M. Allen Cunningham

In this long-lost recording made for KQED San Francisco (circa 2006), M. Allen Cunningham reads from his second book Lost Son, a large experimental narrative about Rainer Maria Rilke. At age twenty-one, while living as an obscure, penurious poet in Munich, Rilke met Lou Andreas-Salome. She would quickly become one of the most important people in his life, and would remain one of his most profound influences. This excerpt begins with their meeting, and renders the young Rilke in his most unrestrained Romantic phase. It was an important early stage of his poetic development, but Lou would ultimately guide him into deeper artistic and intellectual waters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this audio clip from a 2006 interview, M. Allen Cunningham speaks about Rainer Maria Rilke and the novel Lost Son.(Music: "Lights Out" by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of Free Music Archive) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the eleventh installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:TWITTERVIDEO GAMESVIRALWINDOWYOUTUBEZENITHMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the tenth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:REALITY TVRIOTTECHNOPOLYTRENDING NOWMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the ninth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES (televised)PROPAGANDAPROTESTSPSEUDO-EVENTSQUIZ SHOWS (scandals)Music by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the eighth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:MEMEMOVIESOJ SIMPSONPANDEMICPRESENTISMMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the seventh installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:INTRAVIDUALJFK ASSASSINATIONMARSHALL MCLUHANMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the sixth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:IDEOLOGYINSURRECTION (Jan. 6th, 2021)INTERNETMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the fifth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:FACEBOOK, ETC.FILTER BUBBLEGERALDO BRAWLGLOSSARYMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the fourth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:CONTENT (noun)CONTEXT COLLAPSEDARK WEBDEEP FAKEDYNAMOSMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the third installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:BINGECANCELLATION (so-called)CLINTON SCANDALMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the second installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:ALGORITHMARTIST AS KOOKAUGMENTED REALITYMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:ADAPTATION (Book to Film, or Book to Limited Series)A.I.Music by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first prelude from Cunningham's book We Are Guests of Ancient Time: Essays & Variations on the Imagination, Memory, Seeing, and Media). (Music by JWC)Learn more about this book: https://www.atelier26books.com/we-are-guests-of-ancient-time.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An audio excerpt from M. Allen Cunningham's talk "Reading, Seeing, and Self-Forgetting," delivered recently in an undergraduate creative writing course. Cunningham considers what a creative writing course can and cannot achieve, and explores the imaginative value of honing one's perceptions by "going beyond the edges" of one's own identity, perspectives, imagination, and discipline. One springboard for this lecture is Ali Smith's Artful, an assigned book for this course Other touchpoints include Rainer Maria Rilke, Paul Cezanne, Harold Bloom, C.S. Lewis, Nabokov, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Michael Oakeshott, and Lynda Barry. (NB: Cunningham's particular discussion of Rilke originates with Letters on Cezanne, edited by Joel Agee, and draws on the observations in Agee's introduction to that book.)Visit www.MAllenCunningham.com to learn more about Cunningham's work as a writer, teacher, and publisher. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A reading from John Ruskin's The Stones of Venice, Vol. III, Chapter 11 (1853)MUSIC:"A Simple Blur" by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of Free Music Archive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"This music is not only infinitely durable, but perhaps the closest that music has ever come to universality."Voice: Leonard Bernstein, Bernstein on Beethoven: A Celebration in Vienna (1970) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I did not know what 'Information Retrieval' was and I did not wish to find out."Voice: Harold Bloom, Interview (2000)Music: "Glacier" by SalmonLikeTheFish, courtesy of Free Music Archive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Originally posted May 14, 2020, the 95th anniversary of the publication of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway: M. Allen Cunningham's lecture on Woolf's great novel, originally delivered to Creative Writing students at Portland State University. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A reading from John Banville's novel Kepler, with music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An audio excerpt from M. Allen Cunningham's talk on Six Ways of Thinking About Character, delivered recently in a university creative writing course. Cunningham includes brief readings from the work of Annie Proulx, Don DeLillo, and Ron Hansen, and branches out to look at some aspects of character in Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton." Ultimately, he encourages writers to consider how the creation of vivid characters is meaningful human work with resonance that goes beyond questions of craft or technique. (Edited from a longer recording that included student interaction)Visit www.MAllenCunningham.com to learn more about Cunningham's work as a writer, teacher, and publisher.

