Podcasts about brautigan

Read the Longform Article on the Blog: https://gettherapybirmingham.com/4777-2/   Navigating Uncertainty, and Finding Meaning in a Fractured World Our era is characterized by the dominance of hyper-rationality and the relentless pursuit of objective truth, production, accomplishment and consumption.  The human psyche finds itself adrift in a sea of fragmented images and disconnected meanings as the previous myths that used to give us purpose are exposed as hollow or erroneous. I see patients everyday that describe this phenomenon but not in these words. It is as if they are saying that they do not know who they are anymore. Not because they have changed but because all of the nodes and references points that used to contextualize their identity are stripped away or have been made foreign and incomprehensible. However the world still looks the same to them, despite its alienating effect. It is not the aesthetics of the world that are different, but the effect that it has on us. Because the world looks the same we feel crazy. Really it is our feelings telling us that the world is crazy even though it looks the same. Effective therapy in the modern world needs to get over its insecurities of feeling or looking crazy. If we don't let ourselves as therapists admit to patients that we also feel in pain, that we also feel crazy from these same forces, then how can therapy do anything but gaslight our patients more. When I see the news I feel like I am on drugs, even though I am stone cold sober. I know that the people on tv do not believe the things they say and are not acting for the reasons that they tell me as a spectator that they are. I am not a politician or a god, I am a therapist. I am as paralyzed against these forces as my patients are and yet I must help them recon with them. I must help them reckon with them even though I do not know how to reckon with them myself. I didn't understand it at first but have come around to the line of W.H. Auden that the Jungian analyst James Hillman liked to quote at the end of his life. “We are lived by forces that we pretend to understand.” -W. H. Auden Auden's line highlights how the frameworks and philosophies we resort to for certainty and order are often little more than self-delusion. The grand meaning-making systems of religion, science, politics, etc. that have risen to such cultural dominance are but feeble attempts to exert control over the ineffable complexities of being. Yet we cling tenaciously to these conceptual constructs, these hyper-real simulations, because the alternative – admitting the primacy of ambiguity, contradiction, and the unfathomable depths propelling our thoughts and actions – is simply too destabilizing. The simulacrum proliferates these hyper-rational facades and simulated realities precisely because they defend against having to confront the “forces we pretend to understand.” The philosopher Jean Baudrillard's concept of the simulacra, or a copy without an original – a realm where simulations and representations have become more “real” than reality itself – aptly captures the sense of alienation and dislocation that pervades contemporary culture. In this world of surfaces and appearances, the depth of human experience is often lost, and the quest for authentic meaning becomes increasingly elusive. Appearance of the Unreal The simulacrum is a conceptual framework proposed by the philosopher and cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard in his book “The Intelligence of Evil or the Lucidity Pact” (2005). It refers to the realm of images and representations that have become detached from reality and taken on a life of their own in contemporary culture. According to Baudrillard, in the postmodern era, images and simulations have become more real than reality itself. Images circulate and multiply, creating a hyper reality that replaces the real world. In this realm, images no longer represent or refer to an external reality but instead become self-referential and self-generating. Some key characteristics of the simulacra as described by Baudrillard: It is a realm of simulacra, where copies and simulations have replaced the original and the authentic. It is a world of appearances and surfaces, where depth and meaning have been lost. It is a realm of fascination and seduction, where images captivate and manipulate the viewer. It is a world of illusion and virtuality, where the boundaries between the real and the imaginary have collapsed. The simulacra describes a semiotic vertigo, a self-referential hall of mirrors in which signifiers endlessly circulate and proliferate, unmoored from any ultimate signified or referent in material reality. It is a world that has become untethered from the symbolic order, that transcendent horizon of meaning and metaphysical grounding which allows a culture to orient human experience within a coherent frame. For Baudrillard, the implications of this unraveling of the symbolic order are profoundly disorienting and alienating. The perpetual bombardment of images and spectacle produces a crisis of meaning and a loss of critical distance. Signs and representations become unhinged from the tangible contexts and embodied human narratives that could imbue them with authenticity and significance. Gilbert Durand's Imaginary Gilbert Durand's concept of the imaginary, as described in his book “The Anthropological Structures of the Imaginary” (1960), can provide valuable insights into the crisis of meaning in the postmodern world. Durand argues that the human imagination is structured by fundamental archetypal patterns that shape our understanding of the world. For Durand, the realm of images, symbols, and myths constitutes the collective imaginary of a culture, providing a symbolic framework through which individuals can navigate the complexities of existence. However, in the postmodern era, the traditional symbols and myths that once anchored the imaginary have been eroded by the forces of secularization, rationalization, and technological change. The result is a fragmentation of the imaginary, a loss of symbolic coherence that leaves individuals adrift in a sea of disconnected images and meanings. Durand suggests that the crisis of meaning in contemporary culture is not merely a matter of intellectual or philosophical confusion, but a profound disruption of the archetypal structures that underpin human experience. The challenge, then, is to reconnect with new symbols and myths that can restore a sense of coherence and purpose. Michel Serres and the Proliferation of Images Michel Serres, in his work, explores the growing influence of images and visual media in contemporary society. He argues that the proliferation of images has created a new kind of environment that shapes our perception, knowledge, and behavior. Serres's perspective highlights the way in which images and simulations have come to dominate contemporary culture. The endless circulation of images creates a sense of information overload and semiotic confusion, making it difficult for individuals to discern what is real and what is illusory. In this context, the task of therapy becomes one of helping patients navigate the world of images, to find ways of grounding their experience in authentic human relationships and chosen, not preprogrammed, narratives. This may involve a critical interrogation of the images and representations that shape our understanding of the world, as well as a renewed emphasis on the importance of symbolic meaning and archetypal structures. The simulacrum is not merely a philosophical or semiotic problem, but a profound existential challenge. It undermines the very foundations of human subjectivity, calling into question the assumptions and beliefs that have traditionally provided a sense of order and purpose to human experience. In this context, the role of therapy becomes one of helping patients to confront the radical uncertainty and ambiguity of the postmodern condition. This may involve a willingness to embrace the inherent contradictions and paradoxes of existence, to find meaning in the midst of chaos and confusion. A Heap of Broken Images in the Waste Land of the Modern The crisis of meaning that haunts the modern age is poignantly evoked in T.S. Eliot's  “The Waste Land.” The poem's fragmented structure and kaleidoscopic imagery reflect the shattered psyche of a post-war generation, struggling to find coherence and purpose in a world that has lost its moral and spiritual bearings. The “heap of broken images” that Eliot describes is a powerful metaphor for the breakdown of the shared cultural narratives and value systems that once provided a sense of unity and direction to human life. This theme is echoed in the work of the Jungian analyst Edward Edinger, who argues that the loss of these collective “containers” of meaning has left individuals increasingly vulnerable to the direct impact of archetypal forces. Cut off from the mediating influence of cultural traditions and communal myths, the modern psyche is exposed to the raw power of the unconscious, leading to a range of psychological disturbances, from neurosis and obsession to psychosis and despair. At the core of the human experience lie archetypal energies, biological drives, unconscious impulses that defy rationalization. The Jungian analyst Edward Edinger highlighted how the breakdown of cultural narratives and societal containers in modernity has left the individual psyche exposed to these primordial currents without adequate symbolic mediation. We are “lived” more by these depths than by the ideological scripts we rehearse on the surface. The totalizing ideological systems and regimes of image-commodification so pervasive in late capitalism can be viewed as anxious attempts to reinstall order and stuff the denied “forces” back into an old and broken symbolic container. But as Auden intuited, and as the desolation of “The Waste Land” gives voice to, such efforts are doomed to fail in reinstating an authentic sense of meaning and rootedness. What is required is a re-enchantment of the world, a resacrilization of existence that can hold the tensions of the rational and irrational, the structured and the chaotic, in productive paradox. Rather than defensive pretense, the goal becomes to live into the mysteries with humility and openness. Only by greeting “the forces we pretend to understand” with vulnerability and courage can we hope to restore the symbolic depths modernity has paved over with hyper-rational simulations and spectacles. The Jungian idea of the tension of the opposites can help us make sense of the dichotomy between the real we we are seeing and the unreal that we are feeling. By trying to pick between these forces we have to pick between either feeling crazy and acting sane or feeling sane and acting crazy. If we are able to feel the truth of both the real an unreal, subjective and objective tension that the cognitive dissonance of the modern era is causing it will become a powerful intuition. This powerful intuition was something harnessed by the theorists and writers mentioned in this essay. It is why their work feels so true even where it might seem on the surface like madness. Such an approach does not abandon logic, analysis and differentiated understanding. Rather, it balances these with an embrace of ambiguity, a