Podcast appearances and mentions of Eric G Wilson

On episode 195, we welcome Eric G. Wilson to discuss the cult classic ‘Point Blank', toxic masculinity and its deleterious mental health effects, what made the protagonist so appealing, Lee Marvin's real-life war trauma, the obsession with revenge and if it ever resolves pain, the unpredictability of the universe and our never-ending quest for control, if one can ever offset trauma, the nature and purpose of flashbacks in PTSD, the comedy in the film and the inherent lunacy of payback, decision-making when healing and asking what would actually help, the parallels between ‘Point Blank and Michael Mann's ‘Thief', and leaving the wheel of Samsara when giving up one's aggressive impulses. Eric G. Wilson is the Thomas H. Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest University. He is the author of books Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy, an LA Times bestseller; Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away; and Keep it Fake: Inventing an Authentic Life, How to Be Weird: An Off-Kilter Guide to Living a One-of-a-Kind Life as well as many other books exploring connections among literature, film, and psychology. His writing has been featured in Psychology Today, L.A. Times, The New York Times and Huffington Post. His newest book, available now, is called Point Blank. | Eric G. Wilson | ► Website | http://www.ericgwilson.net ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/keepitfake ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/ericgwilson777 ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/ericgwilson ► Youtube | https://bit.ly/3FBhGwr ► Point Blank Book | https://amzn.to/414l50g   Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666  

In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see from the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Four years later, Lee Marvin starred in John Boorman's Point Blank, an adaptation of The Hunter. The film renamed Parker to Walker, but also reimagined the revenge plot as one of a man unable to recover from trauma. Join Mike and Dan for an extra-long, extra-cool conversation with special guest Eric G. Wilson, author of the new BFI Classics study of Point Blank. So put on your best clackety shoes, pace the halls, and give it a listen! If you're a fan of crime fiction, you'll enjoy the first of Richard Stark's Parker novels, The Hunter, upon which Point Blank is based. Be sure to check out Eric Wilson's terrific book about Point Blank in the BFI Film Classics series and his interview about it on New Books in Film. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see from the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Four years later, Lee Marvin starred in John Boorman's Point Blank, an adaptation of The Hunter. The film renamed Parker to Walker, but also reimagined the revenge plot as one of a man unable to recover from trauma. Join Mike and Dan for an extra-long, extra-cool conversation with special guest Eric G. Wilson, author of the new BFI Classics study of Point Blank. So put on your best clackety shoes, pace the halls, and give it a listen! If you're a fan of crime fiction, you'll enjoy the first of Richard Stark's Parker novels, The Hunter, upon which Point Blank is based. Be sure to check out Eric Wilson's terrific book about Point Blank in the BFI Film Classics series and his interview about it on New Books in Film. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see from the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Four years later, Lee Marvin starred in John Boorman's Point Blank, an adaptation of The Hunter. The film renamed Parker to Walker, but also reimagined the revenge plot as one of a man unable to recover from trauma. Join Mike and Dan for an extra-long, extra-cool conversation with special guest Eric G. Wilson, author of the new BFI Classics study of Point Blank. So put on your best clackety shoes, pace the halls, and give it a listen! If you're a fan of crime fiction, you'll enjoy the first of Richard Stark's Parker novels, The Hunter, upon which Point Blank is based. Be sure to check out Eric Wilson's terrific book about Point Blank in the BFI Film Classics series and his interview about it on New Books in Film. Follow us on X or Letterboxd. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

It is always an honor to host Eric G. Wilson; this time, he discusses his latest work, Point Blank. We will explore the themes and impact of filmmaker John Boorman, an influence on many of today's great directors like Quentin Tarantino, Michael Mann, and Christopher Nolan. Our focus will be the film Point Blank, but we'll extend to other classics like Excalibur, Deliverance, and Zardoz. Beyond Gnostic themes in Boorman's canon, we'll find the powerful ideas of trauma healing, gaining a spiritual life, and the importance of the divine feminine in any man's life. Expect discussions on David Lynch and John Wick.Homepage: https://thegodabovegod.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aeonbyteAB Prime: https://thegodabovegod.com/members/subscription-levels/ Virtual Alexandria Academy: https://thegodabovegod.com/virtual-alexandria-academy/Voice Over services: https://thegodabovegod.com/voice-talent/ Astro Gnosis (Meet the Archons): https://thegodabovegod.com/meet-archon-replay/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/aeon-byte-gnostic-radio/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

John Boorman's Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave, and spaghetti western. Its lasting influence can be traced throughout the decades in films like Mean Streets (1973), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), The Limey (1999) and Memento (2000). Eric Wilson's compelling study Point Blank (British Film Institute, 2023) examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema. He argues that Boorman revises traditional Hollywood crime films by probing a second connotation of “point blank.” On the one hand, it is a neo-noir that aptly depicts close range violence, but, it also points toward blankness, a nothingness that is the consequence of corporate America unchecked, where humans are reduced to commodities and stripped of agency and playfulness. He goes on to reimagine the film's experimental style as a representation of and possible remedy for trauma. Examining Boorman's formal innovations, including his favoring of gesture over language and blurring of boundaries between dream and reality, he also positions the film as a grimly comical exploration of toxic masculinity and gender fluidity. Wilson's close reading of Point Blank reveals it to be a film that innovatively inflects its own generation and speaks powerfully to our own, arguing that it is this amplitude, which encompasses the many major films it has influenced, that qualifies the film as a classic. Eric Wilson is Professor of English at Wake Forest University, USA. His publications include Secret Cinema: Gnostic Vision in Film (2006) and The Strange World of David Lynch: Transcendental Irony from Eraserhead to Mulholland Dr (2007). His writing has featured in Psychology Today, L.A. Times, The New York Times and Huffington Post. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

John Boorman's Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave, and spaghetti western. Its lasting influence can be traced throughout the decades in films like Mean Streets (1973), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), The Limey (1999) and Memento (2000). Eric Wilson's compelling study Point Blank (British Film Institute, 2023) examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema. He argues that Boorman revises traditional Hollywood crime films by probing a second connotation of “point blank.” On the one hand, it is a neo-noir that aptly depicts close range violence, but, it also points toward blankness, a nothingness that is the consequence of corporate America unchecked, where humans are reduced to commodities and stripped of agency and playfulness. He goes on to reimagine the film's experimental style as a representation of and possible remedy for trauma. Examining Boorman's formal innovations, including his favoring of gesture over language and blurring of boundaries between dream and reality, he also positions the film as a grimly comical exploration of toxic masculinity and gender fluidity. Wilson's close reading of Point Blank reveals it to be a film that innovatively inflects its own generation and speaks powerfully to our own, arguing that it is this amplitude, which encompasses the many major films it has influenced, that qualifies the film as a classic. Eric Wilson is Professor of English at Wake Forest University, USA. His publications include Secret Cinema: Gnostic Vision in Film (2006) and The Strange World of David Lynch: Transcendental Irony from Eraserhead to Mulholland Dr (2007). His writing has featured in Psychology Today, L.A. Times, The New York Times and Huffington Post. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

John Boorman's Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave, and spaghetti western. Its lasting influence can be traced throughout the decades in films like Mean Streets (1973), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), The Limey (1999) and Memento (2000). Eric Wilson's compelling study Point Blank (British Film Institute, 2023) examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema. He argues that Boorman revises traditional Hollywood crime films by probing a second connotation of “point blank.” On the one hand, it is a neo-noir that aptly depicts close range violence, but, it also points toward blankness, a nothingness that is the consequence of corporate America unchecked, where humans are reduced to commodities and stripped of agency and playfulness. He goes on to reimagine the film's experimental style as a representation of and possible remedy for trauma. Examining Boorman's formal innovations, including his favoring of gesture over language and blurring of boundaries between dream and reality, he also positions the film as a grimly comical exploration of toxic masculinity and gender fluidity. Wilson's close reading of Point Blank reveals it to be a film that innovatively inflects its own generation and speaks powerfully to our own, arguing that it is this amplitude, which encompasses the many major films it has influenced, that qualifies the film as a classic. Eric Wilson is Professor of English at Wake Forest University, USA. His publications include Secret Cinema: Gnostic Vision in Film (2006) and The Strange World of David Lynch: Transcendental Irony from Eraserhead to Mulholland Dr (2007). His writing has featured in Psychology Today, L.A. Times, The New York Times and Huffington Post. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

John Boorman's Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave, and spaghetti western. Its lasting influence can be traced throughout the decades in films like Mean Streets (1973), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), The Limey (1999) and Memento (2000). Eric Wilson's compelling study Point Blank (British Film Institute, 2023) examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema. He argues that Boorman revises traditional Hollywood crime films by probing a second connotation of “point blank.” On the one hand, it is a neo-noir that aptly depicts close range violence, but, it also points toward blankness, a nothingness that is the consequence of corporate America unchecked, where humans are reduced to commodities and stripped of agency and playfulness. He goes on to reimagine the film's experimental style as a representation of and possible remedy for trauma. Examining Boorman's formal innovations, including his favoring of gesture over language and blurring of boundaries between dream and reality, he also positions the film as a grimly comical exploration of toxic masculinity and gender fluidity. Wilson's close reading of Point Blank reveals it to be a film that innovatively inflects its own generation and speaks powerfully to our own, arguing that it is this amplitude, which encompasses the many major films it has influenced, that qualifies the film as a classic. Eric Wilson is Professor of English at Wake Forest University, USA. His publications include Secret Cinema: Gnostic Vision in Film (2006) and The Strange World of David Lynch: Transcendental Irony from Eraserhead to Mulholland Dr (2007). His writing has featured in Psychology Today, L.A. Times, The New York Times and Huffington Post. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

John Boorman's Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave, and spaghetti western. Its lasting influence can be traced throughout the decades in films like Mean Streets (1973), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), The Limey (1999) and Memento (2000). Eric Wilson's compelling study Point Blank (British Film Institute, 2023) examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema. He argues that Boorman revises traditional Hollywood crime films by probing a second connotation of “point blank.” On the one hand, it is a neo-noir that aptly depicts close range violence, but, it also points toward blankness, a nothingness that is the consequence of corporate America unchecked, where humans are reduced to commodities and stripped of agency and playfulness. He goes on to reimagine the film's experimental style as a representation of and possible remedy for trauma. Examining Boorman's formal innovations, including his favoring of gesture over language and blurring of boundaries between dream and reality, he also positions the film as a grimly comical exploration of toxic masculinity and gender fluidity. Wilson's close reading of Point Blank reveals it to be a film that innovatively inflects its own generation and speaks powerfully to our own, arguing that it is this amplitude, which encompasses the many major films it has influenced, that qualifies the film as a classic. Eric Wilson is Professor of English at Wake Forest University, USA. His publications include Secret Cinema: Gnostic Vision in Film (2006) and The Strange World of David Lynch: Transcendental Irony from Eraserhead to Mulholland Dr (2007). His writing has featured in Psychology Today, L.A. Times, The New York Times and Huffington Post. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