Cunningham describes his book Q&A and then reads three short sections (which happen to feature a few "F-bombs", FYI). Inspired by true events, bold in the forms with which it evokes an agitated, media-soaked half century in America, Q&A urgently reimagines the misunderstood quiz show scandals in light of our own time, as a moment of cultural reckoning whose reverberations we feel all around us today: in reality television, TV politics, the triumph of incoherence, and the pandemic problem of how to be real in a world of screen-induced self-deception.This reading was performed via Zoom. View the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B57vdvR_XU.www.MAllenCunningham.com

Have you heard THOREAU'S LEAVES? Produced and hosted by M. Allen Cunningham, it's an immersive, atmospheric podcast dedicated to the celebrated and lesser-known works of Henry David Thoreau, one of America's greatest voices. Here's a sample episode for your enjoyment: "Loon Checkers" (subscribe at anchor.fm/thoreausleaves, or wherever you get your podcasts).More info at:www.thoreausleaves.com

During this event at the fabled Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, Cunningham discusses his fourth novel PERPETUA'S KIN. A sweeping story of five generations in one American family, PERPETUA'S KIN spans much of North America, from the 1820s in Iowa to the American south during the Civil War to World War II San Francisco. In a structured presentation, Cunningham describes the story's origins, his research, the themes and characters, the influence of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and why this novel was 11 years in the making. He also reads short selections from the book. The event includes an audience Q&A. It was recorded on a rainy night in November 2018.

Have you heard IN THE ATELIER, the creativity podcast produced and hosted by M. Allen Cunningham? Here's a sample episode for your enjoyment: "Measures of Success" (subscribe at anchor.fm/in-the-atelier, or wherever you get your podcasts).In this Episode:How does a writer know whether or not they are "a Success"?Mentioned in this episode: Netflix; Dreamworks; Carnegie Hall; New York Times Bestseller list; midlist author; awkward party conversations; shelving at Barnes & Noble; being on OprahMusic: "Ohio" by Low Light; "Second Smile" by LMOP; "Rising Up" by OFRIN; "Once and For All" by Ian Post(All music used courtesy of the artists through a licensing agreement with Artlist)

Cunningham's autobiographical essay, with musical accompaniment and slightly abridged."Variations on a Beginning" was originally published in complete form in The Timberline Review, Issue No. 3 (summer/fall 2016). You can read the full essay here: https://medium.com/@M_A_Cunningham/variations-on-a-beginning-685d3b1cd7e5

Posted May 14, 2020, the 95th anniversary of the publication of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway: M. Allen Cunningham's lecture on Woolf's great novel, originally delivered to Creative Writing students at Portland State University.

A reading from WALDEN by Henry David Thoreau (with musical accompaniment: "Sails" by Rodello's Machine)

A reading from PARTISANS: A Lost Work by G.P. Leedhttp://www.atelier26books.com/partisans.html

A reading from Virginia Woolf's THE WAVES, with music. (Bach Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, Sarabande)

A reading from Annie Dillard's memoir An American ChildhoodMusic: "The Fire" by Imogen Heap

Please prove you are not a robot - Say "OK, Google" - Everyone's watching - Your identity is not confirmed - Click here to agree to our terms and conditions - Right click.(Music: J.S. Bach, Missa brevis in A)

M. Allen Cunningham reads from his novel PERPETUA'S KIN (coming 2018). www.MAllenCunningham.com

A visit to Ludwig van Beethoven's rooms in Vienna, a mere 209 years after the composer steps out.(Music: http://apple.co/2fXhXky)