From Whence It Came

War, war never changes, except all the time. The nature of a man, however, is far more predictable—and yet elusive. Chidi Ebere pins down the nature of a man, of a certain type, in his novel, Now I Am Here. While his work may deal with the ordinary, it incorporates his extraordinary life at every opportunity. I'd spoil it here, but that's against the rules.

War, war never changes, except all the time. The nature of a man, however, is far more predictable—and yet elusive. Chidi Ebere pins down the nature of a man, of a certain type, in his novel, Now I Am Here. While his work may deal with the ordinary, it incorporates his extraordinary life at every opportunity. I'd spoil it here, but that's against the rules.

For William Keeling, author of The Gay Street Chronicles, the terror of five finger sandwiches is accompanied by some of his most joyous memories: today, we're talkin' tea parties. Yeah, tea parties, and a heck of a lot more that he slipped into his work. Fancy cravats, anyone?

I've yet to interview a soldier, but I think this episode cuts pretty close. Today I speak with Andy Smart, author of The More You Hate Me, for a genuinely radically honest and complicated discussion about the effects of trauma born out of a single movie, Full Metal Jacket.

I had never considered that life after prison could be so...Buddhist. That's not the normal story you hear, but, frankly, none of our conversation today should be considered, quote-unquote, normal. In one of my best conversations to date, Douglas Cole, author of The White Field, reveals not just the inspirations that informed his work, but also the psychological process underlying it.