Western Thought

About 4 minutes in Jonah reveals the idea for this episode: he is going to list off bursts of authors he's read in the last five years of doing the podcast which they haven't featured and Will is going to riff on whatever comes to mind. Thanks for listening fellow littérateurs. This may be our last episode ... Jonah is tired of doing jobs he doesn't like so he's gonna get out of Idaho and get beat on the dirty streets of Hollywood. He is leaving behind a box of books of his short stories at the Walrus and Carpenter. If you take a pilgrimage you can get one for free. It really is a great bookstore. Come sit with us in front of the fire for a while.

This is a very loosely styled podcast. I know, usually we keep it so on point and tight. But often I think podcasts are more fun this way. At least we had fun. It's the conversation you'll get in the Walrus and Carpenter bookstore. Come sit for a while and geek out about language.

A eulogy Live from the Walrus and Carpenter bookstore. Ten years ago, when Jonah first fell headfirst into an obsession with Kundera (and his new English translations) Jonah was surprised to learn Kundera was still alive.  Shortly after he started writing notes for an article about the importance of Kundera's novel Immortality to 20th century literature - halfway expecting at some point to have a relationship with a literary journal which might publish it. Those notes still exist but suffice to say said relationship never occurred. But what might be the best simplification is Immortality and NOT the unbearable lightness of being is Kundera's most important novel. In all Kundera's obituaries they lead with him being a commenter on Communism in The Czech Republic and his writings on sexual desire but Kundera dedicated his life to literature and the resonant feeling which displays this best is in the novel Immortality. Don't worry, this point isn't belabored in the show but Jonah needed to make that clear. (Although, perhaps, Immortality makes the most significant impression after reading Kundera's previously published works. Well, no one said dedicating your life to understanding the relationship between metaphor and man and the limits of our desires was streamlined. It's rather rambling and don't expect to look for it knowing what you're going to get. Kind of like this podcast.)

From the Western Thought archive a conversation about an author who hasn't been in style for decades - but is arguably one of the most interesting prose stylists to have ever lived. Jonah had a love affair with Brodkey and as such, during this conversation, is probably a bit overly denigrating due to the feelings once held so convincingly. This conversation is from the early second year of the podcast where Jonah could still talk Will into closing the store and sitting in the back where there's less traffic noise. Initially never released because Jonah didn't think the content was good enough - but we've put out plenty of worse shows since. Give Brodkey a google and come to sit in the bookstore for a while.

Just a little short story told loosely.This is a little inside baseball for anyone who wonders why creators keep stumbling into using sites like patreon. And like inside baseball, you're gonna have to care to find this interesting so feel free to change channels quickly. At a certain threshold of published episodes your server fees for posting continue to grow, steeply. From where this podcast is now to the next level would cost me triple the yearly cost. On Patreon you can post anything with no upfront cost they just take a little cut on the backend. So, for the forseeable future, that is where our back catalogue will be. Honestly, if it was me and I was interested I'd pay the five bucks one month, listen and download to what I cared about then drop it right after. I condone this behavior. Anyway, this is the last time I'm ever trying to shill. I'm done. I guess some people must think it works because they end up doing it all the time on their shows but for an audience like you intelligent motherfuckers I know I'm only risking becoming annoying and ridiculous.

You've been clamoring for it and it's finally here! More clanging of the chimes on Will's bookstore door, more conversational meandering.  More of Jonah suggesting they talk about books which Will hasn't looked at in decades but Jonah stubbornly thinks will be interesting anyway until he realizes, again, he's forced a topic which he wasn't prepared for. This topic is the physicist Richard Feynman. Apparently you can get free pdf's of this classic lighthearted romp through the intellect online. So, go give Feynman a looksee. The pleasures of thinking really do drip off the page. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

It would be cool to be really interesting in one of these description areas ... But I don't think it is possible. It's like the summation for a piece of fiction. You're sort of telling what the story is about but if you get to close to saying exactly what happens you either A. Miss the larger metaphorical or allegorical content or B. You end up risking spoilers. The thing, with podcasts, is they're impossible to spoil so I suppose this could literally be a transcription for words spoken. Yuck.Oh I read something from my friend, a poet, Sam Caton at the end. Go look him up on social media if you'd like? Multi-task, look him up while you're virtually hanging out with Jonah and Will in the bookstore.