readiness to engage the symbolic potencies of the unconscious, myth and the mysteries that exceed rational categorization. The Buddhist notion of the “still point” that so haunts “The Waste Land” evokes this posture of dwelling in the creative spaciousness between conceptual fixities. For Jung, it is only through metabolizing psychic opposition that true depth and wholeness can arise. The reconciliation of conflicts within honors psyche's inexhaustible fertility, rather than defensively walling meaning off within cardboard ideological constructs. Real and Unreal Time Henri Bergson wrote that lived time (durée) is fundamentally different from the spatialized, quantified conception of time in science. He saw duration as a heterogeneous, interpenetrating flow irreducible to discrete instants. Intuition, rather than intellect, is the faculty by which we can grasp this dynamic continuity of consciousness. In Creative Evolution, Bergson proposed that evolution is driven by an élan vital – an immanent, indivisible current of life that flows through all living beings, giving rise to novelty and creative emergence rather than just gradual, continuous adaptation. Totalizing ideologies and the “regimes of image-commodification” in late capitalism are anxious attempts to reinstate a sense of order, but are doomed to fail at providing authentic meaning. What is needed is a re-enchantment and resacralization of the world that can hold the paradoxical tensions between rational and irrational, structured and chaotic. The Jungian notion of the tension of opposites illuminates the dichotomy between the “real” we see and the “unreal” we feel in the modern world. By feeling the truth of both and inhabiting that cognitive dissonance, it can become a powerful intuition – something you argue animates the work of the thinkers and writers you mention. The goal is to dwell in the “creative spaciousness” between conceptual fixities, balancing differentiated understanding with an openness to ambiguity, unconscious symbolism, and mystery. Metabolizing psychic opposition in this way allows for true wholeness to emerge, honoring the psyche's deep generativity. Bergson sits with the same Phenomenon as Eddinger. The modern mind, unmoored from traditional cultural and spiritual structures that once provided symbolic mediation and containment of archetypal energies, is more vulnerable to being overwhelmed by unconscious forces in the wake of traumatic rupture. Rebuilding an authentic relationship to meaning after trauma thus requires recovering a sense of anchoring in the living weave of the world's mystery and hidden coherence beneath the fragmenting onslaught of a hyper-rationalized, dispirited culture. Magic as Real and Unreal Intuition Bergson distinguishes between two forms of religious belief and practice: the “static religion” of closed societies, characterized by conformity to established norms and rituals, and the “dynamic religion” of open societies, driven by the creative impetus of mystical intuition. Within this framework, Bergson sees magic as a primitive form of static religion. He argues that magic arises from an extension of the “logic of solids” – our practical intelligence attuned to manipulating the material world – into the realm of human affairs. Just as we can cause changes in physical objects through our actions, magical thinking assumes that we can influence others and control events through symbolic gestures and incantations. Fabulation, on the other hand, is the human faculty of myth-making and storytelling. For Bergson, fabulation serves a vital social function by creating shared narratives and beliefs that bind communities together. It is a defensive reaction of nature against the dissolving power of intelligence, which, left unchecked, could undermine social cohesion by questioning established norms and practices. While Bergson sees both magic and fabulation as grounded in a kind of “fiction,” he does not dismiss them as mere illusions. Rather, he acknowledges their pragmatic value in structuring human life and experience. However, he also recognizes their limitations and potential dangers, especially when they harden into closed, dogmatic systems that stifle individual creativity and moral progress. In contrast to static religion, Bergson celebrates the dynamic, mystical élan of open religion, which he sees as the highest expression of the creative impulse of life. Mystics, through their intuitive coincidence with the generative source of reality, are able to break through the closed shells of tradition and breathe new vitality into ossified institutions and beliefs.Bergson's perspective on the creative, evolutionary impulse of life (élan vital) and the role of intuition in connecting with this generative force can provide a compelling lens for understanding the impact of trauma on the human psyche. In Bergson's view, intuition is the key to tapping into the dynamic, flowing nature of reality and aligning ourselves with the creative unfolding of life. It allows us to break through the rigid, spatialized categories of the intellect and coincide with the inner durational flux of consciousness and the world. Trauma, however, can be seen as a profound disruption of this intuitive attunement. The overwhelming, often unspeakable nature of traumatic experience can shatter our sense of coherence and continuity, leaving us feeling disconnected from ourselves, others, and the vital currents of life. In this state of fragmentation and dissociation, we may turn to various coping mechanisms and defenses that, while serving a protective function, can also further distract us from the healing power of intuition. For example, we may become rigidly fixated on controlling our environment, engaging in compulsive behaviors, or retreating into numbing addictions – all attempts to manage the chaos and terror of unintegrated traumatic memories. These trauma responses can be seen as a kind of “static religion” writ small – closed, repetitive patterns that provide a sense of familiarity and safety, but at the cost of flexibility, growth, and open engagement with the dynamism of life. They fulfill some of the same functions as the collective myths and rituals Bergson associated with fabulation, but in a constricted, individual way that ultimately keeps us stuck rather than propelling us forward. Moreover, the energy consumed by these trauma adaptations can leave us depleted and less able to access the vitalizing power of intuition. Instead of flowing with the creative impulse of the élan vital, we become caught in stagnant eddies of reactivity and defense. However, just as Bergson saw the potential for dynamic, open religion to renew and transform static, closed systems, healing from trauma involves a return to intuitive attunement and a reintegration with the generative flux of life. This may involve working through and releasing the residual charge of traumatic activation, re-establishing a sense of safety and embodied presence, and cultivating practices that reconnect us with the creative wellsprings of our being. In Jungian psychology, intuition is seen as a function that mediates between the conscious and unconscious realms of the psyche. Conscious intuition involves a deliberate, reflective engagement with the insights and promptings that emerge from our deeper layers of being. It requires an attitude of openness, curiosity, and discernment, as we seek to integrate the wisdom of the unconscious into our conscious understanding and decision-making. Unconscious intuition, on the other hand, operates below the threshold of awareness, influencing our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in ways that we may not fully comprehend. When we are cut off from a conscious relationship with our intuitive function – as is often the case in the wake of trauma – our unconscious intuitions can become distorted, projected, and misused. This might manifest as projections, where we unconsciously attribute our own disowned qualities or experiences onto others, leading to interpersonal conflicts and misunderstandings. It could also take the form of acting out, where unintegrated traumatic experiences drive us to engage in compulsive, self-destructive behaviors. Or it might express itself through somatization, where the body carries the unresolved trauma that the conscious mind cannot bear. As we develop this more conscious relationship with our unconscious intuition, we can begin to discern the difference between reactive, trauma-based projections and genuine intuitive insights. We can learn to trust and follow the deeper wisdom of our psyche, while also maintaining the boundaries and discernment necessary for healthy functioning. Nietzsche saw logic as a form of insecurity In his writing Friedrich Nietzsche saw clearly that the philosophical  and scientific works  of ultra logical men were not dispassionate, rational examinations of truth, but rather deeply personal confessions that reveal the innermost fears, anxieties, and desires of their authors. He saw the most logical minds greatest works as opportunities to psychoanalyze men who could not see the “forces” that lived through them or the ones they had repressed. Science and philosophy for Nietzsche were merely unconsciously projected psychological struggles onto the world, creating elaborate metaphysical systems and grand narratives that serve to assuage their deepest existential terrors. There is much truth in this. When I have a radically existential patient that tells that “hell is other people” I know that that person is really telling me that they, themselves, feel like they are in hell.Nietzsche viewed science and philosophy as unconscious projections of psychological struggles onto the world. Nietzsche argues that the more a philosophical work presents itself as a purely logical, objective analysis, the more it betrays the underlying psychological desperation and spiritual repression of its creator. The grandiose claims to absolute truth and certainty that characterize much of Western philosophy are, for Nietzsche, simply a manifestation of the philosopher's inability to confront the fundamental chaos, uncertainty, and meaninglessness of existence. By constructing abstract, rationalistic systems that promise to explain and control reality, philosophers seek to impose order and stability on a world that is ultimately beyond their comprehension. In this sense, Nietzsche sees the history of philosophy as a series of  opportunities to eavesdrop while thinkers inadvertently disclose their most intimate fears and longings while claiming to have discovered universal truths. The more a philosopher insists on the logical necessity and objective validity of their system, the more they reveal the intensity of their own psychological needs and the depths of their existential anguish. The quest for absolute knowable truth and certainty is fundamentally misguided. The fragmentation and uncertainty that characterize the modern world are not problems to be solved through the application of reason, but rather the inevitable consequence of the collapse of the illusions and defenses that have sustained human beings throughout history. Nietzsche the Therapist Rather than seeking to impose a pre-existing framework of meaning onto the patient's experience, the therapist must work to help the individual confront and embrace the fundamental groundlessness of knowable and quantifiable existence. By learning to let go of the need for certainty and control, and by cultivating a sense of openness and creativity in the face of the unknown, the patient can begin to discover a more authentic and empowering way of being in the world. Just as philosophers have often unconsciously projected their own fears and desires onto the world, so too may therapists be tempted to impose their own beliefs and values onto their patients. When a patient comes in and says, “hell is other people,” they are really telling the therapist that they, themselves, feel like they are in hell. Ultimately, the task of healing the modern soul requires a willingness to embrace the full complexity and ambiguity of the human condition, to grapple with the shadows and uncertainties that haunt the edges of our awareness. It requires a stance of openness, curiosity, and compassion towards the multiplicity of human experience, and a recognition that our deepest truths often lie beyond the reach of any single theory or perspective. “The aim of therapy is to help the patient come to a point where he can live with uncertainty, without props, without the feeling that he must conform in order to belong. He must learn to live by his own resources, to stand on his own two feet.” -Fritz Perls Walter Benjamin is Shocking Walter Benjamin wrote in his essay “On Some Motifs in Baudelaire,” “The shock experience which the passer-by has in the crowd corresponds to what the worker ‘experiences' at his machine.”  In a world where the constant barrage of stimuli, the ceaseless flow of images and information, and the relentless pace of change have become the norm, the human sensorium is subjected to a perpetual onslaught of “shocks” that threaten to overwhelm our capacity for conscious reflection and meaningful engagement with the world. This ubiquitous experience of shock, for Benjamin, is intimately connected to the phenomenon of trauma. In a world where the protective barriers of tradition, ritual, and collective meaning have been eroded, the psyche is left increasingly vulnerable to the impact of events that exceed its capacity for understanding and assimilation. The result is a profound sense of alienation, disorientation, and fragmentation – a kind of pervasive traumatization of the modern soul. Benjamin's insights into the relationship between shock, trauma, and the technologization of experience have  potential implications for the practice of psychotherapy. They suggest that the task of healing in the modern world must involve more than simply addressing the symptoms of individual psychopathology, but must also grapple with the broader cultural and societal forces that shape the context of psychological suffering. In a world where the protective barriers of tradition, ritual, and collective meaning have been eroded, the psyche is left increasingly vulnerable to the impact of events that exceed its capacity for understanding and assimilation. This results in a profound sense of alienation, disorientation, and fragmentation – a kind of pervasive traumatization of the modern soul. It is all too easy for the psychotherapeutic encounter to reproduce the very conditions that contribute to the traumatization of the self. By creating a space of safety, containment, and reflection, the therapist can help the patient to develop the capacity for what Benjamin calls “contemplative immersion” – a mode of engagement with the world that resists the fragmenting and alienating effects of shock that highly logical psychoeducational or cognitive therapy might cause. For Benjamin, this loss of aura is symptomatic of a broader crisis of experience in modernity. In a world where everything is mediated through the filter of technology and mass media, our capacity for direct, unmediated experience is increasingly eroded. We become passive consumers of a never-ending stream of images and sensations, unable to anchor ourselves in the concrete realities of embodied existence. From this perspective everyone becomes a potential producer and distributor of images. We can become mindful of the images and sensations of our inner world and understand what we have internalized. This allows us to reject the empty images and symbols we still have allegiance to and to choose what we absorb from culture and what images we can create internally for ourselves. For Benjamin, the suffering and trauma of individuals cannot be understood in isolation from the broader social, economic, and political forces that we internalize as inner images that effect our experience of an outer world. Therapists who are informed by Benjamin's ideas may seek to help individuals not only heal from their own traumatic experiences but also to develop a critical consciousness and a sense of agency in the face of collective struggles. This agency in the patient can start with simply acknowledging these realities in therapy as forces that still do effect us. All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace In an era where the dominant paradigm asserts that everything can and should be understood through the lens of rigid science and radical logic, we find ourselves grappling with a profound sense of meaninglessness. The emergence of conspiracy theories like Q Anon can be seen as a manifestation of our unconscious collective yearning for a coherent narrative that explains the invisible forces that shape our lives. In a world where the true levers of power often remain hidden from view, these folk mythologies provide a sense of order and purpose, even if they are ultimately illusory. One way to avoid not only destructive conspiracy theories, but also being manipulated by cults and advertisements, is to bring these hidden needs and pains to the surface of the psyche in therapy. If we make them know to ourselves they will not be able to hijack our emotional systems and manipulate our behavior. Viewing ourselves as purely rational and intellectual beings is what leaves these drives for comprehension, stability, inclusion, importance and purpose ripe for exploitation. Overly cognitive or intellectual therapy can leave these forces dormant as well or worse repress them further beneath the surface of the psyche. As Adam Curtis critiqued in the documentary  “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace,” the notion that humans are merely computers that can be programmed and optimized is a seductive but ultimately flawed worldview. If we think that we are computers then will be driven mad by the dreams within us that cannot find expression through a binary choice. In the face of this existential uncertainty, psychotherapy must evolve to help patients cultivate a different kind of knowledge—one that is rooted in intuition and inner wisdom rather than intellectual mastery. This is not to say that we should abandon empiricism altogether, but rather that we must recognize its limitations and embrace a more humble, open-ended approach to understanding ourselves and the world around us. The poem “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” by Richard Brautigan, which inspired Curtis's documentary, envisions a future where humans and nature are harmoniously integrated with technology. While the poem's utopian vision may seem naive in retrospect, it speaks to a deep longing for a world in which we are not alienated from ourselves, each other, and the natural world. In the context of psychotherapy, this means helping patients to cultivate a sense of connection and meaning that transcends the narrow confines of intellectual understanding. All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammals and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure water touching clear sky. I like to think (right now, please!) of a cybernetic forest filled with pines and electronics where deer stroll peacefully past computers as if they were flowers with spinning blossoms. I like to think (it has to be!) of a cybernetic ecology where we are free of our labors and joined back to nature, returned to our mammal brothers and sisters, and all watched over by machines of loving grace. -Richard Brautigan Re-visioning Psychology James Hillman, a prominent post-Jungian thinker, presented a radical re-envisioning of psychology in his seminal work, “Re-Visioning Psychology” (1975). His main arguments challenged the prevailing assumptions of modern psychology and proposed a new approach rooted in the imagination, mythology, and the archetypal dimensions of the psyche. The “Soul” as Central: Hillman argues for a psychology centered on the “soul,” which he understands not as a religious or metaphysical entity, but as a perspective that deepens and “pathologizes” our engagement with life. He critiques modern psychology for reducing the psyche to the ego and neglecting the imaginative, poetic, and mythic dimensions of experience. Archetypal Psychology: Drawing on Jung's concept of archetypes, Hillman proposes an “archetypal psychology” that sees the psyche as inherently plural and polytheistic. He argues that psychological experiences and symptoms are best understood as expressions of archetypal patterns and images, rather than as personal pathologies to be cured. The Primacy of Image: For Hillman, the image is the primary mode of psychic reality. He emphasizes the need to attend to the autonomous, living images of the psyche – as expressed in dreams, fantasies, and symptoms – rather than reducing them to concepts or interpreting them in literal, personalistic terms. Pathologizing: Hillman challenges the medical model of psychology, which sees psychological distress as a disorder to be eliminated. Instead, he advocates for a “pathologizing” approach that honors the soul's need for depth, complexity, and engagement with the full range of human experience, including suffering and shadow aspects. Psyche as Story: Hillman sees the psyche as inherently narrative and mythic. He argues that we need to engage with the archetypal stories and patterns that shape our lives, rather than trying to “cure” or “solve” them. This involves cultivating a poetic, imaginative sensibility that can embrace paradox, ambiguity, and the unknown. Ecological Sensibility: Hillman's psychology is deeply ecological, recognizing the interdependence of psyche and world. He argues that psychological healing must involve a reconnection with the anima mundi, the soul of the world, and a re-ensouling of our relationship with nature, culture, and the cosmos. Critique of Individualism: Hillman challenges the modern ideal of the autonomous, self-contained individual. He sees the psyche as inherently relational and context-dependent, shaped by the archetypes, myths, and collective patterns of the culture and the wider world. Throughout “Re-Visioning Psychology,” Hillman argues for a psychology that is poetic, imaginative, and soulful, one that can embrace the full complexity and mystery of the human experience. His work has been influential in the fields of depth psychology, ecopsychology, and the humanities, offering a rich and provocative alternative to the dominant paradigms of modern psychology. The days of psychoanalysis, which sought to dissect every aspect of the psyche in an attempt to achieve total comprehension, are indeed over. Instead, mental health professionals must