K. W. Jeter, and Jay Lake
04-26-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Emmanuel Carrere 'The Adversary' : The Enemy Within
04-23-12: Commentary : T. M. Luhrman Listens 'When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God' : Science and the Supernaturaly
04-18-12: Commentary : Gregg Jones Stirs Through 'Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines and the Rise and Fall of America's Imperial Dreams' : A Dream Of Today From Yesterday
Agony Column Podcast News Report: A 2012 Interview with Gregg Jones : "The Philippinos would welcome us with open arms and greet us as liberators."
04-17-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Caleb Carr 'The Alienist' : Subterranean History
04-16-12: Commentary : Richard Zacks Visits 'Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Doomed Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York' :The Wild, Wild East
Agony Column Podcast News Report: A 2012 Interview with Richard Zacks : "Roosevelt and Riis were out looking, and if they did find a cop, he was talking to a streetwalker."
