Infinite Gestation

It's the Halloween Special! Matt Bird sits in with Infinite Gestation for a spooky discussion regarding three handpicked short stories (and an essay) by H. P. Lovecraft: "The Shadow Out of Time", "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Dunwich Horror" & "Supernatural Horror in Literature". These stories serve as an essential taste of the strange universe that is H. P. Lovecraft. Though many criticisms persist (including a few of our own), Lovecraft's influence on modern horror is inescapable. His work casts a long shadow across the genre, often hailing as the origin of conventions that we now think of as standard –– or at times, even cliché. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Matt Bird curated an exhibit in the fall of 2011 at IU-Bloomington’s Lilly Library titled “The Character of Ernest Hemingway.” The exhibit utilized Hemingway’s letters, photographs, typed manuscripts with edits, and artifacts of the Army’s investigation into EH’s activities during World War II to foster a discussion

Differing opinions, arguments and some notable complaints emerge (including the Showtime production budget and the limitations it may have placed on the film) during Infinite Gestation's discussion of Last Call, a made-for-cable biopic from 2002 concerning the final years of F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is not the "old sport" you know and love. Far from the Jazz Age, a weather-worn and alcoholic Fitzgerald (a fine performance by Jeremy Irons) resides on the fringes of Hollywood, writing The Last Tycoon between hallucinations of his (then institutionalized) wife Zelda and spats with his mistress, Hollywood gossip columnist Sheilah Graham. The author manages some progress on his novel with the assistance of his secretary Frances Kroll (whose 1985 memoir Against the Current: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald serves as a basis for the film) before his sudden (though perhaps not unexpected) death at the age of 44. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Last Call (200

During part 2 of Infinite Gestation’s two part series entitled “Graphic Novels as Literature”, special guest Matt Bird delves into the Big Three (The Dark Night Returns by Frank Miller, Maus by Art Spiegelman & Watchmen by Alan Moore). Across the decades, comic books have evolved into a form to be reckoned with and deserve a closer look. In tandem, a selection of authors and illustrators have pushed the medium to its limits (and beyond), often presenting themes, social issues and the hard questions — without the legitimacy that prose fiction has enjoyed for many years. Perhaps now is the time to give graphic novels the chance to be called literature. The 1980's saw comic books come into their own with mature themes and subject matter aimed primarily at an adult audience. This ultimately led to a trend in graphic narrative whereby creators and readers began to favor quality writing alongside the talent of illustrators. This era brought about the publications of the Big Three (along with a selection of other

During part 1 of Infinite Gestation's two part series entitled "Graphic Novels as Literature", special guest Matt Bird shares a brief history of comic books. Across the decades, comic books have evolved into a form to be reckoned with and deserve a closer look. In tandem, a selection of authors and illustrators have pushed the medium to its limits (and beyond), often presenting themes, social issues and the hard questions — without the legitimacy that prose fiction has enjoyed for many years. Perhaps now is the time to give graphic novels the chance to be called literature. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Matt Bird curated an exhibit in the fall of 2011 at IU-Bloomington’s Lilly Library titled “The Character of Ernest Hemingway.” The exhibit utilized Hemingway’s letters, photographs, typed manuscripts with edits, and artifacts of the Army’s investigation into EH’s activities during World War II to foster a discussion of Hemingway’s personal curation and control of his ima

While its status as an American classic remains undisputed, The Catcher in the Rye has also earned a shadowy legacy by way of its connections to celebrity murders along with an attempted presidential assassination, all through no fault of its own. What is it about this novel that connected with several desperate loners on their separate and misguided journeys to infamy within a single decade? In the most salacious episode to date, Infinite Gestation investigates the Salinger classic, touching on story parallels shared with the 1976 film Taxi Driver, its cameo in The Shining and J.D. Salinger's legally mandated absence from Field of Dreams. *References to "Bonner" are actually intended to indicate Robert John Bardo. Patrick apologizes for the strange transposition of names and further promises to read Silas Marner (again) to serve as proper atonement ... or maybe he'll just spend the entire weekend picking up trash along the highway. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Not

Infinite Gestation attempts to separate people from personalities in this episode discussing the place and significance of autobiographical elements within the work of a variety of authors. Questions arise regarding personal experience as an unnecessary qualification in fiction, the over-dependence of the modern age on crowd sourcing for a work's merit or validation and unfounded worries that this episode might contain a bad case of the Kirk. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Midnight in Paris (2011 film) - Woody Allen Hemingway Novels: The Sun Also Rises The Old Man and the Sea For Whom the Bell Tolls The Lady with the Dog (short story) by Anton Chekhov Graham Greene Novels: The End of the Affair Our Man in Havana Animal Farm by George Orwell Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Mo

Based on Sam's recommendation, Infinite Gestation takes on The Tin Drum by the late and great Günter Grass. This first book of what later became known as "The Danzig Trilogy" is unquestionably a masterpiece, with a proud standing as the German author's debut novel. With its mystical elements and a storyline that twists its way from the turn of the century to just beyond the years following World War II, this novel brushes up against the Nazis and the horrors of the war without allowing these elements to consume the narrative. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Danzig Trilogy - Günter Grass The Tin Drum Cat and Mouse Dog Years To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Polish Post Office (Danzig) Skat (card game) Glass Onion by The Beatles [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evxrVjW-aeg"][/su_youtube] The Great Dictator (1940 film) - Charlie Chaplin Lord of the Flies by William Golding One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel G

Now is the perfect time to start reading Murakami (if you haven't already). August 4th, 2015 marks the first US release of Murakami's first two works, Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball 1973. Join us for a discussion (fanboy celebration) of what makes Murakami great, including a list of works to check out, Murakami's fine use of music references and an unforgivable Wild Sheep Chase spoiler by Grant. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Murakami Novels Hear the Wind Sing / Pinball 1973 Norwegian Wood The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle  South of the Border, West of the Sun After Dark Sputnik Sweetheart 1Q84 Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World Wild Sheep Chase Dance Dance Dance Murakami Soundtracks (YouTube Playlists) Norwegian Wood 1Q84 General Long John Silver (1972) - Jefferson Airplane The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald Mysteries of Pittsburg by Michael Chabon Ghost

Sam fields questions regarding one of his favorite novels, The Master and Margarita, a concurrent odyssey into 1930's Soviet Russia and the city of Jerusalem as witnessed in the gospels. The host of memorable characters includes Satan, Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate. Mikhail Bulgakov's brilliant narrative, with its elements of black magic, a bipedal talking cat named Behemoth and a Soviet brand of paranoia characteristic of the time certainly proves that dark satire doesn't get much better than this. Happy Birthday, Sam! Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Mikhail Bulgakov The Master and Margarita - Burgin/O'Connor Translation The Master and Margarita - Pevear/Volokhonsky Translation The White Guard A Country Doctor's Notebook Black Snow: A Theatrical Novel Heart of a Dog A Young Doctor's Notebook - TV Series Fyodor Dostoyevski Leo Tolstoy Nikolai Gogol Anton Chekhov Ivan Turgenev The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie Victor

In a rather harrowing episode, Grant defends the work of Kurt Vonnegut (one of his favorite authors) against an onslaught of criticism from the remainder of the panel. In the face of some difficult questions regarding genre, complaints of commonly employed narrative conventions, and the suggestion that perhaps Slaughterhouse-Five has earned the Vonnegut canon more notoriety than it possibly deserves, Grant remains steadfast and unwavering. No one was injured (physically) during the recording of this podcast. *The various criticisms contained within do not necessarily reflect opinions held by the opposing panel members, so please save your best hate mail for a future episode. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Kurt Vonnegut Works The Sirens of Titan Player Piano Slaughterhouse-Five Cat's Cradle God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater Galápagos Mother Night Timequake Hocus-Pocus Breakfast of Champions Welcome to the Monkey House Bombing of

Can a film transcend the novel it was based upon? During a (by no means definitive) discussion of most-loved and patently despised novel to film adaptations, the panel braves some harsh words, endures scathing criticism and experiences several moments of probable enlightenment. Along the quest to discover if the book is always better than the movie: James Franco is disparaged, Stanley Kubrick receives praise, disagreements arise over the adaptation of East of Eden and details regarding Mario Puzo's use of Sonny Corleone's penis as a literary device in The Godfather sparks controversy. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Lolita (1962 film) - Stanley Kubrick The Shining by Stephen King The Shining (1980 film) - Stanley Kubrick The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005 film) - Garth Jennings As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner As I Lay Dying (2013 film) - James Fran

Complete with Sam's movie trailer intro, the boys discuss Harper Lee's newly published (7/14/15) novel Go Set a Watchman. Since the initial announcement of its imminent publication, this novel has been poised to become THE literary event of the year, but not without controversy and much speculation regarding its discovery. But does it match up to the pedigree of its predecessor? Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird (film) Farewell to Manzanar by James D. Houston & Jeanne Wakatsuki Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Bring on Kunderafest! Meditations on Milan Kundera's newly published (6/23/15) novel The Festival of Insignificance find resonance among our hosting trio who promptly resort to discussing the Kundera canon. This episode serves as a good primer for anyone seeking to add the author to their reading lists. BONUS: Sam drops some names to help you make your "to read" book pile even higher. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Some Books By Milan Kundera for your "to read" pile: The Festival of Insignificance The Book of Laughter and Forgetting The Joke The Unbearable Lightness of Being The Art of the Novel Farewell Waltz Life is Elsewhere Identity Slowness The Curtain Laughable Loves God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil The Sleepwalkers by Hermann Broch Unbearable Likeness of Being (film) Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez Man Without a Country by Kurt

The fallacy of America's legacy of literary censorship is dissected (sans anesthetic) with a celebration of novels like Ulysses by James Joyce & Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence. Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" makes a cameo (kudos to Grove Press) and a segue into Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James causes a rather memorable Freudian Slip. Sam brings the boys back to their senses with a brief discourse on the tribulations of Salman Rushdie upon the publication of The Satanic Verses. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links "Why I Write" by George Orwell Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters & Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Animal Farm by George Orwell Lord of the Flies by William Golding Ulysses by James Joyce "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg Obscene - Awesome documentary on Grove Press & Barney Rosset Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie Joseph Anton: A Memoir b