The initial idea for this episode was to do a centennial retrospective of the year 1922. The writers TS Eliot, EM Forster, and last but not least, Woolf. Woolf, I think for both of us, ended up being the most fascinating. Partially because a week before, in the Walrus and Carpenter (Will's bookstore) Jonah found a copy of Beginning Again. One part of five of Leonard Woolf's autobiography. A fascinating remnant of literary history which is used to create, in our opinion, literary speculation of which you're hardly going to find the kind in any other podcast (for better and worse). An interesting discussion about stream of conscious - as stream of conscious. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

Not necessarily literature but a larger discussion about the nature of the universe. Whether it's open or closed. These Meditations are from a book by a anonymous author and are basic discussions for the understanding of Christian Hermeticism. Just pop your head into the bookstore and see if anything peaks your interest. We had fun.

Written as something of a playful experiment with a simple idea - a rich and famous children's book author (a JK Rowling type figure) comes to a stagnant town (like Pocatello, ID) and figures she could buy a lot of the downtown storefronts. She decides to open up a series of bookstores. Hijinks occur. An accidental death, a theft of a first edition of Melville's Moby Dick. The second two parts of this novella can be found on the Patreon. patreon.com/westernthought

Will stumbled upon a book (Homosexuals in History) with a reference to Hawthorne being potentially homosexual, and to make up for a certain lack of artistic commentary on the last cast we try and dig into the confluence of art and sex. So far, for this year, I think this may be our best podcast. Maybe because it's now chilly enough in Idaho that Will has the fireplace running at the front of his store again. Come sit near for a bit. As always, old episodes available at patreon.com/westernthought. My audiobook is being uploaded over there now as well. A novella read by the dulcet voice of Sir Thomas Strah.

Seriously considered editing this for more focus on Nathaniel, but maybe we'll get around to that next week. In this episode Will's new squeeze, Sonai, stops by to drink a beer in front of the fireplace and chat. Isn't that one of the appeals for podcasts - containing a weird, possibly interesting moment of time? Anyway, don't be planning to use this as reference material for your next book report. Come hang out in the bookstore for a bit.

A fairly busy Tuesday at the bookstore with a few sales and auditory distractions from a new roof being applied. Still, there's a few good one-liners and a (possibly) good introduction to Stein and her cubist doodlings with words (my words). Shorter episodes these days as Will now has a standing dinner date. Perhaps we will compensate by doing them more frequently. As always, old episodes are now stored for you perusal at patreon.com/westernthought. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

Back from a hiatus we try to discuss a novel that Will hasn't read in twenty years. But luckily, with art as our master, we finally tackle the liberal art MFAs and why they don't seem to produce the random passion which makes reading so compelling. Putting our personalities out there you'll have to be the judge if you can pan out the fluff to find the treasures (this will make more sense if you listen). Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

Another fictional supplement to the podcast. Two independent stories which have been recorded for your listening interest (written far apart with very different styles). Not recorded in a perfectly soundproofed room - like the rest of our stuff. But hey, you're getting it for free.The first story is a slight touch of exaggerated reality with an artist who makes exceptional pictures in the foam of coffee. The second is a Henry Miller inspired first person wander through a mysterious death and a "postmodern" deconstruction of the mystery genre. The second story begins 24 minutes in.The previous piece of fiction that was here on the podcast has been removed from this feed but can be found on our Patreon.www.patreon.com/westernthoughtIf you go over to the page and subscribe there's also a good possibility that I'll throw my audiobook novella up over there. Which you could then get for a buck rather than the `15 it'd normally run on Audible. 

