This episode is the one to listen to if you find Empire of the Senseless/Kathy Acker distasteful, unpleasant to read, a slog, hard going, etc. That summarizes Kaija’s experience, whereas Chad argues for the value in books that refuse to get in line, and Brian talks about why Acker is so divisive. If you’re not reading along, this episode is a great summary of why Acker is lauded, while also copping to the extreme nature of her prose. Also: Can one subvert language using language—even of the nonsensical variety?
This week’s music is “Total Trash” from Sonic Youth.
Next week we’ll be talking about pages 141–174 of the print version of Empire of the Senseless (up to 215 for epub readers). And you can find the whole reading schedule here.
All previous seasons of TMR are available on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know.
Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.
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