focus on helping patients to be at peace with uncertainty and to develop the resilience and adaptability needed to navigate an ever-changing world. This requires a shift away from the pursuit of mastery and control and towards a more fluid, dynamic understanding of the self and the world. The Post Secular Sacred: In his book “The Spirituality Revolution: The Emergence of Contemporary Spirituality” (2004), David Tacey, an Australian scholar in the fields of spirituality, religion, and depth psychology, presents a compelling argument about the emergence of a “post-secular sacred” in contemporary culture. Tacey observes that while traditional religious institutions and beliefs have declined in the modern West, there has been a simultaneous resurgence of interest in spirituality, particularly among younger generations. He argues that this “spirituality revolution” represents a shift towards a new, post-secular understanding of the sacred that transcends the dichotomy between religious and secular worldviews. Critique of Secular Materialism: Tacey argues that the dominant paradigm of secular materialism, which reduces reality to the objectively measurable and dismisses the spiritual dimension of life, is inadequate for meeting the deep human need for meaning, purpose, and connection. He sees the rise of contemporary spirituality as a response to the existential emptiness and ecological crisis engendered by a purely materialistic worldview. Re-enchantment of the World: Drawing on the work of thinkers such as Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and Thomas Berry, Tacey argues for a re-enchantment of our understanding of the world, one that recognizes the presence of the sacred in nature, the cosmos, and the depths of the psyche. He sees this as a necessary corrective to the modern disenchantment of the world, which has led to a sense of alienation, meaninglessness, and ecological destruction. The Sacredness of the Ordinary: Tacey emphasizes the importance of discovering the sacred in the midst of everyday life, rather than solely in the context of religious institutions or transcendent experiences. He argues for a democratization of the sacred, where individuals can cultivate a sense of the numinous in their relationships, work, creativity, and engagement with the natural world. Spirituality as a Developmental Process: Drawing on the work of psychologists such as Jean Piaget and James Fowler, Tacey presents spirituality as a developmental process, one that unfolds in stages from childhood to adulthood. He argues that the emergence of post-secular spirituality represents a new stage in this process, characterized by a more integrative, pluralistic, and ecologically conscious understanding of the sacred. Engaging with the Shadow: Tacey emphasizes the importance of engaging with the shadow aspects of spirituality, such as the potential for spiritual narcissism, escapism, or the abuse of power. He argues for a grounded, embodied spirituality that integrates the light and dark aspects of the psyche and is committed to ethical action in the world. Ongoing Dialogue between Spirituality and Religion: While affirming the value of post-secular spirituality, Tacey also recognizes the ongoing importance of traditional religious traditions as sources of wisdom, community, and ethical guidance. He advocates for a dialogue between contemporary spirituality and religion, one that can lead to a mutual enrichment and transformation. Post-Jungian thinkers who  have advocated for a “post-secular sacred” have argued for a kind of scientific empiricism that is infused with a sense of humility, wonder, and openness to the unknown. This perspective recognizes that there are limits to what we can know and understand, but it also affirms the value of subjective experience and the power of intuition and imagination. In practice, this could lead to new forms of psychoeducation and therapy that emphasize the cultivation of inner wisdom, self-compassion, and a sense of connection to something larger than oneself. Rather than striving to achieve perfect understanding or control, patients would be encouraged to embrace the inherent uncertainty of life and to find meaning and purpose in the present moment. This is no easy task for therapists. To be truly helpful guides on this path, we must have the honesty to admit that we too are adrift in a sea of uncertainty and fragmented narratives. The solid ground of empirical certitudes and secular meaning systems has receded, leaving us to navigate by situational awareness and intuition. Instead, we must develop a new kind of post-secular faith – not in final truths, but in the intuitive process of sense-making itself. We, as therapists,  must be honest with patients, but in doing so we run the risk of seeming stupid, unqualified or crazy. We don't know how to do this as therapists either. We don't have to know how but we have to develop the, perhaps post secular, faith that we can and the intuition to know in which directions to go. We must do all of this in a culture that gives us nothing but uncertainty and heaps of broken images. New Goals for Therapy The goals of psychoanalysis are now waiting and new goals must be determined for psychotherapy. The cognitive revolution has done so much damage putting all emphasis on changing external behavior and putting no emphasis on internal inside or capacity for reflection and the ability to “hold the energy” of being human. One thing that I try and prepare patients for as a psychotherapist is that when they get what they want out of therapy, when their behavior changes are they accomplished some goal, they won't be happy. People don't believe me they tell me how if they could just do this or just do that everything would be better. I have patients that want to get a job, want to move out from living with their parents, want to learn how to be in a relationship, want to attain friendships, a higher salary, any number of things. When they actually do accomplish these goals they realize that the emotions and the hurt and frustration that made these things seem so unattainable are still there even after those things have been attained. My point is that psychotherapy is a process of growth and that when you get what you want you don't feel better because you've grown and you now have a new goal.  We need to deal with the way that we feel and the restlessness that not having the goal creates. These are the tensions that make us human and the real reason that wee are in therapy. Viewing psychotherapy as a means to accomplish something is not going to get us anywhere good. We do  accomplishing things in therapy, quite a few things, but we have forgotten that was not the point. For the postmodern self is indeed “lived by forces we pretend to understand.” The archaic currents of archetypal life perpetually destabilize our rational narratives and identities. Yet these are not obstacles to be mastered, but the very raw material and creative thermals we must learn to surf upon. Therapy becomes an art of presencing the interplay of potencies – metabolizing their inexorable unfoldings with radical lucidity and compassion. Ultimately, the goal of psychotherapy in a post-secular, post-empirical world is not to eliminate suffering or to achieve some kind of final, absolute truth. Rather, it is to help patients develop the capacity to face the unknown with courage, curiosity, and compassion. By embracing a more humble, intuitive approach to mental health, we can help individuals to find meaning and purpose in a world that is always in flux, and to cultivate the resilience and adaptability needed to thrive in an uncertain future. If you are scratching your head that is fine. I don't know how either but I still know that we can. I have a faith that I feel is more real than what my intellect allows. The future has always been a copy without an original. The past is built on copies of the inner images that others have externalized consciously or not. All we can learn is to recognize the images inside and outside ourselves to discard the unreal and find the more than real. Our lives are an interplay of forces and we cannot prevent or defeat that. We can only learn to build behavior and cultural machinery to handle the dynamics of their flow. We are lived by forces that we pretend to understand. At times these forces seem unbearable or impossible to live with, but we must remember also that these forces exist through us and bring that tension into awareness. When I spent time as a patient in psychotherapy I encountered a lot of drowning and swimming metaphors from my therapists. Perhaps the seas are too rough now to teach patients to swim. Perhaps we need to teach patients to sail a boat. Together we can build a culture than can sail ships again. Freud thought he was a mechanic fixing the boat engine in the patients head but it is time to forget all that reductive scientific positivism. We need to remember to breath and remember how to use the wind. The watchers' eyes now give out light. The light's receiver- flower coiled up behind their nosebones changes place. It crawls out through their pupils. The bundled nervy flowers make a circuit be- tween each other. Bolts the color of limes boil forking through the busy air. Their brains are still inside them. But the sundown's made to simmer with a brain that none of them quite have alone. Each one has something like it. Facets of the brain's shelled diamond. The cage-strumming man strings out his carousel of shapes while catgut thrums out slippery chords. And the people watching him are in the circuit of an ancient battery that sleeps behind their eyes. None of them will know how to tell what's happened. But every one will know that it can happen again. They'll variously say: I was a tree. I was a vine that sucked the brasswork. I was an ivy knot that lived on milk of stones. – Michael S Judge, Lyrics of the Crossing References and Further Reading: Baudrillard, J. (2005). The Intelligence of Evil or the Lucidity Pact. Berg Publishers. Benjamin, W. (1969). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In H. Arendt (Ed.), Illuminations. Schocken Books. Brautigan, R. (1967). All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace. In All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace. The Communication Company. Curtis, A. (2011). All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace [Documentary series]. BBC. Edinger, E. F. (1984). The Creation of Consciousness: Jung's Myth for Modern Man. Inner City Books. Eliot, T. S. (1922). The Waste Land. Horace Liveright. #eikonosphere #eikon Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man's Search for Meaning. Beacon Press. Jung, C. G. (1968). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. Judge, M. S. (2014). Lyrics of the Crossing. Black Ocean. Nietzsche, F. (1974). The Gay Science (W. Kaufmann, Trans.). Vintage Books. Nietzsche, F. (1989). On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo (W. Kaufmann & R. J. Hollingdale, Trans.). Vintage Books. Romanyshyn, R. D. (2007). The Wounded Researcher: Research with Soul in Mind. Spring Journal Books. Tacey, D. (2004). The Spirituality Revolution: The Emergence of Contemporary Spirituality. Routledge. Taylor, C. (2007). A Secular Age. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. Basic Books.  

Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke "Central County was a big, rangy county with mountains to the north and mountains to the south and a vast loneliness in between. The mountains were filled with trees and creeks. The loneliness was called the Dead Hills. They were thirty miles wide. There were thousands of hills out there: yellow and barren in the summer with lots of juniper brush in the draws and a few pine trees here and there, acting as if they had wandered away like stray sheep from the mountains and out into the Dead Hills and had gotten lost and had never been able to find their way back...poor trees..." The podcast heads west for this October's horror fiction episode, where they find a couple cowboy killers recruited from a brothel to vanquish a mischievous monster in an isolated mansion out in Eastern Oregon. Richard Brautigan's rugged, experimental, very funny The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western begins as a travelogue of turn-of-the-century frontier life and makes a drastic shift to the surreal when the two gunmen (who don't put any lace on their killings) reach their sinister assignment. Artist and American Western history expert David Lambert is on hand to offer his take on whether countercultural cult poet/novelist Brautigan passes muster as a western writer, or if Hawkline Monster is a xerox copy of an audacious literary achievement. Lambert talks with hosts Christopher Funderburg and John Cribbs about the unmistakable Brautigan-ness of the novel, how the book fares when it moves into much stranger territory in its second half, and the fascinating decades-spanning background of multiple failed movie adaptations. The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com David Lambert on X: twitter.com/DavidLambertArt The Pink Smoke on X: twitter.com/thepinksmoke Christopher Funderburg on X: twitter.com/cfunderburg Intro music: Unleash the Bastards / “Tea for Two” Outro music: Marcus Pinn / “Vegas"

