Tom Will is a poet who has, among other things, written Pale Townie (Apocalypse Confidential, 2023), a 999-line poem which keeps the heroic couplet end rhymes from Pale Fire (Nabokov/Shade) intact, while transforming the story into something quite different, very Tom Will. He's also recently published American Cats Are in a Big Country (2024, Farthest Heaven), a collection of 73 poems, all of which are very much worth your time and love.

We got to talk about the process of writing Pale Townie, why limericks are so funny, prose poems, clunk, Tom's future projects, and a lot more.

Tom tends to pace while talking. I decided to keep these parts and leave them unedited, because the full Tom Will experience involves periods of muffled audio and sudden clear exclamations. To deny these parts would be to deny the fullness of communication.

Find Tom's books here: https://many.bio/thomaswill

Tom's Recommendations

• Farthest Heaven - https://farthestheaven.com/
  
  
• Apocalypse Confidential - https://apocalypse-confidential.com/
  
  
• Wallace Barker - https://wallacebarker.com/
  
  
• Hayden Church - So What - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FG1Y6P29
  
  
• Dustin Cole - Find After Sunstone on the Farthest Heaven website (https://farthestheaven.com/)
  
  
• Anna Krivalopova - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCW2HGMX
  
  
• Soft Union magazine - https://softunion.online/
  
  
• Adam Johnson - Cialis, Verdi, Gin, Jag - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B86SK97Y
  
  
• OFFICEPARKS - Noam Hessler - Coming out soon with Farthest Heaven (https://farthestheaven.com/)!
  
  

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Jack has published a novel called Tower!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tower-Jack-BC-ebook/dp/B0CM5P9N9M/ref=monarch_sidesheet

The first nine chapters of Tower are available for free here: jackbc.substack.com

Our Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBookClubfromHell

Jack's Substack: jackbc.substack.com

Levi's website: www.levioutloud.com

www.thebookclubfromhell.com

Join our Discord (the best place to interact with us): discord.gg/ZMtDJ9Hscr

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0n7r1ZTpsUw5exoYxb4aKA/featured

X: @bookclubhell666

Jack on X: @supersquat1

Levi on X: @optimismlevi