Saturday Show #97: The Santosbrazzi Killer by Heidi Julavits

Summary: This week, only 3 members of the notorious Austin Writing Workshop gathered to do battle over literature and philosophy. But that was enough. Listen to the sparks fly, the philosophical theories rumble, and the rhetoric zoom off the hook!<br> 0:00 Introductory Clip from the Episode<br> 0:40 <a href="http://amzn.to/1FlSn97" target="_blank">Infinite Ending Advertisement (You should buy this, no doubt.)</a><br> 1:16 Group discussion of “The Santosbrazzi Killer” by <a href="http://www.believermag.com/contributors/?read=julavits,+heidi" target="_blank">Heidi Julavits</a>, including broad discussion of style used in the piece, plot summary, making up words, owning the language, Ernest Hemingway, David Foster Wallace, Brooklyn hipsters, jicking, amateur attempt at copying Wallace and Dave Eggers, use of details, hyper-maximalism, Carver, assholeness of character, setting up the intrigue of the story, being open-minded to the style, word-maker-upper, colloquialisms, general critiques against postmodernism, the prison of choice, philosophical conundrums, subconscious choices on the menu of life, theme of alienation, lady Hush Puppies, men sitting on a chair and taking a bullet in the head, cultural comment on American life, consumerism, character becoming a writer for the ‘Nati, David Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, the McSweeney’s gang, The Believer magazine, Kundera, writers having too many choices, having more energy, selling the reader your story, universal rules, comedy in the story, the Tuck Inn, using larger words, surreal feel of the story, something for the reader to believe, the pirate people, subtlety, being concerned with plot only, Transformers, Groundhog Day, more discussion of pirates, horror, Don DeLillo, mysteries, Dashiell Hammett, Victorian literature, following the rules, slickness, academics not finding value in David Foster Wallace, teaching Hemingway’s tactics, anthologization, Tom Hanks, learning crap, urban dictionary, jick meaning, whipping out of the pen, basic outline of story, MFA Programs, being a paratrooper, Donald Barthelme, dilution of the process, ee cummings, the art cycle, Richard Ford, Stephen King, hating every story, The Girl with Curious Hair, Lyndon Johnson, the avant-garde, guessing who the author is, revealing the writer as HEIDI JULAVITS, Harold Bloom, The 12 Best American Writers, J.D. Salinger, Nick Adams, Updkie, Roth, Cheever, Coover, American Pastoral, and creating a villain character.<br> 53:13 <a href="http://amzn.to/1FlSn97" target="_blank">Infinite Ending Advertisement (WHY have you not purchased this yet??? Are you loco in the coco?)</a><br> 53:45 End of Podcast <br>