Experience the longest unboxing in the history of unboxing. Fueled by his passion for Richard Brautigan, and a large amount of alcohol, K.M. is overly excited about a package he received containing several of Brautigan's books. This episode verges on mayhem, and finishes not Jewish, rather Jew-ish. 

by Miriam Sagan in Rag Trade

Il est une machine de guerre. Il a traduit, Brautigan, K. Dick, Dylan, Truman Capote, Adam Thirlwell, Valeria Luiselli, Thomas Pynchon, Tarantino, Patti Smith, Stephen Dixon, le gros Crumley et surtout l'immense Hunter S. Thompson. Il fut manager de groupe de rock et aucun de ses amis ne l'a jamais entendu se plaindre. Nicolas Richard publie ses anti-Mémoires de traducteur : « Par instants, le sol penche bizarrement » (Robert Laffont). Deux heures de franche rigolade et d'amour du travail bien fait.

"Non è la voce che comanda la storia, sono le orecchie." - Italo Calvino. In questo episodio parliamo di:

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.

Support Topic Lords on Patreon and get episodes a week early! (https://www.patreon.com/topiclords) Lords: * Maxx * https://mechcem.itch.io/ * https://www.instagram.com/maxxyamasaki/ * Ananda * https://www.instagram.com/a__gabo/ Topics: * Rare videos of European Hamsters. * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf06WJQ4FnE * Would you rather eat: the last dragon or a human being? * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hufu * What happened in the editor culture that made medical and mathematical Wikipedia absolutely useless for lay readers, and is there anything we can do to fix it? * All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace, by Richard Brautigan * https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/09/weekend-poem-all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving-grace/245251/ * Esper Quinn adds: "I grew up very techno-utopian in that particular Y2K post-history stripe, where everything will be Extreme Sports and Peace Summits for the rest of existence once we can get everybody hooked up to 'broadband'. I loved the idea of the singularity, humanism, the maybe naive idea that once everybody can just understand how everyone feels by way of livejournal posts or brain implants we'll all be friends and start working together on things. I still have a lot of love for that era, and my dream video game concept I tinker with every couple months is an extremely Y2K-aesthetic snowboarding-ballsport called CYBERXROSS. I had heard this Brautigan poem before, though a bit late for that era; I want to say it was around 2012, just when Facebook (and post-bubble Silicon Valley Capitalism) began to really bare its teeth and sink into the world's throat, shattering the idea of technology as a Total Positive entirely. Oh well. I still love the poem." * Diatomite and our weird relationship to tiny cursed skeletons. * Making fermented foods. I want to make stinky tofu. Microtopics: * Choosing to believe when somebody last ate oatmeal. * Outside oatmeal vs. inside oatmeal. * The wide world of breakfast goops. * Writing your to-do lists in calligraphy. * Minutes from the meeting where you are every member of the board of directors and you agree with yourself that you should remain CEO. * Jodorowsky's Hamster. * Videos of aggressive wild hamsters that they don't want you to see. * Ethical hamster breeders in your area. * Shipping a hamster in a box with a potato and when it arrives there's no potato but there's a potato's worth of feces. * The kind of habitat that pet hamsters need. * A German naturalist's hamster cage. * King Solomon's Ring, by Konrad Z. Lorenz. * Importing an entire pond into your house so you can observe it more efficiently. * A cheese shop in a small town staffed by the same person who runs the travel agency and the general store. * Imitation cannibalism hoax "Hufu." * Whether Winston can say good night. * Whether a three year old understands the ethical calculus behind eating or not eating the last dragon. * Eating raw dragon and getting Mad Dragon Disease. * Whether biomagnification would be worse in dragon or human meat. * Whether Wikipedia pages for difficult ideas should have tutorials. * A series of date nights in which you make Powerpoint presentations about armadillos for each other. * The Seven-Banded Armadillo. * A detailed technical description of the scoots on the Seven-Banded Armadillo's fourth moveable band. * Volunteer opportunities to study Paraguayan fauna. * Spending four years in Paraguay discovering and describing a new species of armadillo by going to the museum where they are stuffed and mounted. * The relief of discovering that other people fail at things too. * Mutually programming harmony, like pure water touching clear sky. * A cybernetic forest filled with pines and electronics. * The counterculture era of hippies and computers. * Solving every problem. * Making a machine to water your plants and going back to sleep. * Making art that is deeply alarming but also incredibly pleasant. * Violently bright emotions for short moments. * How to recognize utopias from the outside. * Fixing a poem you almost like and posting the result on Instagram. * Crypto bros perishing in the wildfires of this cybernetic ecosystem. * Exploring and coming to terms with the complications of the field you were uncomplicatedly excited about as a kid. * The set of questions that don't have words attached to them. * The Mossman Lock Collection. * Branches of technology that we didn't take. * Using a slab of diatomaceous earth as your bath mat. * The multivarious uses of the skeletons left behind after the primordial seas dried up. * Surrounding your pantry with ancient dry skeletons so when ants step on the skeletons they think "oh gross, this skeleton is so dry" and they go away. * Pouring nitroglycerin into ancient tiny skeletons to invent dynamite. * Scrubbing the exposed parts of your skeleton with much smaller skeletons. * Late night snack vendors. * Sarcophagus tofu. * Preserved organ dishes. * The difficulty of acquiring stinky tofu during a global pandemic. * Fermented meat products. * How to tell when your stinky tofu turned out wrong. * Drinking the band-aid beer. * Paying a nominal fee for a lab to DNA sequence your mystery meat. * Comparing sludge notes. * Adding kimchi to pizza sauce. * Drawing the Instagram logo out of diatomaceous earth on the floor and going to sleep in it and waking up and now you are Instagram and whenever someone uploads a video they're uploading it into your head.

Thinking about “going home in October” or even more, going far away from home via freeverse poetry, read directly from scribbled travel scrapbooks and backed by trains from Moncton to Sri Lanka and tuk tuks from Kerala and Thailand, by a weary fella in an olden barn in provincial Japan. Fondly home.  Be Lost at … Continue reading Lost the Plot (Finding Home) – Postcard #85 →

Les sorties BD de Xavier Vanbuggenhout : - « La Machine ne ferme jamais les yeux. Une histoire de la télésurveillance de 1984 à Facebook » de Yvan Greenberg et Everett Patterson et Joe Canlas (Delcourt) - Titeuf La grande aventure - Tome 17 » de Zep (Glénat) - « Les cavaliers de l'apocadispe vont bien - Tome 3 » de Libon (Dupuis) - « Lucky Luke se recycle » de Mawil (Lucky Comics/Dargaud) Le journaliste, essayiste et écrivain français Olivier Guez pour son livre "Une passion absurde et dévorante. Écrits sur le football" (L'Observatoire). Un soir d'été 1982, Olivier Guez assiste à son premier match de football. Il n'a pas 10 ans. Les formes pures du stade, les projecteurs aveuglants, le vert ardent de la pelouse cernée de lignes laiteuses, et les milliers de petites touches bleues qui parsèment les gradins : le vertige, l'immense frisson. Il ne s'est jamais vraiment remis de ce spectacle grandiose. Le football a donné à l'écrivain le goût des autres, et le goût du large. Au fil des voyages, il a constaté que ce sport était le miroir des nations, de leur mémoire, de leurs conflits et de leurs imaginaires. Sur un terrain de football se racontent l'identité de la France, le stalinisme et le dégel en Union soviétique, la question raciale au Brésil, la modernité de l'Argentine et de Diego Maradona, le destin de l'Allemagne de l'Est après la réunification, les ambitions planétaires du Qatar et, sous l'égide de la FIFA, les dérives du capitalisme depuis trente ans. C'est le football, cette passion absurde et dévorante que partagent des milliards d'hommes et de femmes à travers le monde, trait d'union de la planète globalisée, que décrit Olivier Guez dans un recueil de textes admirables de sincérité, entrecoupé de photographies de légende, qui vibrent pour toujours dans la mémoire de chacun. Myriam Berghe, journaliste belge poursuivie pour trafic d'êtres humains par la justice belge pour avoir héberger des migrants, pour son livre "Chair à camions" (La Boîte à Pandore). Au sortir d'un procès inédit, Myriam Berghe ouvre les portes d'un monde de douleurs, d'une justice inhumaine, d'un combat qui est loin d'être terminé. C'est une histoire de rencontres. Avec les "saute-frontières" de la Jungle de Calais, traqués à mort mais tellement vivants. Avec toute la misère d'un monde qui refuse d'examiner la migration sous l'angle de la solution plutôt que du problème. Avec un Égyptien à qui la justice a taillé un costume de criminel bien trop grand pour lui. C'est une histoire de complicité entre sans-papiers et Bruxellois solidaires, accusés d'avoir franchi une ligne que leur propre procès en correctionnelle doit servir à tracer. Un dialogue de sourds entre ceux qui accueillent sans juger et ceux qui jugent sans accueillir. Dans cet ouvrage rageur, Myriam Berghe raconte le calvaire. D'abord celui des migrants qui tentent de survivre dans des conditions inhumaines. Le sien, ensuite. Le statut de criminelle qui lui a été attribué parce qu'elle a fait preuve de solidarité et d'humanité. Double coup de cœur de Gorian Delpâture : "La rivière pourquoi" de David James Duncan (Monsieur Toussaint Louverture) et "La rivière" de Peter Heller (Actes Sud). "La rivière pourquoi" : De Portland aux côtes de l'Oregon, de torrents en cascades, de truites arc-en-ciel en saumons royaux, du désespoir à l'euphorie, qu'il croise un cadavre ou une sirène, Gus Orviston est un prodige de la pêche : même sans appât, il cherche à attraper l'insaisissable. Expulsé d'un paradis de lacs et d'affluents par des parents qui passent leur temps à s'envoyer leur canne à pêche au visage, Gus quitte le foyer familial et s'isole au bord d'une rivière idyllique où il peut enfin se plonger dans l'ascèse aquatique qu'il s'est choisi : la pêche. Et si pour lui la pêche résume le monde, le poisson en est l'énigme et au milieu, coule la rivière, ce méandre en forme de question, qui mène le jeu en interrogeant la vie et le bonheur. Avec drôlerie, sagesse et innocence, il nous entraîne dans sa quête du cours d'eau parfait, celui qui répondra à toutes ses questions. La Rivière Pourquoi est un hymne à une existence réconciliée avec nos passions et nos obsessions, avec la nature et ce que nous en faisons. C'est libre, c'est foisonnant, c'est profondément tendre. David James Duncan est un conteur hors pair, capable de dépeindre les âmes comme les paysages de façon fascinante, qui nous offre dans ces pages une aventure spirituelle en forme de roman un peu fou, poétique et surtout très drôle. C'est Kesey, c'est Harrison, c'est Brautigan. "La rivière" : Wynn et Jack, étudiants en pleine possession de leurs moyens, s'offrent enfin la virée en canoë de leurs rêves sur le mythique fleuve Maskwa, dans le Nord du Canada. Ils ont pour eux la connaissance intime de la nature, l'exper-tise des rapides et la confiance d'une amitié solide. Mais quand, à l'horizon, s'élève la menace d'un tout-puissant feu de forêt, le rêve commence à virer au cauchemar, qui transforme la balade contemplative en course contre la montre. Ils ignorent que ce n'est que le début de l'épreuve. Parce que toujours ses histoires, profondément hu-maines, sont prétextes à s'immerger dans la beauté des paysages, et parce qu'il a lui-même descendu quelques-unes des rivières les plus dangereuses de la planète, Peter Heller dose et alterne admirablement les moments suspen-dus, l'émerveillement, la présence à l'instant, et le sur gis-sement de la peur, les accélérations cardiaques, la montée de l'adrénaline. Ses descriptions relèvent d'une osmose enchanteresse avec la nature ; ses rebondissements, d'une maîtrise quasi sadique de l'engrenage. Ce cocktail redou-tablement efficace – suspense et poésie – est sa marque de fabrique. La Rivière n'y déroge pas.

In episode 107, I learn more about Buffalo music with Ryan Gurnett, head guy at WNYMusic.com. Timestamp: 00:31: “Squelch's Briquet" By Tortoise Forest 06:44: Conversation w/ Ben and Ryan 25:35: Carmen & Lizzy "Shelter" and "Carry You" Live from The Struggle Is Real Podcast. 29:27: Conversation Continued 43:13: "Oooohhh" by Phillip Stephen 47:05: Conversation Continued 01:00:48: "Bukowski and Brautigan" by Passed Out 01:02:05: Conversation Conclusion – Keep In Touch with WNYMusic: http://wnymusic.com https://www.facebook.com/WNYMusicDotCom

This might be the best episode yet. Kerouac reads Richard Brautigan's "In Watermelon Sugar" to The Slumberjacks, then they do improv scenes inspired by it.  Follow The Slumberjacks and check out copodco.com to listen to all of our shows, including This Newfangled Life and Pretend This Didn't Happen.  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/copodco/ Music: God is Gay/Poisson

Issue #04: Holidays In The Time of Fascism Written & Performed by Austin Rich, with additional writing by Ellen Klowden. https://ia601401.us.archive.org/25/items/20200706-0900-radio-zine-004/20200706%200900%20Radio%20Zine%20004.mp3   Issue #4, produced in June of 2020, features some bright burning and quickly fading stories for your enjoyment, which includes, “What About The Fourth of July?,” “Get It Done,” “Considering Walking The Wire,” and “Brautigan […]

Marco Petrella - Ascoltando Richard Brautigan, 8 février 2019 Présentation de la bande dessinée Ascoltando Richard Brautigan en dialogue avec Filippo Golia. En 1968, la maison de disques des Beatles propose à Richard Brautigan, écrivain et poète culte de la contre-culture californienne depuis son livre Pêche à la truite en Amérique, d’enregistrer un disque fait des sons de sa vie. Marco Petrella traduit en dessins cet épisode curieux et peu connu de la biographie de Brautigan mais entreprend de rendre visuellement non seulement la vie et les œuvres d’un grand écrivain, mais aussi sa sensibilité poétique. Marco Petrella, illustratore e fumettista, pubblica recensioni letterarie disegnate su importanti giornali e riviste: più di recente La Lettura, inserto culturale del Corriere della Sera, in precedenza l’Unità; nel 2013 una selezione di queste recensioni è stata riunita in Stripbook, un libro pubblicato dalle edizioni Clichy con la prefazione di Jonathan Lethem. Varie ed eventuali le sue produzioni, dall’editoria più rispettabile - ad esempio, per Mattioli1885 ha illustrato Racconti per ascensore, testi inediti di importanti scrittori internazionali - alle fanzine. Marco vive a Roma, dove disegna, legge, ascolta musica, gira in vespa.

"Bang!" vous emmène à Vancouver, visiter la bibliothèque Brautigan qui propose uniquement des livres jamais publiés...

In this shortcut episode, we look at what our host, Erin, is reading now, what new books have been added to her queue, and a short review on the book The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 written by Richard Brautigan. A fantastic quick read about a library created to accept only unpublished manuscripts.  The story behind the book and how we learned of it is almost as quirky and delightful as the book itself.  Listen to the episode to learn more about a great episode of This American Life that introduced us to the book.

Poet Daniel Cockrill invites, artist, advertising man and poet, Martin Galton round his house for a chat. During this chat they explore the visceral space between fact and fiction to reveal certain truths that can’t necessarily be explained by these other fields. They also attempt to answer the Poet Waffle Big Question: Is it important that your work is considered art? Topics covered include: Armageddon, Damien Weighill, Good Titles for Books, Great Names for Bands, Late Radicals, New Ventures, Challenging The Status Quo, Ideas, Roy Oxlade, Learning How Not To Paint, Mistakes Are Good, Julian Ward, Nan Goldin, Ballad Of Sexual Dependancy, Knowing or Not Knowing The Rules, Thinking From The Gut, Writing From The Heart, Picasso, Bukowski, Brautigan, Putting Power Into What You Do, Tax Returns, Not For Profit Organisations, Retaining The Child Within, Liberation from Academia, Gentrifying Poetry and Sticking Two Fingers Up To The Norm.

A heart-wrenching poem about an abducted boy called Simon – who lived nearby, was my age and sorta looked like me – in Surrey, BC 1982 – by the “Beast of BC” Clifford Robert Olson (NO relation). Recorded and contributed to Dark Poutine Canadian True Crime podcast – shared here for posterity etc. RIP Simon and the … Continue reading Simon, Stolen, Shame – Postcard #84 →

Following Richard Brautigan into the later years of his life after he moves to San Francisco and becomes a staple in the literary/poetic community there.

Along his namesake trail on banks of Lynn Creek comes story of Group of 7 bohemian painter Frederick Varley’s 10 wild years in Vancouver teaching and founding art schools, developing new aesthetics and shacking up in an $8 mountain home with mistress. Bring your own brushes: Upon the Varley Trail – Postcard #83 (30MB, 20:50, mp3, … Continue reading Upon the Varley Trail – Postcard #83 →

Love in (most) all forms – from self to romance to heartbreak – explored through poems including: mis-quote from (probably not) Jack Kerouac, Khalil Gibran advising his son, Mary Oliver reminding to trust, (Angela) Anaïs (Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira) Nin’s recklessness, Leonard Cohen recalling flowers to a shy lover, Katie Buemann picking up a sword – plus … Continue reading What Love Might Be… – Postcard #82 →

Full of mis-spoken words, forgotten names and other sloppiness comes annotated thoughts (squished through time and space) for shut-ins, drifters and sufferers amidst erstwhile festive melancholy times of disruption and tumult, including poems – read alongside mosquito and rooster sounds – by: Sohaib Ahmed Alan Halsey Charles Bukowski David Smalley Kat Code Dave Olson John … Continue reading Transient Cultural Riffs – Postcard #81 →

Upon turning 70 years old, Dave’s dear sensei (since a teenage Utah community college stint), Larry Harper (among various monikers) curated 70 items of advice (at request of Annie Dandelion). As such, between licks by Grateful Dead and master potter Marty Kendall, he riffs the list – ranging from practical to mystical to almost comical, … Continue reading Sensei Larry’s Wisdom – Postcard #80 →

Float to Istanbul, Muscat and elsewhere, and check in with Cleopatra, Shakespeare, Francis Drake, Shah of Persia, Adam, Cain, Abel, Lawrence, Ataturk, Czars Nicholas and Alexander, Matt Harding, Russia oligarchs, well-fed stray cats, unidentified shortwave broadcasts, Abraham, Norman, Matt Harding, rowers, drummers, a blonde dog and you and me… finding the edges of the globe. … Continue reading A Circumnavigation of Sorts – Postcard #79 →

Disappearing, invisibility, loneliness, depression, anxiety, being lost, trying to not be found, trying to find white space to invigorate… Sometimes these weave together, other times (perhaps) each remain exclusive. Gord Downie, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski and me all try to figure out the nuance in different ways atop Turkish street music, trains from Kerala and … Continue reading Disappearing for Invigoration – Postcard #78 →