On episode 165, we welcome Eric Wilson to discuss how to embrace the weird parts of ourselves and why it's important to do so, various exercises to help us along the way, why being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder caused Eric to feel like an incompetent father, how psychotherapy helped him embrace the parts of himself that could make him feel like a good dad, our fear of the strange and attraction to it, the importance of creating new habits to cultivate new parts of yourself, why there's no such thing as a “true self,” learning to create new and more complex interpretations of ourselves and the world, how Eric helped his students become more passionate about literature, and the importance of living for oneself and embracing the purposeless life. Eric G. Wilson is the Thomas H. Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest University. He is the author of books Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy, an LA Times bestseller; Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away; and Keep it Fake: Inventing an Authentic Life, as well as many other books exploring connections among literature, film, and psychology. His newest book, available now, is called How to Be Weird: An Off-Kilter Guide to Living a One-of-a-Kind Life.   | Eric G. Wilson | ► Website | http://www.ericgwilson.net ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/keepitfake ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/ericgwilson777 ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/ericgwilson ► Youtube | https://bit.ly/3FBhGwr ► How to Be Weird Book | https://amzn.to/3TqPS3E Where you can find us:   | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666  

Comando na mão e carrega no botão! Estamos tão loucas com a adaptação para série de Daisy Jones & The Six, que não podíamos deixar que vos recomendar livros inspirados nas vossas séries favoritas. Digam-nos se querem mais destes, que nós gostámos muito. Livros mencionados neste episódio: - Almond, Won-Pyung Sohn (1:23) - The Wolf Den, Elodie Harper (3:46) - Songs in Ursa Major, Emma Brodie (9:33) - Book Lovers, Emily Henry (10:39) - The Dinner List, Rebecca Serle (10:48) - One Italian Summer, Rebecca Serle (11:11) - Were'd You Go, Bernardette?, Maria Semple (11:36) - As Coisas Que Faltam, Rita da Nova (12:59) - Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason (14:18 & 23:52) - Clap When You Land, Elizabeth Acevedo (14:41) - Você Nunca Mais Vai Ficar Sozinha, Tati Bernardi (15:09) - Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory, Raphael Bob-Waksberg (16:21) - Against Happinness, Eric G. Wilson (16:58) - Alone With You in the Ether, Olivie Blake (18:33) - The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt (19:56) - Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson (20:33) - Cleopatra & Frankenstein, Coco Mellors (21:18) - Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love, Huma Qureshi (21:51) - Queenie, Candice Carty-Williams (24:07) - Hotel World, Ali Smith (25:48) - Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty (26:33) - The Villa, Rachel Hawkins (27:21) - Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan (28:02) - The Hating Game, Sally Thorne (29:04) - Hot Copy, Ruby Barret (29:08) - Can You Keep a Secret, Sophie Kinsella (29:24) - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me, Mindy Kaling (29:43) - The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There, Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey (30:08) - Apples Never Fall, Liane Moriarty (32:00) - Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng (32:35) - Red at the Bone, Jacqueline Woodson (33:36) - Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield (34:20) - The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (35:41) - The Dead Romantics, Ashley Poston (36:15) - The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, Josie Silver (37:04) - Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson (38:00) - Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive, Stephanie Land (38:12) - Crime e Castigo, Fiódor Dostoiévski (39:02) - Bird Box, Josh Malerma (40:30) - The Final Girls Support Group, Grady Hendrix (40:59) - O Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira, José Saramago (41:19) ________________ Enviem as vossas questões ou sugestões para livratepodcast@gmail.com. Encontrem-nos nas redes sociais: www.instagram.com/julesdsilva www.instagram.com/ritadanova/ twitter.com/julesxdasilva twitter.com/RitaDaNova [a imagem do podcast é da autoria da maravilhosa, incrível e talentosa Mariana Cardoso, que podem encontrar em marianarfpcardoso@hotmail.com]

What's wrong with being a little weird? I am fortunate in my career to meet new people every week through the work that I do and let me tell you, I definitely get a chance to see a good cross-section of humanity. Who do I remember the most? The ones who are, shall I say, a little off kilter. Who experience the world just a little bit (and sometimes a lot) differently than those in the center of the normal curve of distribution. To answer my own question, there's nothing wrong with being a little weird; in fact, we should celebrate weirdness. I know that my guest today, Eric G. Wilson agrees with me. After all, he wrote a book on how to be weird! Meet Eric Wilson Eric is the Thomas H. Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest University, where he teaches creative writing and British Romantic poetry. He is author of Against Happiness, Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck, and Dream-Child: A life of Charles Lamb. He recently joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about his career and latest book, How to Be Weird: An Off-Kilter Guide to Living a One-of-a-Kind Life. Key Topics: How advice from a therapist encouraged Eric to change his goals as a parent. How Bill Murray changed his life. How he was able to pivot from academic writing to more creative writing. Why it's important to let our inner weirdness out. Exercises for enhancing our creativity. Buy How to Be Weird: An Off-Kilter Guide to Living a One-of-a-Kind Life Amazon: https://amzn.to/3V0fZxz Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9780143136576 Connect with Eric Website: http://www.ericgwilson.net/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericgwilson777/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eric.g.wilson.3 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericgwilson Connect with Mike Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/ If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My friend and friend to the Gnostics, Eric G. Wilson, returned to the Virtual Alexandria to discuss his new book: How to Be Weird: An Off-Kilter Guide to Living a One-of-a-Kind Life. What is being weird exactly? How can that wild eccentricity move us into an existence of wonder, artistry, and freedom? We learned from past and remarkable figures that broke through the monotony of machine life and archon-hypnotizing – and embraced their inner trickster and created a better world. Beyond Eric sharing the wisdom and exercises from his work, we covered William Blake, Herman Melville, David Lynch, and other Gnostics of modernity. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/aeon-byte-gnostic-radio/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's finally out after many promises and plans of mice and men (and gods too)! I couldn't think of anyone better for our first show than Eric. We discuss from an esoteric and traditional perspective how to deal with alcoholism, bipolar disorder, and depression. As serious as the topics are, we had a blast in exploring Gnostic fire and Promethean ice. Our discussion covered William Blake, Herman Melville, David Foster Wallace, Alan Watts, and other significant figures who found their Hermes and descended into the human soul's undergrounds. Some returned, some didn't. What will your end be? The Finding Hermes program is out, gradually rolled out but in tiers, found at Patreon or AB Prime. Astral Guest — Eric G. Wilson, author of Polaris Ghost and Professor of English at Wake Forest University. More information on Eric Check out our last interview with Eric on Aeon Byte

Eric is a leading expert in the relationships between literature and psychology. He is the author of several books, he is an English professor at Wake Forest University. podcast show host, father, athlete, and aspiring painter.

I am a person guilty of harboring a multitude of character flaws but, if there is one thing I am especially guilty of it is being an ungrateful @$$hole. I am a naturally “Glass half-empty” kind of guy but, I still have so much to be thankful for. Last month I decided to make it a point to create spaces and opportunities to be more purposefully and intentionally grateful. In his book Against Happiness, Eric G. Wilson writes that “When a person views the world only through his own experience, he divorces himself from the polarized flow of existence, that persistent dialogue between self and other, familiar and unfamiliar.” I am grateful for Eric Wilson's writing. I'm grateful for what I've learned from it. Grateful that he was actually willing to be a guest on my podcast. And, I am so grateful for what I learned from the insights garnered from our conversation together. When we fail to engage with the perspective of another, when we neglect the opportunity to see the world from an alternate view, we fail to see the fullness of the human experience, the fullness of the world, the fullness of “Being” itself. Every one of us are on our own specific journey. Everyone knows something individually that we collectively don't. Everyone has experienced something that I haven't. Anytime we get to bridge the gap between ourselves and another person, it can only be fruitful, it can only be enlightening, it can only be insightful. We live in an amazing time. The opportunities for connection and communication have never been more abundant, more alive, more vibrant, and more readily available. Kwame Anthony Appiah writes that “the worldwide web of information…means not only that we can affect lives everywhere but that we can learn about life anywhere”. Tim Harford explains that “the modern world gives us more opportunities than ever to forge relationships with people who do not look, act, or think the same way that we do.” Every encounter with another person is an opportunity to get an insight that we didn't have before, to get access to knowledge we wouldn't have come across any other way. Jean-Paul Sartre says “The Other holds a secret – the secret of what I am”. The insight of the Other is insight into ourselves. Revealed in the portrait of the Other is a picture of who we are. To gaze into the eyes of the Other is to glimpse into the reality of Being. To begin to understand the Other is to begin to understand everything. If you want to keep up with what I'm up to and what I'm working on - check out my website. If you want to support what I do, get access to behind-the-scenes content, and get shout-outs in podcasts and video, head over to my Patreon page. Thanks to my Patrons and supporters: Jim Martin - https://theunusualbuddha.com/ Ben Bridges - https://www.myfpvstore.com/ Jerome Shaw - https://anchor.fm/jshaw Rev. Jerry Maynard - https://www.facebook.com/revjerryhtx/ Rajan Shankara - https://rajanshankara.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/duanetoops/support

