Burned By Books

An interview with Karina Lickorish Quinn, The Dust Never Settles (2021). Karina and I discuss the indigenous histories of Peru, the desire for more Spanish and indigenous languages to permeate her novel in English, on being English in Peru and Latina in England, and her awakening in the pages of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Books Recommended in this episode: Karina Lickorish Quinn, The Dust Never Settles Karina Recommends: Maia Elsner, Overrun by Wild Boars Leone Ross, One Sky Day Benjamín Labatut, When We Cease to Understand the World Caleb Azuma Nelson, Open Water  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Alexandra Kleeman, Something New Under the Sun (2021). Alexandra and I discuss the need for a more fecund climate imagination, the appeal of writing about California as a natural space under threat, Hollywood as a microcosm for America’s late capitalism, and her love for Robin Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass. Books Recommended in this episode: Alexandra Kleeman, Something New Under the Sun Alexandra Recommends: Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation James Bradley, Clade Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass Jeffrey Meikle, American Plastic Tristan Gooley, The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Clare Sestanovich, author of Objects of Desire (2021). Books Recommended in this episode: Clare Recommends: Alice Munroe, Runaway Denis Johnson, Jesus’ Son Keith Ridgeway, The Shock Shirley Hazzard, Collected Stories Yoon Choi, Skinship: Stories  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Dana Spiotta, author of Wayward (2021). Dana and I talk about how memory is stored in the architecture of cities, the unlikely villains of good novels, writing as a refuge, and the difficulty for women who step outside of expected roles. Books Recommended in this episode: Dana Recommends: Katie Kitamura, Intimacies Anthony Veasna So, Afterparties Mona Awad, All’s Well Joy Williams, Harrow  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Eleanor Henderson, author of Everything I Have is Yours (2021). Eleanor and I discuss the unforgivable failures of the American medical establishment, trying to find truth and care in-between the healers and quacks, deciding to open the closed book of a marriage to the world, and finding solace in the extraordinary memoirs of writers seeking mental and physical wellness. Books Recommended in this episode: Eleanor recommends: Maggie Nelson, The Argonauts Porochista Khakpour, Sick: A Memoir Esme WeiJun Wang, The Collected Schizophrenias CJ Hauser, Family of Origin  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies (2021), longlisted for the National Book Award. Katie and I discuss the International Criminal Court, its biases and tireless fight for justice, the charisma of its translators, the attraction to violence in the novel, the inscrutability of marriages, and so much more. Books Recommended in this episode: Katie Kitamura, Intimacies Katie recommends: Anna Seghers, Transit Adalbert Sifter, Rock Crystal Olga Tokarczuk, The Book of Jacob  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Brian Hall, author of The Stone Loves the World (2021). Brian and I talk about blending science and math into the narrative of his novels, coming from a family split between artists and scientists, writing the sequel to his cult favorite, The Saskiad (1996), and much more. Books Recommended in this episode: Brian recommends: Richard Powers, The Overstory V.S. Naipaul, A House for Mr. Biswas Toni Morrison, Beloved William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury Helen DeWitt, The Last Samurai Min Jin Lee, Pachinko  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Hermione Hoby, author of Virtue (2021). Hermione and I discuss not needing her characters to be ethical, the mysteries of beautiful marriages, privilege and its trappings, and reading Adorno by the pool. Books Recommended in this episode: Theodor Adorno, an Introduction Willa Cather, My Antonia Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where are You James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room Jesse McCarthy, Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul? Mieko Kawakami, Heaven Clare Sestanovich, Objects of Desire Joshua Cohen, The Netanyahus  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers (2018), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Rebecca and I discuss the impact of a plague novel in the age of Covid-19, the drama and intrigue of prize juries, her archival work into the Act Up protests in Chicago, and the pleasures and complications of outside of what you know. Books Recommended in this episode: Rebecca Recommends her all-time nostalgic summer read: Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Jack Wang, author of We Two Alone (2021). Jack and I discuss his debut story collection, We Two Alone, which Viet Thanh Nguyen calls “utterly remarkable,” the as-of-yet unwritten Great Hockey Novel, AAPI hate, and the new global novel. Books Recommended in this episode: Jack Recommends: Nana Nkweti, Walking on Cowry Shells Gil Adamson, Ridgerunner Ling Ma, Severance Te-Ping Chen, Land of Big Numbers K-Ming Chang, Bestiary  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind (2020), a finalist for the National Book Award. Rumaan and I discuss how all fiction must now be climate fiction, being a promiscuous reader, the fallacy of writing from “your