In hospital with sedated Grandpa, Dave reads complete “Letters from Russia” epistolary literature project with frequent interruptions from visitors, nurses and medical apparatus. The letters address issues of class, revolutions, monarchy, war, trade, and love in the context of Napoleon’s foray into Russia in 1812 through letters from a cobbler to his fiancé in Paris. … Continue reading Hospital Letters and Flames – Postcard #77 →

Puffing along a trail recounting leaving cold, miserable London en route to post-hurricane Florida with flashbacks to working in Rheinplatz grade fields, gathering chestnuts to sell for beer and bread money, strange encampments at Oktoberfest, and hitchhiking to Amsterdam with gaggle of pals. To London by ferry and rapid exit via cheap flight Florida, quickly … Continue reading Forward Momentum to Florida – Postcard #76 →

Amidst a thunderstorm at 4AM in Chiang Mai, Dave discusses – with excessive frankness and emotion – various medical conundrums (Fibromyalgia and CFS-ME) and details the physical feelings of “crash mode” as well as the mental strain in dealing with self de-identification and inter-personal relationships, confusion in seeking help, and various alternative treatments. No sympathy or … Continue reading Thunderstorms in the Crash Years – Postcard #75 →

Ship-to-shore transmissions with shortwave broadcasts from elusive listening posts, soundscapes from slow ships, and freeverse poetry about unanswered communiques, transitory conditions, arbitrary citizenships, invented geography, de-identification, and intentional disappearance. Features music: “Dream World” by Matt Harding from NYOSSS (New York, Orem, San Sebastian, & Shanghai), plus various shortwave broadcasts of dubious origin, and sound samples … Continue reading Listening to Sea – Postcard #74 →

On a forgotten forest walk, Dave riffs a story about first trip to Europe – starting with trying not to puke over an Amsterdam bridge after a meeting new temporary coffee shop pals – with flashback to Mexican desert trips with Grandpa, LSD trips with VW bus-fixing pals, and family Grateful Dead road trip to … Continue reading Eyes Towards Europe – Postcard #73 →

Paying poetic respects to recently deceased Grandpa in a rainforest with Walt Whitman, Charles Baudelaire, Chief Dan George and original works inspired by the globe rambling, oddly charming, big fish – while official funeral happening elsewhere. Originally recorded: May 13, 2006 Sit on a tree by the river: (Poetic Farewell to) Ole Dead Gramps – Postcard … Continue reading (Poetic Farewell to) Ole Dead Gramps – Postcard #72 →

First reflecting on Funiculars, Dave then reads works by poet friends from far-flung points including: Sohaib Ahmed recounting escaped love and lights, Adam Burningham examining towns atop streams, Amber Case on a languid roadtrip, and Robert Scales appreciating a sunrise and oblivion – plus music by guitarist Matt Harding and a rainstorm, crickets and cicadas from … Continue reading Friendly Dehli Wanders – Postcard #71 →

Returning to Japan for the first time since working as a mushroom farmer in the Tottori-ken mountains decades previous, Dave rambles on about the circumstance – then and now – while wandering near his pal’s goat farm. Riffs include: arriving in the snow and getting settled, bailing on job, hitch-hiking around islands, falling in love(ish), eating … Continue reading A Return to Nippon – Postcard #70 →

What becomes of the seemingly ephemeral creations we leave behind? Especially in the analog-days? Consider these in the context of missing cassette tapes made by a now departed poet/activist/scholar Foster and guitar-ing Mikael, who recorded spontaneous youthful riffs in parent’s basement in Utah. In this postcard, Mikael  Lewis sings “Wildflower (for Foster)” written by Dave in … Continue reading Preserving the Wildflower – Postcard #69 →

Changing routes to think about the neighbourhoods – this Postcard is about rolling transit, everyplace and anywhere. Evidence comes in a transit route inspired spoken-word song and a smattering of poems including: odes to drivers, forgotten literary neighbourhoods, angry passengers, observed newspapers around Vancouver… plus a bit of Clayton the busker in the Seabus tunnel … Continue reading Changing Transit Routes – Postcard #68 →

Amongst Nepal’s western Himalaya mountains comes poems about donkey trains hauling supplies, buffalos giving milk, porters hauling excess for misguided dreamers, monks with timeless chants, sunrise over mighty peaks, prayer wheels alongside trails to evoke the feeling of clambering along ancient stone paths shared with goats and farmers growing rice, lentils and children taking cold … Continue reading Annapurna’s Holy Donkeys – Postcard #67 →

Life in hotels, wandering alone and often blue and then the death of friends all converge in a series of poems including a song by Mikael Lewis about waiting for love in a Victorian hotel. Then, from the streets of Rome with a cappuccino comes a series about departed Rod H. Ash, including “Time Traveller” … Continue reading Lonely Cold Water Flat – Postcard #66 →

When I was growing up, Dad often spoke of his Chevy Malibu SS – his favourite car.  So, while on his death bed, I asked him to tell the story. He speaks about acquiring the vehicle, the budget, the deal, the financing terms and oh, also about the car and how he enjoyed having a … Continue reading Dad’s Malibu Super Sport – Postcard #65 →

In tumultuous and confusing times, optimism and activism are the powerful antidotes for cynicism and fear. Two Bills share songs to assist in making this point. First B/William Lenker plays a spontaneous Squatters in Zion from his Steamboat Island woodshop, then Dave spiels about courageous – and sadly deceased Olympian – Rachel Corrie, followed by Billy … Continue reading Leaping Beyond Cynicism – Postcard #64 →

From an olden church and (otherwise vacant) cenotaph at Fort Cochin, Kerala, India, Dave O – acknowledging an extended medical and death related hiatus – discusses the local history of colonization by Portuguese explorers, Dutch traders, then British Raj in the context of the colonization leading to exploitation, conscription and war with no meaning to … Continue reading Remembrance Day with Vasco’s Bones – Postcard #63 →

Viene esto raro hoy, oyentes. Bien es sabido que nos gusta el western, pero lo del programa de hoy escapa a las clasificaciones. Hablamos de Brautigan y su chifladura western-pulp; también nos acordamos de Cormac McCarthy y su endiablada novela Meridiano de Sangre; escuchamos gospel y black metal todo junto y revuelto, y para rematar la jugada Andrés Rus se pone psico-mágico y trata de desentrañar qué puñetas es eso de El Topo de Jodorowski. ¿Cómo te quedas?

A Very Brautigan Thanksgiving (#27) (Retrocast on 23 November 2017.) This year has been incredible, and in the half-year that I’ve been on the air at KMUZ, I’ve already had some stand-out shows that make me very happy.  Live guests, interviews,  great audio essays, and plenty of new music that really paints a vivid picture … Continue reading A Very Brautigan Thanksgiving (#27)

A short reminder to all of the beauty that Richard Brautigan left for us to enjoy. P.S.: If you like the episode illustration, please check out the artist's page: http://goo.gl/878Dxg

James Meintjes & Patrick Brautigan Planet Funk Ep 53 James Meintjes & Patrick Brautigan

Novelist and screenwriter William Hjortsberg (Legend, Angel Heart) gives the scoop on his book Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan. The book is an exhaustive look at one of the most fascinating and under-rated writers of the 20th Century.

Join us, TNT crew, for the official sendoff of Bailey Brautigan.

Join us, TNT crew, for the official sendoff of Bailey Brautigan.

Poet Randall Maggs discusses his book “Night Work” about the troubled soul of legendary hockey goalie Terry Sawchuk plus the nuances of story-telling, conversations with goaltenders, Sawchuk’s Ukrainian heritage and convergence of history and hockey with host Dave Thorvald Olson at the Robson Square covered outdoor rink in Vancouver following a poetry reading promoted by … Continue reading Poetic Stories about Goalies – Postcard #62 →