First off, Shout-outs to mt patrons and supports Jim Martin and Ben Bridges. I completely forgot to give you a shout out in the episode, my apologies! To make up for it I'm giving you top billing here, lol. I'm so excited to share this episode. I got the amazing opportunity to interview one of my favorite writers and thinkers, Eric G. Wilson. A few months back I made a video and a podcast talking a little bit about one his books, Against Happiness. If you want to watch the video you can find it here, and if you want to listen to the podcast episode you can find it here. That video put me in touch with both Eric and his podcasting partner, Joel Tauber. I was fortunate enough to have Joel as a guest on a previous episode of the podcast, you can also watch the video of my interview with Joel here. Their podcast, which we talk about in the episode, is called Belt: A 2-Man Memoir. Its funny, smart, and irreverent. This is an incredible conversation. I'm so unspeakably grateful to Eric for taking the time. As the title of this episode suggests, we talk a lot about meaning and melancholy. But, we also talk quite a bit about creativity, writing, failure, religion, spirituality, and so many other rich and dynamic subjects. Here are a few of the books from Eric's catalog that we discussed: Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck Keep It Fake The Mercy of Eternity Polaris Ghost If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you subscribe to it on whatever platform you're listening to it on, leave it a good review and share with your friends. If you'd like to support this work of learning out loud, contribute to creating a community of curiosity then please check out my Patreon page. For $3 a month you get shout-outs in all my videos and podcasts, you early access to all my YouTube video before they are released to the general public, and you get access to exclusive behind-the-scenes Patreon only blogs, videos, and photos. Keep Showing up, Keep Doing the Work, FAIL BOLDLY, and Let's Make Something Meaningful. Connect with me on Social YouTube Instagram Twitter Facebook --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/duanetoops/support

Eric G. Wilson and I explore themes of melancholy and madness, the value of artistic ambiguity, finding your voice as a writer and person, William Blake and David Lynch, longing, dark nights of the soul, Gnosticism, letting go of trying to find meaning, and vulnerability and the complexities of masculinity while discussing his new book Polaris Ghost, a "fascinating hybrid rising from a mix of memoir, journalism, scholarship, and cultural analysis." Eric G. Wilson is Thomas H. Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest University, where he teaches British and American Romanticism as well as Creative Writing. He is author of several books of creative nonfiction: Keep It Fake, Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck, Against Happiness, and The Mercy of Eternity: A Memoir of Depression and Grace. Wilson has also published a creative writing handbook, My Business Is To Create: Blake's Infinite Writing. His scholarly books include The Strange World of David Lynch, Secret Cinema, The Melancholy Android, Coleridge's Melancholia, and The Spiritual History of Ice. His essays have appeared in The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Georgia Review, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Oxford American, The Southern Humanities Review, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Our State. *Links* http://www.ericgwilson.net/ Cover art/logo design by Jeff Wolfe Theme music by Poddington Bear