roots”, why there is no autofiction of black women’s experience, and the genius of J.M. Coetzee. Books Recommended in this episode: Rumaan’s novels: Rich and Pretty, That Kind of Mother, Leave the World Behind Rumaan Alam Recommends: J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace David Gates, Jurnigan Anita Brookner, Visitors Michelle Houellebecq, Elementary Particles Don Delillo, Running Do  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Miranda Popkey, author of Topics of Conversation (2020). Books Recommended in this episode: Miranda Popkey Recommends: David Burr Gerrard, The Epiphany Machine Alex Higley, Old Open Catie DiSabato, U UP? Rachel Kong, Goodbye Vitamin Framing Brittany Spears Tale of Princess Kaguya, Isao Takahata (Ghibili Films) Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Gina Nutt, author of Night Rooms (2021), a linked collection of essays that use the horror movie genre as a catalyst to cultural understanding. Gina and I discuss the “final girl” trope in horror and the need for a #metoo moment for the genre, the terrible, beautiful humanity of Swedish horror films, and the process of coming to terms with our proximity to death and the swirling void that is always following in our wake. Books Recommended in this episode: Chelsea Hodson, Tonight I’m Someone Else Hanif Abdurraqib, The Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us Jia Tolentino, Trick Mirror Samantha Irby, Wow, No Thank You  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a live show, sponsored by Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, NY, Lauren and I discuss the opiating allure of social media, the impossibility of authenticity, and our desire for books without cellphones. Books Recommended in this episode: Lauren Oyler recommends: The Faces, Tove Ditlevsen On the Edge of Reason, Miroslav Krleža The Princess of 72nd Street, Elaine Kraf Mona, Pola Oloixarac Dark Constellations, Pola Oloixarac Savage Theories, Pola Oloixarac The Divorce, Cesar Aira Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with debut novelist, Ellie Eaton, author of The Divines (2021). Ellie and I talk about class and race at English public schools, the genre of the campus novel, and the power and cruelty of teenagers. Books Recommended in this episode: Ellie Eaton Recommends: Micah Nemerever, These Violent Delights Dantiel Moniz, Milk, Blood, Heat Torrey Peters, Detransition Baby Emily Layden, All Girls Shirley Jackson, Hangsaman Brandon Taylor, Real Life  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with celebrated Belarusian American poet, Valzhyna Mort. The publication of one of the collections poems, “Antigone, A Dispatch” in the New Yorker, brought attention to the anti-democratic tyranny in Belarus, where the most recent fair election was squashed by the Putin-puppet, Alexander Lukashenko. Music for the Dead and Resurrected (2020) is a testament to the voices and lives of her friends, family, and compatriots (especially her fellow artists) who have been brutalized in this anti-democratic power grab. Books Recommended in this episode: Valzhyna Mort recommends: Carolyn Forché, In the Lateness of the World: Poems Eduardo Corral, Guillotine: Poems Victoria Chang, Obit Michael Prior, Burning Province Canisia Lubrin,The Dyzgraphxst Joy Harjo, When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry Kevin Young (edit.) African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song Ales Steger, Above the Sky Beneath the Earth Galina Rymbu, Life in Space Paul Celan, Memory Rose into Threshold Speech: The Collected Earlier Poetry: A Bilingual Edition Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Seeing the Body Eliza Griswold, If Men, Then Nathalie Diaz, Postcolonial Love Song Alice Oswald, Nobody: A Hymn to the Sea Steven Leyva, The Understudy's Handbook  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Alia Trabucco Zerán, author of Remainder (2019), and Carl Fischer, author of Queering the Chilean Way (2016). Alia and I discuss the vote in Chile for a constitutional convention, her struggle with long haul Covid, and the inherited trauma of fascism. Also, I welcome Professor of Latin American Literature at Fordham University, Carl Fischer. Books Recommended in this episode: Fernanda Melchor, Hurricane Season Lina Miruane, Seeing Red Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, The Adventures of China Iron  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Edan Lepucki, author of California (2014), Woman No. 17 (2017). Edan and I talk about being on the bleeding edge of the violent girl novel, being promoted by Stephen Colbert, the great California novel, and returning to one’s own “failed” novels. Books Recommended in this episode: Carolyn See, Golden Days  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here (2020). Kevin shares his recommendations for summer reading, including his votes for the best ever short novels, the line that he repeats every day, and the book that made him less afraid of what comes after death. Books Recommended in this episode: Yiyun Li, Must I Go Marcy Dermansky, Bad Marie Katie Kitamura, The Long Shot Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interviews with Bob Proehl, author of A Hundred Thousand Worlds and The Nobody People, and Miller Susen, author, director, and Educational Director at LiveArts, Charlottesville VA. Books Recommended in this episode: Katharine Heiny, Standard Deviation Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices