Western Thought

A couple of years ago Jonah Andrist convinced Will Peterson, of the Walrus and Carpenter bookstore in Pocatello ID, to go halfsies on a recorder. Every month or so we've sat down in front of this recorder for a chat, with some beer, to talk about writing and great writers and the philosophy of doing as such. Will has an incredible amount of developed training as a talker - being a personal knowledge hub who people look to for suggestion and guidance, a great bookstore owner - and as a writer himself knows the pains and pleasures of trying to do something great. Jonah felt doomed to becoming a writer, come hell or high water (of which there's been plenty) and with less life experience than Will has yet tried to read as widely as possible to truly understand the magic of the craft. Together they form a highly educated 45 year old who has dedicated their life to books and the people who read them.

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Episodes

Episode 43: Meditations on the Tarot

Not necessarily literature but a larger discussion about the nature of the universe. Whether it's open or closed. These Meditations are from a book by a anonymous author and are basic discussions for the understanding of Christian Hermeticism. Just pop your head into the bookstore and see if anything peaks your interest. We had fun. Western Thought on Patreon for backlisted episodes.

Nov 17, 2022•42 min•Ep. 43

Episode 34: Trying to Understand William Faulkner

We are joined by a cool painter in a Canadian tuxedo named Sydney who plays the good sport. This one is rambling and reaching with a lot of laughter and Will tells me in the second half we get very un-PC. Jonah remembers a certain amount of belligerence ... but that's usually the most fun one can have with a podcast. So come sit in the bookstore and try to figure out what's the deal with William Faulkner. www.patreon.com/westernthought

May 20, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 34

Episode 30: The David Foster Wallace Special

Warning: this episode contains irony. (To ruin the fun: It's actually about Henry Miller. Wait ... is that technically irony? It's not what I mean, and it's intended for comedic affect - I think it counts. Wallace was more concerned with Irony on a large scale cultural level which is obviously what this podcast will never have - so we get to have fun with the irony instead of wringing our hands.) Come sit in the bookstore for a while. www.patreon.com/westernthought

Jan 06, 2022•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 30

Episode 27: Truman Capote, John Kennedy Toole

Capote's MUSIC for CHAMELEONS and Toole's "Confederacy of Dunces" are discussed. Jonah discovers after the fact that he is wrong about much of Toole's biography. This well written article is probably worth more than his words. https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/the-uneasy-afterlife-of-a-confederacy-of-dunces Yet the virtue of the medium allows for the display of ignorance-par-excellance. Pretty breezy discussion with perhaps a touch too many personal stories, but hey, we're not getting ...

Sep 23, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 27

Episode 16: Milan Kundera and Michel Houellebecq

This episode's discussion begins with a reading from Kundera's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. I cannot stress this enough - if you go out and get one of Kundera's middle period novels (and you should, right now) you need to get the Aaron Asher translations. He worked closely with Kundera in the 90's and they really are superior in every way. We get pretty french this week.

Dec 05, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 16

William Gibson's PATTERN RECOGNITION

Will and Jonah are on their game for this one. Unfortunately for you we shut off the recorder and talked for another two hours, but I like to think that it's burying peat, fertilizing the soil for future episodes.

Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 6 min

Vladimir Nabokov's PALE FIRE

We are joined by the subtle wit of sir Thomas Strah. Painter, writer, narrator of Jonah's audiobook The Town of Books. What isn't to like about Nabokov. Hopefully this will urge you to pick him up again.

Jun 15, 2020•1 hr 20 min

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