Tobias Carroll

“A Series of Escalating Dares”: Dan Sinker and Joe Meno on Their New Collaboration “Question Mark, Ohio”

April 21, 2023 No Comments

"Question Mark, Ohio"

I’ve long followed the work of both Joe Meno and Dan Sinker — the former via his numerous books, the latter via his work as a writer and editor. So when an email showed up in my inbox with the news that Meno and Sinker were collaborating on a new project, Question Mark, Ohio, I was intrigued. The project, a serialized narrative about an Ohio town where objects are mysteriously disappearing, kicks off today on Instagram, with further updates taking place beginning on April 25 on the town’s website. I spoke with Meno and Sinker about the project’s genesis, their collaboration, and the art of the narrative.

Book Review, Books, Featured

The Moral Terror of Eric LaRocca’s Short Stories

April 20, 2023 No Comments

"The Trees Grew Because I Bled There" cover

In a 2022 interview with Cemetary Dance, Eric LaRocca discussed their approach to writing — and, more specifically, writing horror. “That would be a failure for me as an artist, if I left you feeling indifferent to whatever you just read,” LaRocca said. “I had failed in my capacity to tell a story that shook you and made you think and maybe disgusted you, maybe just made you feel something. That’s what I try to do with any of my work.”

Books, Featured

Cities and the Imagination: A Reading List

April 19, 2023 No Comments

City from above

Some cities are surrounded by history, rumor, and mythology to the point where they practically feel like the stuff of fiction. Other cities and spaces have evaporated into memory, leaving little trace behind of the tactile details that made them famous. Others still may have been enhanced or distorted by legends and fiction, rendered unrecognizable in the popular imagination.

Featured, Interviews, music

Grandbrothers on “Late Reflections” and Recording in a Cathedral

April 14, 2023 No Comments

Grandbrothers

The list of non-classical albums recorded in sacred spaces is small, but it’s led to some impressive sounds over the years. (Cowboy Junkies’ The Trinity Sessions is a particular favorite.) Grandbrothers, the duo of Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel, recently created their own entry in that category with their new album Late Reflections. Recorded in the Cologne Cathedral, the album takes use of the space’s unique sound to create something vast and immersive. I spoke with the duo about the process that led to the making of the album and the challenges they faced along the way.

Books, Featured

William T. Vollmann: A Reader’s Guide

March 9, 2023 No Comments

William T. Vollmann

Taken as a whole, the works of William T. Vollman are frequently contradictory. He’s a writer drawn to the lives of outsiders who’s also written about some of the most essential and overarching subjects facing society; his bibliography encompasses both transgressive, unsettling writing and deeply accessible forays into historical and contemporary issues.

Books, Featured, Interviews

A Hotel Turns Horrific: Juan Martinez on Writing “Extended Stay”

March 2, 2023 No Comments

Juan Martinez

Six years ago, I spoke with Juan Martinez about his excellent collection Best Worst American, a genre-spanning work that encompassed a host of styles and tones, with a pronounced sense of the ominous. Now, Martinez is back with a new novel, Extended Stay. What begins as a novel about a brother and sister on the run from familial trauma gradually turns into something much stranger and more horrific. The Alicia, where both take refuge, turns out to have several qualities that distinguish it from other Las Vegas hotels — including more than a few suggestions that the hotel itself is alive. I spoke with Martinez about the genesis of this book, its connection to his earlier collection, and more.

Books, Featured, Interviews

Inside the Uncanny Histories of Robert Kloss

February 27, 2023 No Comments

Robert Kloss

Late last year, Inside the Castle published new editions of two novels by Robert Kloss: The Woman Who Lived Amongst the Cannibals and A Light No More. Describing either book isn’t easy — Kloss combines the hallucinatory history of acid Westerns with the linguistic experimentation of Caroline Bergvall’s Drift. The overall sensibility is both fragmentary and all-encompassing, unlike anything else out there today. With these new editions made more widely available, I chatted with Kloss about the process of putting them together and exploring what might be next for him.

Books, Featured, Interviews

Todd Dills on “Shining Man,” Southern Literature, and the Search for Joy

February 23, 2023 No Comments

Todd Dills

Some of the first readings I ever did were with writer Todd Dills, who was and is one of the most engaging people to see read from their work in front of their audience. (I still have fond memories of watching Todd shaking an upside-down mic stand at an event at an Atlanta coffee shop.) The guy’s a fantastic writer as well, and when his latest novel Shining Man was published in 2019 — it’s a followup to his earlier Sons of the Rapture, which I also highly recommend — I eagerly read it and sent him some questions on it. And then the pandemic happened and the interview was paused for a bit. And now it’s complete — and features Dills discussing everything from the literary influence of Ralph Ellison to the role NASCAR plays in his work.

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