Episode 79: Christian Kiefer & Christopher Boucher

June 25, 2019

Christian Kiefer had great reservations about writing his beautiful new book, PHANTOMS. He tells James how he found the story, and the steps he took to tell it. They also talk about capturing bear consciousness, being haunted by one’s own work, finding joy in music and writing, and those troublesome flugelhornists. And then our old friend Christopher Boucher discusses his new novel, BIG GIANT FLOATING HEAD. 

Christian Kiefer

Buy PHANTOMS

Also by: THE INFINITE TIDES, THE ANIMALS, ONE DAY SOON TIME WILL HAVE NO PLACE LEFT TO HIDE. 

Christian and James discuss: 

Matt Salesses 

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA by Arthur Golden 

SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS by David Guterson 

Jamil Zaki 

Deena Drewis 

Nouvella Books 

ORIENTALISM by Edward Said 

CULTURE AND IMPERIALISM by Edward Said 

NOTHING EVER DIES by Viet Thanh Nguyen 

Vintage Contemporaries 

Tobias Wolff 

Robert Stone 

Richard Ford 

Tim O’Brien 

SOPHIE’S CHOICE by William Styron 

ABSALOM, ABSALOM by William Faulkner 

Henry James 

Nathaniel Hawthorne 

Emile Zola 

Lauren Groff 

San Francisco Zoo 

GHOST TANTRAS by Michael McClure 

Benjamin Percy 

Ingmar Bergman 

Andrei Tarkovsky 

THE WHITE DEATH by Gabriel Urza

THE LAST REPATRIATE by Matthew Salesses 

THE SENSUALIST by Daniel Torday 

HOW TO SHAKE THE OTHER MAN by Derek Palacio 

IF YOU’RE NOT YET LIKE ME by Eden Lepucki 

FLY-OVER STATE by Emma Straub 

A FAMILIAR BEAST by Panio Gianopoulos

Miles Davis 

John Coltrane 

WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS, Lawrence English

Nicholas Brittell 

THE DISINTEGRATION LOOPS, William Basinksi 

Lyle Lovett 

George Jones

JESUS’ SON by Denis Johnson

PURE HOLLYWOOD by Christine Schutt 

Barry Hannah 

GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING (documentary) 

John Keene 

Magnolia Electric Company 

Jason Molina 

CANADA by Richard Ford 

Sewanee 

Christopher Boucher

Buy BIG GIANT FLOATING HEAD

Also by: HOW TO KEEP YOUR VOLKSWAGEN ALIVE, GOLDEN DELICIOUS. 

James and Christopher discuss: 

Melville House 

Kurt Vonnegut 

THE PARIS REVIEW 

Ben Greenman 

Boston College 

Oregon State 

“People Like That Are The Only People Here” by Lorrie Moore 

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor 

“Araby” by James Joyce 

Looney Tunes 

Elmer Fudd

Bugs Bunny