A couple technical (battery) hiccups fragment the show a little at the beginning, but not necessarily to its detriment. Beauvoir is a writer that Jonah has wanted to do for some years and it's fun to get around to that period of French letters and another female - though our depth in reviewing Beauvoir's THE SECOND SEX is quite limited. Reminder that we have a Patreon for old episodes.Western Thought is creating a podcast from a bookstore ... and novels | PatreonAnother two hours to come hang out in the bookstore.

This felt pretty good after we'd finished. The format Jonah always had in mind for the function of the podcast. A lot of Will talking with some pointed questions and secondary material thrown in. Some other secret magic may also have been involved. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

We are joined by a cool painter in a Canadian tuxedo named Sydney who plays the good sport. This one is rambling and reaching with a lot of laughter and Will tells me in the second half we get very un-PC. Jonah remembers a certain amount of belligerence ... but that's usually the most fun one can have with a podcast. So come sit in the bookstore and try to figure out what's the deal with William Faulkner.

This one starts a little bit slow. Jonah wanted to do an examination of what potential writer's festivals have become in this world of many other distractions. This kinda gets done? But basically commits the same sin that was meant to be avoided. Namely, dropping info that most of you wont really have that much context for. Reminder that we have a Western Thought Patreon now. Why would anyone pay for this? I mean I've never subscribed to anyone else's Patreon, why should you? I hate being a hypocrite in this fashion - but there's only so much better that we can hope to be. Yes, like any novelist one should at the very least consider the serious limitations of ones immediate relevance. When one creates artifacts they lack dynamism, the kind of happy go lucky self congratulation and pivoting that comedy podcasts do so well. It might be kinda funny for me to go on in this fashion - but I guess I'm no comedian, really.

The middle of this discussion features an interview about Human Rights - and how to make money from them. Jonah tries his best to discuss Ralph Ellison's life in essays but mainly reflects on the one which tickled him the most. Come sit in the bookstore for a while. Oh yeah, and Western Thought has a Patreon now. Check it out for episodes removed because of server storage costs that our number of listeners doesn't really justify paying as of yet.

An exciting little book from an author to look out for. Jonah drinks his beer too fast and Will talks about Leonard Cohen, which honestly should probably be the title. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

Warning: this episode contains irony.Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

A cold open song, disrupted by thoughts on nihilism and and wisdom. Will talks about a biography he read on Eva Gardner. Some loose ends of the podcast are discussed. Jonah ends with a rant about an awful foreword to a collection of Stanislaw Lem's Ijon Tiichy cycle. Check Lem out if you haven't already.

A purposeful labyrinthine title for an episode that starts with a real world mystery.You will know if you're in the know who JLB is -  the famously blind and brilliant librarian of the imagination.Honestly there was something of a miscommunication for this episode. We started with an idea of doing Borges and then Jonah gave Will a supplementary text titled the Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories just to round out the conversation. But Will seemed so enamored with a few of these that he kind of pivoted in his mind to doing the episode on that. Consequently some of Jonah's JLB conjectures fall into the ears of someone mightily prepared for a different conversation. Still it's the same podcast in the bookstore. Come sit with us for a while. (Are all of our podcasts like labyrinths? Eh, screw off you with your pretentious conjecture.)

