Idaacadda Galabnimo - VOA: Recent Episodes
Three Percent
Each “season” of Two Month Review highlights a different new and amazing work of world literature, reading it slowly over the course of eight to nine episodes. Featuring a rotating set of literary guests—from authors to booksellers, critics, and translators—the individual episodes recap a short section of the book and use that as a springboard for a fun (and often irreverent) discussion about literature in a general sense, pop culture, reading approaches, and much more. Talking about great books doesn't need to be deadly serious, and the levity of 2MR makes it accessible to everyone (even if you’re not reading along).
With just Chad and Brian on this week's episode, the show turns almost full superhero. We get Chad's weirdly specific—and unnerving—Volodine-influenced dream. We get to see Samiya Schmidt transform into a raging version of Captain Marvel/Banshee. We get to see Kronauer assume his role as the one chosen to take down Solovyei. Brian and Chad also talk about the influence of language and ideologies on the characters, "cock's language" and "to rut," and speculate about just who is dreaming the dreamer. As always, you can watch these episodes live on our YouTube channel the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, March 5. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood, and for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's music is all from Mother Earth's Plantasia by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear "Rhapsody in Green."
Tobias Carroll (Transitory, Reel) joins Chad and Brian to talk about the latest installment of Radiant Terminus. These three chapters get wild, as Schulhoff (who mysteriously disappeared shortly after his marriage to Hannko, Solovyei's daughter) returns and tries to get Ilyushenko to kill him. And then the never-ending train finds Radiant Terminus and Solovyei launches a poetic attack . . . They also talk about the numbers in the book, angels, Chad's dreams of suing the government, and much more. As always, you can watch these episodes live on our YouTube channel the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, February 20. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, Brian Wood, and Tobias Carroll for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's music is all from Mother Earth's Plantasia by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear "Concerto For Philodendron & Pothos."
Rhett McNeil joins Chad Post and pinch-hitter Kaija Straumanis to talk about the first half of part two of Radiant Terminus, "Ode to the Camps." From recounting Chad's latest Volodine-inflected dream to a discussion of the ways various ideologies (fairy tales, anarcho-capitalism, Marxism-Leninism) play out in the novel, to the connection between these ideologies and male violence and the way in which the characters are almost like shadows in the novel, this is a wide-ranging, very dialed in episode. As always, there is laughter and a lengthy recap, but it also goes very deep into the novel and Volodine's overall game. As always, you can watch these episodes live on our YouTube channel the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, February 20. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, Brian Wood, Kaija Straumanis, and Rhett McNeil, for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's music is all from Mother Earth's Plantasia by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear "Ode to an African Violet."
This week, former TMR guest Rachel Cardasco returns to talk about speculative fiction in translation, various allegories for Radiant Terminus (current political climate, The Tempest, The Bible), who dreams the dreamer, the patriarchy and Maria Kwoll's feminist post-exotic texts, steampunk technology, spider dreams, and much more. This is the college course you wish you'd taken--fun and smart and funny all at once, and featuring a genuinely interesting book. With a series of detailed recaps and call backs to earlier chapters, you can enjoy this without having read a page of Volodine. And should. As always, you can watch these episodes live on our YouTube channel the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, February 13 Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, Brian Wood, and Rachel Cordasco, for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's music is all from Mother Earth's Plantasia by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear "Baby's Tears Blues."
From Tarkovsky to Jessica Jones, this week's episode covers a lot of ground. Anthony and Chad are joined by Hailey Dezort to walk through the first three chapters of Antoine Volodine's Radiant Terminus. There's a lot to unpack, from the plant names, to the nature of men, to horrible fathers, to the humor found in Gramma Ugdul talking to the core of a failed nuclear reactor. Given how plotted this novel is, you can definitely follow along, even if you haven't read the section yet. Also, we get to find out who Hailey thinks Khrili Gompo is, and we officially changed this season's contest: Whoever sends in the best drawing of one of the imaginary plants found in Radiant Terminus will receive copies of both of his previous published Open Letter titles AND all forthcoming ones. If you want to get one of these t-shirts, email Open Letter and let us know!
As always, you can watch these episodes live on our YouTube channel the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live the evening of Wednesday, February 6th. You can also get 30% off Radiant Terminus, or any other Volodine book, by using the code VOLODINE at checkout from the Open Letter website. (Offer is only good until midnight Eastern on 1/31.) Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, Brian Wood, Anthony Blake, and Hailey Dezort for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's music is all from Mother Earth's Plantasia by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear "Symphony for a Spider Plant." (A very Volodine title.)
We’re back! . . . And a few days late. Chad explains why on the podcast itself, but suffice it to say that last week was a bit, um, stressful. But Brian and Chad finally got together to talk about Antoine Volodine in general, post-exoticism, Brian Evenson’s introduction to Radiant Terminus, similarities between Evenson’s writing and Volodine’s, this season's game (SEND US YOUR DREAMS!), Volodine's essay in The New Inquiry, and much more. As always, you can watch these episodes live on our YouTube channel the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, January 30th at 11am Eastern. You can also get 30% off Radiant Terminus, or any other Volodine book, by using the code VOLODINE at checkout from the Open Letter website. (Offer is only good until midnight Eastern on 1/31.) Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's music is all from Mother Earth's Plantasia by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear the opening track from the album, "Plantasia."
It's all over! After eleven weeks of Pessoa, Chad and Brian have finished The Book of Disquiet. And to celebrate, they each wrote some jacket copy and blurbs and went hard at trying to get BINGO for someone. They also preview the next season of TMR and come up with a very marketable Pessoa-themed product idea . . . As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes. Stay tuned for more details about the schedule for Season 7: Radiant Terminus by Antoine Volodine. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And the episode ends with an energetic blast of bad music.
Probably the most controversial Two Month Review to date, so buckle up! Are there unhinged rants? You bet! Questions regarding the marketing and "completeness" of the New Directions edition? Yep! A long discussion about the differences in voice between the both excellent Margaret Jull Costa and Richard Zenith translations? That too! It's a jam packed penultimate episode that's not to be missed. As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes. Next week's podcast will cover sections 359-393 (pages 388-421 in the U.S. edition). Stay tuned for more details about the exact time. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And for next season can we please finish each episode with good music?
This week David Smith—former Open Letter intern and current grad student at the University of Iowa—joins Chad and Brian to debate poetry vs. prose, separating the p.o.v. of Pessoa's heteronyms from his own personal viewpoint, Soares's morality and metaphysics, how to judge the quality of a translation, and much more. As a bonus, Brian shares his first ever work of erasure poetry! As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes. Next week's podcast will cover sections 359-393 (pages 388-421 in the U.S. edition). Stay tuned for more details about the exact time. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And wow, Taking Back Sunday really sucks.
Chad and Brian fly solo this week, filling in dozens of TMR Bingo squares, and trying to come up with "rules for writers" based on this particular section of The Book of Disquiet. It's a pretty imprecise set of rules, but whatever, in the words of Pessoa, "perfection is inhuman." They also talk a bit about a "Mount Rushmore of American Literature," whether or not listicles can hit a saturation point in which they're all useless, and much more. As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes. Next week's podcast will cover sections 316-358 (pages 337-387 in the U.S. edition). Stay tuned for more details about the exact time. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And this week's closing music is the most Pessoa-like song we've included to date . . .
This week's special guest is Portuguese author and translator João Reis who knows a lot about Pessoa and the writings of his various heteronyms. He also talks about his forthcoming novel, The Translator's Bride, and his work as a translator. There's some of the usual banter as well, including a solid rundown of everyone's favorite lines and some of Pessoa's sayings that have become Portuguese colloquialisms. Get your BINGO card here! And if you get a "bingo" while listening, send a picture of your playing card to Chad Post. Each week, the first person who does so will receive a special one-time code to get 30% off of any and everything on the Open Letter website. As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes. Next week's podcast will cover sections 222-273 (pages 238-287 in the U.S. edition). Stay tuned for more details about the exact time. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And now Chad has heard some of a My Chemical Romance song.
