The Virtual Memories Show
How did an eBay search lead to the discovery of a lost classic of comics? How can art help us build a better America? Artist and teacher joins the show to talk about co-editing the amazing new book, (Fantagraphics) and his multi-decade "wordless novel" in paintings, (Karma). We get into how Frank Johnson made thousands of pages of comics in private, never published, and may have created the first American comic-book in history, whether he constitutes an Outsider Artist, how his creative legacy contrasts with 's, and what it means to make a lifelong body of work with no sense or expectation...
info_outline Episode 581 - Edith HallThe Virtual Memories Show
Classicist joins the show to talk about her fantastic, important new book, (Yale University Press). We talk about the taboo of talking about suicide, how that taboo can lead to transgenerational damage, how that compares to the family curses in Greek tragedies, and what the Tragedians have to teach us about life (and death) today. We get into her grandmother's suicide and her mother's conspiracy of silence around it, her own suicidal ideation and how Heracles Mad helped her through her worst phase, the way Facing Down the Furies sprung from Edith's previous book, , the process of researching...
info_outline Bonus Episode - Dean HaspielThe Virtual Memories Show
LEAN INTO DEAN! Cartoonist, playwright, schmoozer, etc. returns for a Bonus Episode to talk about his new Kickstarter, (closing March 28, 2024)! We get into why he's making the plunge into Meta-Mem-Noir and bringing Dean Haspiel as a character into his New Brooklyn comics universe, what it's like to be part of the story, and how this podcast is also becoming more autobiographical with each passing week. Plus, we talk about getting old and not being able to stay out all night (even though he tried this weekend), what it's like to treat comics as a reductive art rather than a rendering one,...
info_outline Episode 580 - David SmallThe Virtual Memories Show
With his brand new collection, (Liveright), brings us a trio of stories about the beast within (that is, within the heart, within the psyche, and within the body politic). We talk about the on-and-off 40-year history of this collection, the themes of transformation and aging that suffuse these stories, and the schism in Leonora Carrington's estate that nearly derailed the whole project. We get into the the challenges of adapting prose fiction into comics, his move from graphic novels (think and ) to short stories, why he's come to love drawing digitally, and just how bad most surrealist...
info_outline Episode 579 - Brad GoochThe Virtual Memories Show
With (Harper), brings us the biography of , an artist who transformed public art & the art world in the 1980s and whose work has become part of global culture in the three decades since his untimely death from AIDS. We get into Brad's common threads with Haring, the parallels between this book and his , how fatherhood helped Brad better understand Haring, and his surprise at discovering what a serious artist Haring was. We talk about why Haring's work makes more sense now than in the '80s, what he would have made of social media, the fire that drove him to make more than 10,000 pieces of...
info_outline Episode 578 - JapanThe Virtual Memories Show
No conversation this week, except for our host, Gil Roth, in conversation with some virtual memories of his own! On the occasion of going to the movies for the first time since 2018, to see ’ amazing new film , he reflects on a cusp-of-pandemic trip to Japan. This one’s got & , a misplaced fortune, , an empty parking lot, Country & Western, a special 5K run, a big bag of , and more, so give it a listen. • More info • Support The Virtual Memories Show via or and via
info_outline Episode 577 - Scott GuildThe Virtual Memories Show
With his fantastic debut novel, (Pantheon), brings us a dystopian future of eco-terrorism, meta-reality, and . . . a world populated by plastic figurines who break out in song? We talk about the 10-year process of writing the book, how he found the stylistic elements that made it work, and why making the lead characters plastic let him bring comedy into his apocalyptic vision of the future. We get into Scott's history as a musician and how songwriting differs from fiction, (with all sorts of great artists) to accompany the novel, why he'd love to do live performances of it, and how the...
info_outline Episode 576 - Aaron LangeThe Virtual Memories Show
What is the meaning of Cleveland? Cartoonist joins the show to talk about (Stone Church Press), his breathtaking new graphic novel that weaves together obscure records, urban legends and psychographic history. We talk about Aaron's fascination with Cleveland's punk scene, why the musician stood out to him, the way Cleveland's hidden landmarks pointed him toward this massive project. We get into the research and interviews Aaron conducted for Ain't It Fun, the process of editing this work into a looping, flaneur-like, discursive (but never aimless) narrative, and the influence of Greil...
info_outline Episode 575 - Donald J RobertsonThe Virtual Memories Show
With (Yale University Press), author & therapist brings us the life and philosophy of the last of the . We talk about how knowing the life and travails of Marcus Aurelius helps one understand how to lead a Stoic life, how the Antonine Plague compares with our life in Pandemia, the reasons Donald found modern biographies of Marcus Aurelius wanting, and how this book brought him new understanding of the intricacies of Ancient Roman life and Marcus Aurelius' big decisions. We also get into the role of Stoicism in his own life and how that philosophy's been debased into the unhealthy...
info_outline Episode 574 - Elizabeth FlockThe Virtual Memories Show
With her incredible new book, (Harper), journalist explores the lives of three women who responded to violence with violence, and how they run up against the social institutions that seem designed to grind them down. We get into how the book grew from her interest in female vigilantes and her own experience of sexual violence, how she wound up reporting on the YPJ all-women army in Syria (but didn't tell her mom until a few days before flying out there), how we try to reconcile revenge and a just world, and how cultures of honor wreak havoc on women and men. We talk about how she balanced...
info_outlineThe Village People tell us that Key West is the key to happiness, but is it also the key to a literary legacy? Michael Carroll joins the show to talk about his new collection, Stella Maris: And Other Key West Stories (Turtle Point Press), and the role Key West has played in his life. We get into the pros and cons of being married to a literary titan (Edmund White, in this case) and how they're portrayed in each other's work, the value of short stories in the short attention span era (and his lament that young gay men don't read), growing up Southern Baptist and gay, whether his upbringing in Jacksonville means he is Florida Man (and whether Florida is The South or South-Ish), why he avoids hookup apps, the influence of Joy Williams on his writing and the sustenance he gets from Lana Del Rey, and how writing about gay sex helps him vent his political rage. • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal