SAN JUAN, P.R. — Whether extolling the virtues of a legume-centric diet or exuding disarming gratitude in matters fraternal to cosmic, a quick TSA search finds YaMZ effortlessly emotive, lucid, and playful. Recorded entirely in transit, TSA Approved YaMZ, at just under eight minutes, could well be his most cohesive work yet. Full EP: https://goo.gl/QKQwWD. Blog: http://bumsum.net – @itscanals

ATHENS, N.Y. / BAY AREA, Calif. — Shiina, 25, is a massage healer and singer-songwriter splitting time between the Bay Area and Los Angeles. She first discovered Big Magic (2016) about a year ago. I read it over this past Christmas and finished it right before the new year. This episode is dedicated to Elizabeth Gilbert's late partner, Rayya Elias (1960–2018). Intro song: "Queer Love" by Sheena Conroe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7rBGufphGY

Subscribe to 1storypod on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1storypod/id1238415112?mt=2

Twitter: https://twitter.com/1storypod?lang=en / http://1storyhaus.com

PHILLY–SYDNEY — Tren, 31, is a poet living in Sydney. Read his poems: https://goo.gl/3dU3tj. Or follow him: https://twitter.com/basedmtn. Tao Lin's next book, Trip: Psychedelics, Alienation, and Change is forthcoming from Vintage in May.

Referenced essay: http://marc-degens.de/all-my-ex-friends/

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S. PHILLY — 1SP vets Nick, 27, and Zac, 27, on auto-fiction: what it is, who does it most compellingly, where it might be headed. Texts we consider are Walker Percy's 1961 philosophical novel The Moviegoer, Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, and Karl Ove Knausgaard's novels, from his My Struggle Series to his recent/forthcoming seasonal quartet. In music, we consider Sun Kil Moon's "Benji" (2014), Mount Erie's "A Crow Looked at Me" (2017), and Young Dolph's "Bulletproof" (2017).

1SP: https://twitter.com/1storypod

On what I'm rdng rn: https://twitter.com/stconroe

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BED-STUY — Eric, 31, is a poet, modern dancer, and carpenter living in Brooklyn. His chapbook, TOP BLOCKER, is now available from GAUSS PDF. I've read TOP BLOCKER a number of times over the past months, since its release. Order/read TOP BLOCKER here: https://goo.gl/VMpi1x. Eric tweets @ejconroe. - @sho_thor, http://1storyhaus.com

PHILLY — Sam, 27, is a political organizer and ceramic artist living in Philadelphia. He first read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (1971) in high school. I first read it about six weeks ago. Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1937) served briefly in the U.S. Air Force before moving into journalism. He shot himself, at 67, in 2005. Intro song: lil peep - we think too much (prod. nedarb). - @sho_thor, 1storyhaus.com

PHILLY — Aaron, 26, is a reader and writer of poetry living in Philadelphia. He discovered Hera Lindsay Bird while visiting New Zealand last month. I read Hera Lindsay Bird (Victoria University Press) twice over the past week. Hera Lindsay Bird (b. 1987) was born and raised in Thames, New Zealand. This, her first book, won the Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award. @sho_thor http://1storyhaus.com

Buy Hera's book! ~ http://vup.victoria.ac.nz/hera-lindsay-bird/

Read Aaron's poetry! ~ http://somedayyeasayer.blogspot.com/

SYDNEY — Tren, 31, is a reader and writer Redfern, an inner-city suburb on Sydney's outskirts. He reread Witch Piss (Lazy Fascist Press) over the past week, though first discovered Sam Pink's books five years ago. I first read Witch Piss over the past week. Sam Pink lives in Chicago and plays in the band Depressed Woman. He tweets at @sampinkisalaive.

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PHILADELPHIA — Nick, 26, grew up primarily in North Carolina and lives in Los Angeles, where he writes and teaches. He first read My Brilliant Friend "a few months ago." I read it over the past fortnight, finishing it literally moments before this conversation. The first story published under the pseudonym Elena Ferrante appeared in 1992. There is considerable debate about her real identity, about which little has been confirmed. It has nonetheless been inferred, based on information from her interviews and correspondences with her publisher, that she "grew up in Naples, is a mother, and is not now married" (James Wood/Wiki). – 1storyhaus.com

LOS ANGELES — Takako was born in Tokyo in 1955, teaches at a Waldorf school in California, and is also, turns out, my mother. She first read Almost Transparent Blue (1976) while still a student at Tokyo Daigaku, so at twentyish. I first read Almost Transparent Blue (tr. Nancy Andrew, 1976) maybe a month ago, and have reread it since. Ryu Murakami (b. Feb, 1952) was born and raised in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. He wrote Almost Transparent Blue while studying sculpture at Musashino Art University in Tokyo.