This week's podcast goes off the rails pretty quickly, and includes a hungover dismissal of this version of The Book of Disquiet, the phrase "reclaim some of the douchery" is spoken, there is a lot of laughter, a discussion about the tensions between trying to read this as poetry vs. the expectations that come from trying to read it as fiction, and much more. Get your BINGO card here! And if you get a "bingo" while listening, send a picture of your playing card to Chad Post. Each week, the first person who does so will receive a special one-time code to get 30% off of any and everything on the Open Letter website. As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes. Next week's podcast will cover sections 222-273 (pages 238-287 in the U.S. edition). Stay tuned for more details about the exact time. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And here's another terrible emo song: "Better This Way" by The Get Up Kids.
This week Chad and Brian come to some conclusions about the Vicente Guedes part of The Book of Disquiet and get very excited about the more "mature, sophisticated" writings of Bernardo Soares. They both love this new voice and dig into what separates the heteronyms and their philosophies on life. And without a guest, Chad and Brian go on some entertaining digressions and keep trying to crack each other up. Informational, smart, and funny—the Two Month Review combination. Get your BINGO card here! And if you get a "bingo" while listening, send a picture of your playing card to Chad Post. Each week, the first person who does so will receive a special one-time code to get 30% off of any and everything on the Open Letter website. As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes. Due to Chad's travel schedule, the timing of the next livestream is still up in the air, but will be announced on Twitter as soon as it's all confirmed. That episode—which will be available as a podcast on November 8th—will cover sections 174-221 (pages 190-237 in the U.S. edition). Stay tuned for more details about the exact time. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And here's another terrible emo song Chad had never listened to before today: "Ohio Is for Lovers" by Hawthorne Heights.
BINGO! That's the theme of today's episode, which includes a Twin Peaks reference, awkward introduction, LitHub reference, and many other squares on the recently released Two Month Review bingo cards. It's explained in full at that post and on the podcast, but every week, the first person to email Chad with "bingo" in the subject line and a picture of their card will receive a one-time code to get 30% off any and everything Open Letter sells. In terms of The Book of Pessoa, Chad, Brian, and Anthony Blake break down the bits they liked (and didn't) from this week's reading, including the "sensationist" bits, the role of heteronyms in Pessoa's outlook, depression, the misogynist bits, and the line "to be published = the socialization of the self." It's a fun, free-wheeling episode that alternates between high analysis and low jokes in the way the best TMR episodes tend to. As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes. Due to Chad's travel schedule, the next livestream will take place this Sunday and will cover sections 131-173 (pages 142-189 in the U.S. edition). Stay tuned for more details about the exact time. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast.
Jerónimo Pizzaro—editor of the "complete edition" of The Book of Disquiet published by New Directions—is the special guest on this week's Two Month Review. He discusses his history with Pessoa, how this volume came to be, the next three volumes in the New Directions project, how to approach The Book of Disquiet and its separate halves, some of the philosophical shift that take place over the course of the book, and more. For Pessoa fans and newbies, this episode is not to be missed! As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes every Wednesday morning. Next week we'll be covering sections 82-130 (pages 95-141 in the U.S. edition) with special guest Anthony Blake. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And, in keeping with the theme from last season, we'll be featuring a different emo rock song every episode for the outro music. Today it's Anthony Blake's favorite song from Chad's most hated band.
