Book Fight

Ep 290: Jenny Boully, The Body


Listen Later

This week we're talking about a lyric essay that was first published in 2002 and has since become part of a new canon of creative nonfiction: Jenny Boully's "The Body," which first appeared in The Seneca Review and was re-released in book form by Essay Press. The big question of this episode: are we smart enough to understand this piece, which is written in footnotes to an invisible text? Or is it even a thing meant to be "understood" in a traditional narrative sense? Is it a beautiful evocation of a language that's just beyond conventional meaning? Is it a whole bunch of word salad? And, seriously, are we big dummies who just barely manage to get our pants on each morning?

Also this week: In Mike's continuing search for a good donut, he pits two bitter Pennsylvania rivals against each other. That's right, it's Sheetz vs. Wawa.

If you like the show, please consider subscribing to our Patreon, which helps us make a bit of money each month and keep the show going. For just $5 a month, you'll get access to a monthly bonus episode, Book Fight After Dark, in which we visit some of the weirder, goofier corners of the literary world. Recently, that's involved reading a paranormal romance novel, the debut novel of Jersey Shore's Snookie, and the novelization of the movie Robocop.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Book FightBy Mike Ingram and Tom McAllister

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

267 ratings


More shows like Book Fight

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,951 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,998 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,885 Listeners

The New Yorker: Fiction by The New Yorker

The New Yorker: Fiction

3,366 Listeners

The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,997 Listeners

Overdue by Headgum

Overdue

2,248 Listeners

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast by Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

2,114 Listeners

EconTalk by Russ Roberts

EconTalk

4,279 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,843 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

15,753 Listeners

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

10,495 Listeners

The Rest Is Entertainment by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Entertainment

875 Listeners

Good Hang with Amy Poehler by The Ringer

Good Hang with Amy Poehler

12,648 Listeners

The Telepathy Tapes by Ky Dickens

The Telepathy Tapes

8,783 Listeners

Zero to Well-Read by Book Riot

Zero to Well-Read

594 Listeners