With a dash of irony I'm going to set up a false dichotomy: this is either the worst show we've ever done or it's the best. Jonah laments not having it more prepared like a lecture - yet what would a lecture bring that reading Sontag's work in her own words would not? Perhaps this mess is preferable. In fact this is part of Sontag's themes in The Aesthetics of Silence. She argues for the spoken word rather than the written.

Which, by the way, like any difficult or messy work of art, you the listener is probably going to need to bring something to this in order to get anything out of it. Just google Sontag really quick and get a sense of her style if you're not familiar. Again, could probably do so much more on her, but this is it for now.

Will pointed out to me today that all of Sontag's work is out of print, while all of Camille Paglia's work is still in print. You'll have to listen to the episode to get the context. But I guess we're into another exploration of a writer's work who is considered passe. At least, to me, their is value in that. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.