This is one of the most Two Month Review podcasts yet. Chad, Brian, and Tom Flynn (Volumes Books in Chicago) come together to discuss the first forty-six pages (sections 1-39) of the complete version of Fernando Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet. In addition to breaking down the philosophy and literary style representing Vicente Guedes--Pessoa's heteronym for this section of the book--they swap favorite lines, invent a new Instagram idea for Chad, link up Pessoa with emo bands, and try and tackle the difficulty of reading this book sequentially versus dipping in and out. As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes every Wednesday morning. Next week we'll be covering pages 47-94 (sections 40-81) with special guest Jerónimo Pizarro, the mastermind behind this particular edition of The Book of Disquiet. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can also follow Tom Flynn, and you can buy as many books as you can carry from Volumes in Chicago. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's opening music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco. And, in keeping with the theme from last season, we'll be featuring a different emo rock song every episode for the outro music. Today it's Kaija Straumanis's favorite Dashboard Confessional song.
The Two Month Review is back! This season we'll be reading the New Directions publication of The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa, one of the greatest works of literature (or poetry?) from the past century. To kick things off Declan Spring joined Brian Wood and a (happily hungover on baseball and beer) Chad W. Post to introduce Pessoa and his many heteronyms. They talk a lot about ND's Pessoa project, how they pitch uncategorizable books, how this edition differs from others, and much more. As always, you can find the video for this episode on our YouTube channel, where we livestream the episodes every Wednesday morning. Next week we'll be covering pages 1-40 (sections 1-39). Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts on Pessoa and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests. You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This season's music is "E Às Vezes Dou Por Mim" by contemporary fado star Cristina Branco.
Dubravka Ugresic is in Rochester for Open Letter's tenth anniversary celebration, so she got together with Chad and Brian to talk about how she wrote Fox, Melania-related tourism, the two story points that launched the book, her writing process, and more! As always, Fox (and all the previous Two Month Review titles) is available for 20% off through our website. Just use the code 2MONTH at checkout. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for more thoughts and information about upcoming guests and for more information about Season 6: The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. And you can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This week's intro music is "The More and Moreness" by Haiku Salut, with the theme music of Back to the Future III ending the run of Michael J. Fox movies. (Thank god.)
Ryan Chapman (Conversation Sparks, Riots I Have Known) came on this week to talk about the final section of Dubravka Ugresic's Fox. They discuss "business class vs. economy class" writers, authenticity and performing in the role of a writer, Franzen, the overall genius of Ugresic's writing, and much more. It's a very thoughtful final episode, enthused about having completed the project, yet sad to be leaving this world. You can watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube, and while you’re there, subscribe to the Two Month Review channel and stayed tuned for the next broadcast, which will welcome Dubravka herself! As always, Fox (and all the previous Two Month Review titles) is available for 20% off through our website. Just use the code 2MONTH at checkout. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, Brian Wood, and Ryan Chapman for more thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And when the info is officially released, please pre-order a copy of Ryan's new novel, Riots I Have Known and tell everyone that the Two Month Review made you do it. Chad wants to hold him to that whiskey promise . . . And you can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This week's intro music is "Unless It's Kicks" by Okkervil River, with the theme music of Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco taking us out. (Can not wait to forget all of these Michael J. Fox movies.)
Caitlin Luce Baker from University Bookstore in Seattle joined Chad and Brian to talk about the "Little Miss Footnote" section of Dubravka Ugresic's Fox. They touch on Dorothy Leuthold, Vladimir Nabokov, and much more, including a very subtle weaving of references that you'll definitely want to tune in to learn about. You can watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube, and while you’re there, subscribe to the Two Month Review channel and stayed tuned for the next broadcast--Tuesday, September 4th at 10am--which will feature Ryan Chapman (author of Conversation Sparks: Trivia Worth Talking About and several other ventures) and will cover the final section of the novel. As always, Fox (and all the previous Two Month Review titles) is available for 20% off through our website. Just use the code 2MONTH at checkout. Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official GoodReads Group. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, Brian Wood, and Caitlin Luce Baker for more thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And you can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast. This week's intro music is "We Don't Have a Sail but We Have a Rudder" by El Ten Eleven, with the theme music of Life with Mikey serving as the outro track. (Please check out the trailer for this Michael J. Fox movie. It's . . . unsettling. The early 90s were a time.)