Capote's MUSIC for CHAMELEONS and Toole's "Confederacy of Dunces" are discussed.Jonah discovers after the fact that he is wrong about much of Toole's biography. This well written article is probably worth more than his words. https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/the-uneasy-afterlife-of-a-confederacy-of-duncesYet the virtue of the medium allows for the display of ignorance-par-excellance. Pretty breezy discussion with perhaps a touch too many personal stories, but hey, we're not getting paid.Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

With a dash of irony I'm going to set up a false dichotomy: this is either the worst show we've ever done or it's the best. Jonah laments not having it more prepared like a lecture - yet what would a lecture bring that reading Sontag's work in her own words would not? Perhaps this mess is preferable. In fact this is part of Sontag's themes in The Aesthetics of Silence. She argues for the spoken word rather than the written.Which, by the way, like any difficult or messy work of art, you the listener is probably going to need to bring something to this in order to get anything out of it. Just google Sontag really quick and get a sense of her style if you're not familiar. Again, could probably do so much more on her, but this is it for now.Will pointed out to me today that all of Sontag's work is out of print, while all of Camille Paglia's work is still in print. You'll have to listen to the episode to get the context. But I guess we're into another exploration of a writer's work who is considered passe. At least, to me, their is value in that. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

Could probably fill up multiple podcasts with this author. An American and Western writer of first order. Unlike our first episodes we don't really deviate much into other authors - though Will gives some interesting personal accounts. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

Shorter episode where we discuss the short stories of Murakami. Perhaps the most famous Japanese writer translated into English? Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

You may recognize this name from Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild which featured a chapter on Everett. Painter, poet, vagabond for beauty. Also victim of a mysterious disappearance in 1934. Though he lives on as a figure onto whom the artistic soul can commune. The book we mainly discuss is authored by David Roberts. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

We start with a discussion of Rossetti's poetry and potential meanings. Soon though we move onto a secret that Jonah's been keeping under his hat. Once A Fool! by Boye de Mente. A journey from Tokyo to Alaska by Amphibious Jeep. A story perfect for a screenplay but would need 15 million dollars and a director with the nascent hutzpa to try and film on the ocean. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

Tripping through some passages of this cultural mish-mash of a book there is a lot of laughter. We're joined by Pam, a helping hand for giving us everyman context. Also discussed is Albert Camus whom I hope to discuss more in a future episode .... though to be honest I doubt we'd do better than The Partially Examined Life #4 on Camus. Check that one out if you want as good a philosophical starter course as any you'd get at university.

Two non-fictional pieces on tap for this episode. One is what I should've lead off with to start this whole podcast. It's a character piece I did on Will Peterson. The second piece is an article I wrote about strippers in Reno (back in 2018). This episode is brought to you by The Town of Books. Jonah's audiobook with professional reader Tom Strah, instead of Jonah's weedy voice.

Jonah and Will end up talking a decent amount about drinking and fighting. Surprise surprise. You guys, don't think of writing as your dream. Don't fantasize this shit. Your neighbor who's going to work to afford the lease on a mustang is closer to pursuing a dream than you are. You are grub in a vast universe of time. Don't try ... write only when you are risking being hated, hated for saying you think you see the world how it is.

A jaunty Russian novel that is one of Will's favorites. We get to really dig our teeth into some big topics in this one. Meaning! Yes, what is the meaning of meaning? Listen and be as confused as when you started (though hopefully amused for an hour).

Touch a few bases of Kafka's oeuvre in this episode. As always we fall down a few separate rabbit holes. Fun though. I've always loved thinking and talking about Kafka. Definitely a fundament of Western Thought. Does our podcast need music? Intros or outros? Personally I like just getting straight into the talking but any feedback is welcomed. Still looking for submissions if you got em. In the spring Will mentions that he's going to do a Crater's of the Moon anthology. Take a shot at writing something. Send to jonah.andrist@gmail.com

This episode's discussion begins with a reading from Kundera's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. I cannot stress this enough - if you go out and get one of Kundera's middle period novels (and you should, right now) you need to get the Aaron Asher translations. He worked closely with Kundera in the 90's and they really are superior in every way. We get pretty french this week.

Will and Jonah are on their game for this one. Unfortunately for you we shut off the recorder and talked for another two hours, but I like to think that it's burying peat, fertilizing the soil for future episodes.

Doing something different this week. Taking 'the bones' of a novella idea that Will had some years ago and riffing off its theme. Will gave Jonah the book to possibly edit and Jonah thought that this would be much effort with little reward. But talking candidly for you here is pretty fun. Anyway, who wants to read expertly crafted sentences when they can just listen to a couple whiskey drinking yahoos bullshit on the main topic of the book. Called, by the way, KHAMSIN. A story of a lonely lost German tank in the North African desert.

When Will and I first conceived of Western Thought we pictured it as a literary magazine. Obviously there were practical roadblocks to this and I thought a podcast would be more fun. But I've maintained interest in doing something with more fiction. If you or anyone you know has a piece of fiction that they think is solid and would be good as audio I encourage you to submit. Will and I do this podcast cause we like reading and will read most anything. Submit to my email jonah.andrist@gmail.com If we like it I'll find an actor and we'll record something like this. Regarding this specific story titled INNOCENCE. It's a story I drove up to Alaska to do research for. It's a true story about my great uncle. While the prose does have some youthful indulgences I think the essential core of the story still comes through. Read with emotion by the actor Stanton Pavlichek. I edited this purposefully with some flubs cause I think including outtakes in your art can be fun. Finally, this episode is sponsored by the superior audio product, my novella, The Town of Books. https://www.amazon.com/The-Town-of-Books/dp/B082WYBXFC

Jonah and Will discuss the writer Harold Brodkey's collection of non-fiction: SEA BATTLES ON DRY LAND. The title of this one says it all. The answer? Yeah, we probably are. Brodkey has a very slash and burn (solipsistic might be another word for it) writing style that very much attracted Jonah when he was younger. The idea of being absolutely free when creating your art. Perhaps Jonah has grown up a little since then. Don't start with Brodkey's non-fiction. His short stories are where all the magic is. I'd promise that one day I'll get the audio consistent, but I'd be lying.

Joined again by Andrea Lovelace to discuss another female writer ... though a writer not particularly liked by Andrea or Will. Digressions are had, as the last time Andrea was on, about genre. Including discussion of a new young adult series that Jonah will have no part in writing.

Other writers discussed in conversation. Italo Calvino, Proust, Toni Morrison. Pretty hard to do a whole podcast on Nietzsche without lecture notes, but you should learn something. One thing each podcast - that's all I ever hope for.

Back to Western Thought classic, just Jonah and Will. A year of doing this podcast (albeit with long hiatuses). I think we've got another year in us.

We are joined by the subtle wit of sir Thomas Strah. Painter, writer, narrator of Jonah's audiobook The Town of Books. What isn't to like about Nabokov. Hopefully this will urge you to pick him up again.

This is one of Will's favorite writers. Jonah get's Chandlerian level drunk. We are joined again by the lovely Andrea Lovelace, pay extra attention to her laugh. Also, enjoy the outdoors bird sounds.

We are joined by the delightful great grand-niece of Ada Lovelace (would be cool) Andrea Lovelace, to discuss a novel which we all sort of liked at the beginning. Hey, at least it's by a woman. That was the thought process anyway.

This episode mainly discusses Will's new literary theory. It's not so fully formed, but we try and get there. Luckily for you the listener, we are joined by Mark, a beer bumming customer of the bookshop who will be your voice of confusion. I think this is a fun one. Some podcast business: I'm gonna start deleting old episodes now because I don't want to pay for the storage. Does that make me cheap? Probably, but I'm also a realist, and a poor writer.

Buzzwords: Feminism, misogyny, Dick Cavett. Henry Miller. DH Lawrence. Mailer, possibly due a re-evaluation.

Will and Jonah start day drinking in Hemingway's honor. Giving the whole podcast a very loose feel. There was editing done, for the first time, for you, the listener's benefit.

How did Will name his store? Is Tennessee Williams overrated because of his association with some of the best actors of our time?

Returning to the Sawtooth Valley in central Idaho, Rember reflects on the past. Conversation discussing this well formed book.