{"id":9658,"date":"2016-05-23T20:40:36","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T00:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=9658"},"modified":"2020-08-16T13:41:53","modified_gmt":"2020-08-16T17:41:53","slug":"episode-169-david-mikics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-169-david-mikics","title":{"rendered":"Episode 169 – David Mikics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show #169:
\nDavid Mikics<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_169_-_David_Mikics.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

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“These days, we tend to think of identity as something chosen; we put on certain masks or we identify as this or that, culturally, ethnically or politically. Bellow is interested in something much more basic: who we really are.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>David Mikics<\/a> joins the show to talk about his wonderful new book, Bellow’s People: How Saul Bellow Made Life Into Art<\/a> (Norton). We get into Bellow’s legacy, his fall from academic favor, his transmutations of life into art, David’s humorously accidental introduction to his work, what Jewishness meant to Bellow, whether Philip Roth was right when he told Bruce Jay Friedman, “Saul Bellow am de daddy of us all,” and more!\u00a0Give it a listen!<\/a> And go read\u00a0Bellow’s People: How Saul Bellow Made Life Into Art<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Bellow once said that the reason writers had such messy personal lives is because they didn’t know what to do with the afternoon.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We also talk about David’s experience as a professor, why writing is harder for today’s students, what it’s like to teach course called, “Is Life Worth Living?” and “The Human Situation”, which science fiction novels warped him as a youth, why we need Slow Reading in a Hurried Age<\/a>\"\", what contemporary books look like they’ll last, and why he eventually came around on Faulkner. \u00a0Go listen<\/a>!<\/p>\n

“Canonicity is not where you find it, but where you make it.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s a BIG list of books we talked about, but it’s only available to supporters of The Virtual Memories Show<\/strong><\/em>, so go to Patreon<\/a> or Paypal<\/a> and make your contribution to this podcast!
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http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_169_-_David_Mikics.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

Enjoy the conversation!<\/a>\u00a0Then check out\u00a0the archives<\/a>\u00a0for more great episodes! You might like:<\/p>\n