An Afghanistan Picture Show; Or, How I Saved the World
Explicit content warning
02/17/22 • 144 min
In this inaugural episode, hosts Ryan Alexander & Jordan Rothacker discuss the 1992 memoir An Afghanistan Picture Show; Or, How I Saved the World. Specific topics include how the book can be categorized in terms of genre and style, the bipartite identities of The Young Man & William T. Vollmann, the failure of the individual to affect systemic change, and how “the Other” is depicted. They also discuss their backgrounds as Vollmann readers, their favorite Vollmann book(s), and their goals for the show.
Show Notes:
“The True Story of William T. Vollmann’s Research Assistant”: https://heavyfeatherreview.org/2018/06/20/carbon-ideologies/
Excerpt from The Cloud Shirt: http://www.grandstreet.com/gsissues/gs46/gs46c.html
Excerpt from A Table for Fortune: https://goodtimes.sc/cover-stories/heading-toward-nowhere/
The New Yorker’s “20 Under 40”: https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1999-06-21/flipbook/
KCRW Bookworm – Fathers and Crows: https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/william-vollmann
Ted Koppel’s favorite books: https://theweek.com/articles/587103/ted-koppels-6-favorite-books
“Across the Divide”: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/05/15/across-the-divide
“American Writing Today: A Diagnosis of the Disease”: http://www.conjunctions.com/print/article/william-t-vollmann-c15
KCRW Bookworm – The Dying Grass:
https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/william-t-vollmann-the-dying-grass-part-i
https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/william-t-vollmann-the-dying-grass-part-ii
“Life as a Terrorist”: https://harpers.org/archive/2013/09/life-as-a-terrorist/
The Celestial Bandit: A Tribute to Isidore Ducasse, the Comte de Lautréamont, Upon the 175th Anniversary of His Birth: http://www.kernpunktpress.com/store/p29/celestialbandit.html
“Unnatural History of Construction: The Interim by Wolfgang Hilbig (translated by Isabel Fargo Cole)": https://statorec.com/unnatural-history-of-construction-by-ryan-alexander/
Credits:
Show logo (“An Incomplete Map of Vollmannia”) created by, and used with the permission of, Anna Roth
Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/strollology/shop
Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vollmannia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vollmannia/
Homepage: https://vollmannia.buzzsprout.com
In this inaugural episode, hosts Ryan Alexander & Jordan Rothacker discuss the 1992 memoir An Afghanistan Picture Show; Or, How I Saved the World. Specific topics include how the book can be categorized in terms of genre and style, the bipartite identities of The Young Man & William T. Vollmann, the failure of the individual to affect systemic change, and how “the Other” is depicted. They also discuss their backgrounds as Vollmann readers, their favorite Vollmann book(s), and their goals for the show.
Show Notes:
“The True Story of William T. Vollmann’s Research Assistant”: https://heavyfeatherreview.org/2018/06/20/carbon-ideologies/
Excerpt from The Cloud Shirt: http://www.grandstreet.com/gsissues/gs46/gs46c.html
Excerpt from A Table for Fortune: https://goodtimes.sc/cover-stories/heading-toward-nowhere/
The New Yorker’s “20 Under 40”: https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1999-06-21/flipbook/
KCRW Bookworm – Fathers and Crows: https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/william-vollmann
Ted Koppel’s favorite books: https://theweek.com/articles/587103/ted-koppels-6-favorite-books
“Across the Divide”: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/05/15/across-the-divide
“American Writing Today: A Diagnosis of the Disease”: http://www.conjunctions.com/print/article/william-t-vollmann-c15
KCRW Bookworm – The Dying Grass:
https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/william-t-vollmann-the-dying-grass-part-i
https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/william-t-vollmann-the-dying-grass-part-ii
“Life as a Terrorist”: https://harpers.org/archive/2013/09/life-as-a-terrorist/
The Celestial Bandit: A Tribute to Isidore Ducasse, the Comte de Lautréamont, Upon the 175th Anniversary of His Birth: http://www.kernpunktpress.com/store/p29/celestialbandit.html
“Unnatural History of Construction: The Interim by Wolfgang Hilbig (translated by Isabel Fargo Cole)": https://statorec.com/unnatural-history-of-construction-by-ryan-alexander/
Credits:
Show logo (“An Incomplete Map of Vollmannia”) created by, and used with the permission of, Anna Roth
Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/strollology/shop
Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vollmannia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vollmannia/
Homepage: https://vollmannia.buzzsprout.com
Next Episode
You Bright and Risen Angels: A Cartoon
In this episode, we're joined by Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder and Miles Liebtag to discuss the 1987 debut novel YOU BRIGHT AND RISEN ANGELS: A CARTOON.
Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder produces limited-edition artist’s books under the imprint of Coyote Bones Press and teaches at various institutions. Her research-based book works incorporate sculptural book structures and found objects, combining traditional and contemporary bookbinding and printing techniques. Her books are held in prominent collections including UC Berkeley, Bainbridge Island Art Museum, Stanford, RISD, and The British Library.
https://www.kerischroeder.com/
https://www.instagram.com/coyotebonespress/
Miles Liebtag is an academic leftover who's been working in the beer industry for over a decade. He is an Advanced Cicerone and has an MA in Literature from Miami University of Ohio. His sole academic publication is a contribution to William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion, in which he discusses representation and power in WTV's first novel, You Bright & Risen Angels. A recovering shitposter, he's been social media free for two years.
Show Notes:
Daniel Lukes and Christopher K. Coffman (eds.), William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781611495256/William-T.-Vollmann-A-Critical-Companion
Daniel Lukes (ed.), Conversations with William T. Vollmann https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/C/Conversations-with-William-T.-Vollmann
William T. Vollmann, “Author’s Note” from You Bright and Risen Angels, KCRW Bookworm https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/william-vollmann (begins at 09:28)
Speak Sex Podcast Episode 102: True Love, Sex as Transformation, Intellectual Intercourse –Eve Eurydice with William T. Vollmann https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/speak-sex-with-eve-eurydice-778073/episodes/ep-102-eurydice-w-william-t-vo-129028326
WASTE Mailing List, Colonialism Confronted Through Fantasy | You Bright and Risen Angels by William T. Vollmann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL0m3zWA1vw&t=348s
Jordan in conversation with Tobias Carroll https://brooklynrail.org/2022/05/books/Jordan-A-Rothacker-with-Tobias-Carroll
Mircea Cărtărescu, Sean Cotter (trans.), Solenoid https://bookshop.org/books/solenoid/9781646052028
Credits:
Show logo (“An Incomplete Map of Vollmannia”) courtesy of Anna Roth
Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/strollology/shop
Music: Jeannette Fang, Preludes, Op. 28 - No. 2 'Presentiment of Death' by Frédéric Chopin. Public Domain Mark 1.0 – No Copyright from https://musopen.org.
Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vollmannia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vollmannia/
Homepage: https://vollmannia.buzzsprout.com
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