Rippling Pages: Interviews with Writers

By ripplingpagesArts Books

Rippling Pages: Interviews with Writers episodes

December 06, 2023Jo Scott-Coe on the Life and Death of Kathy Leissner Whitman
"Kathy had a documentary impulse that is teaching us now."

Jo Scott-Coe returns to the Rippling Pages to talk about her latest book, UNHEARD WITNESS: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF KATHY LEISSNER WHITMAN (University of Texas Press)

Jo is a previous guest of the podcast, joining us in Series 2 to discuss MASS (Pelekinesis), an account of Charles Whitman, the Texas Tower Shooter.

Listen to that episode here: https://ripplingpages.podbean.com/e/jo-scott-coe-on-mass/

Now she returns to discuss a follow-up to that book, the story of Whitman's wife, Kathy Leissner Whitman.

This show comes with a content warning - we do talk about some sensitive topics, such as domestic violence, so please do take care of yourself when listening.

Rippling Points
Returning to the story: where the last book left us (2:30)
How Kathy's letters tell the story: Being with Kathy's 'intimate testimony' to tell her powerful and painful story (19:30)
Reference Points
Sylvia Plath
Evan Stark
Jane Monckton-Smith

If you've enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop
32 min
November 03, 2023Charlotte Eichler and Swimming Between Islands
"It's not confessional...but it's absolutely full of concrete details of things that I've observed or really happened."

Charlotte Eichler joins the Rippling Pages to discuss her new collection, SWIMMING BETWEEN ISLANDS, published by Carcanet

Tickets to Tom Branfoot launch that I'm hosting here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/boar-book-launch-tickets-733576425837

Rippling Points
Fruit bats: the mystery of the mystery, and how we write it
Unnatural world: how even poets find it difficult to connect with nature
Reference Points
Anthony Vahni Capildeo
32 min
October 20, 2023Baron Wormser on Silence, Solitude and Shakespeare
"There was a lot of solitude quiet and silence, and I believe poetry exists in relation to silence."

Baron Wormser, a former National Endowment for the Arts and Guggenheim Fellow, is here to talk about his eleventh collection of poetry, THE HISTORY HOTEL, and THE ROAD WASHES OUT IN SPRING , an account of a poet living life off the grid.

Tickets to Tom Branfoot launch that I'm hosting here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/boar-book-launch-tickets-733576425837

Rippling Points
The rhythm of poetry, the poetry of jobs: how the different rhythms of the jobs Baron undertook in rural Maine influenced his poetry
A chance of tragedy: Baron's philosophy of tragedy, chance, and, ultimately, life
Reference Points

Charles Taylor - A Secular Age (Harvard University Press)
Baron Wormer - Teach us That Peace (Piscataqua Press)
Baron Wormser - Tom O'Vietnam (New Rivers Press)

Emily Dickinson
Robert Frost
William Shakespeare
Walt Whitman
34 min
September 25, 2023 Leslie Smolan and the Life and Work of Rodney Smith
"it took a lot of courage to keep going and channel that sadness and melancholy into pictures of such joy and exuberance "

Leslie Smolan, widow and creative partner of the photographer Rodney Smith is here to talk about a new book celebrating his life and work.

A LEAP OF FAITH, with essays from Paul Martineau, Rebecca Senf, and Graydon Carter, is also packed full of Rodney's iconic images. It's published by Getty Publications (available here )

Leslie is a founder and director of the Carbone-Smolan agency. She met Rodney in the 90s and worked with him on his most iconic shoots.

There's a whole host of events going on this week to celebrate A Leap of Faith:

David Campany and Paul Martineau will be in conversation at the Fashion Institute of Technology on the 27th September - But your tickets here

The first NYC exhibition of Rodney's work will be held at the Staley Wise Gallery, with a book signing launching the exhibit on the 28th September. More info here.

Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop

Rippling Points

In fashion: how Rodney transcended the genre to create timeless images
Hang on to your hats: Enduring and iconic motifs

Reference Points
Ansel Adams
Wes Anderson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Walker Evans
Federico Fellini
René Magritte
Cary Grant
Alfred Hitchcock
Edward Hopper
Irving Penn
Tom Wolfe
38 min
August 17, 2023 Nii Ayikwei Parkes and Azúcar
"We live in a world where we increasingly want to control everything...I hope that in fictional spaces, the effort of trying to keep up becomes so much you eventually say, hey, let's go."

Nii Ayikwei Parkes is here to discuss his second novel, Azúcar, published by Peepal Tree Press.

How do we grow in...

Fictional spaces: understanding when we're not in control
Real spaces: understanding control and conditioning

Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop

Nii is also director of poetry publisher, Flipped Eye publishing. We featured Samatar Elmi and Katherine Lockton back in series one of the Rippling Pages for their new pamphlets. You can listen to those episodes here:

Samatar Elmi: https://ripplingpages.podbean.com/e/samatar-elmi-and-a-portrait-of-colossus/

Katherine Lockton: https://ripplingpages.podbean.com/e/katherine-lockton-on-paper-doll-flipped-eye-anniversary-part-1/
35 min
July 20, 2023 James Clarke and Sanderson’s Isle
"I hate judging characters - you have to have respect for people's origins."

James Clarke is here to talk about his new novel, Sanderson's Isle, published by Serpent's Tail (buy here)

Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop

Rippling Points

Ebullient characters: stepping into the sixties and using real-life figures as reference points and inspiration

Lost and looking: writing characters that are lost and looking for someone, or maybe anyone.

Reference Points

Francis Bacon
Lucia Berlin
Patrick deWitt - The Sister's Brothers
Jack Kerouac
Ian Nairn
Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
Terry Southern - The Magic Christian

Event with Charlie Baylis in Leeds - tickets here:

30 min
June 16, 2023Bloomsday special with Helen Palmer!
'I wanted to write a queer love story, Blackpool is crying out for literary renditions and I'm obsessed by Ulysses.'

Helen Palmer is here to talk about her Ulysses inspired queer love story, Pleasure Beach which is published by Prototype (more info here!)

Enjoyed today's episode? Leave a tip!: https://ko-fi.com/liambishop

Rippling Points
Corrie and the Tower: setting a novel in Blackpool.
Time please: The enduring appeal of a novel set in a day
Reference Points
James Joyce
Julia Kristeva
Coronation Street
35 min
June 06, 2023 Duncan Wiese and TITYRUS: A PASTORAL
"There is a genuine search for something - much of the time it turns out to be distraction."

Duncan Wiese joins me from Denmark to discuss his new collection of poetry based on Virgil's Eclogues, Tityrus: A Pastoral. Published by Lolli Editions (more info here!), the poems were translated by Max Minden Ribeiro (Pelle Hvenegaard’s Dear Zoe Ukhona and Finn Juhl: Life, Work, World by Christian Bundegaarand) and Sam Riviere (81 Austerities, Kim Kardashian's Marriage)

Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop

Rippling Points

Life in the twenties: Tityrus as an emblem of finding your way in life, sitting alongside pop culture.

Driven to distraction: how 'Rome's great poet's' ideas of the pastoral influenced a story of today.

Reference Points

Writers
Anne Carson
Virgil's Eclogues - You can read on Project Gutenberg for free here:

TV Shows
Beverly Hills 90210
Friends
That 70's Show.

32 min
May 10, 2023 Soraya Palmer and The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts
"I was interested in stories with stories and how the family used folklore to approach conflict"

Soraya Palmer joins me from Brooklyn to discuss her debut novel, recently released in the UK, The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts, published by Serpent's Tail (more info here!).

We speak about hauntings, family narratives, and Anansi the animal trickster!

Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop

Rippling Points:

Tales from the Caribbean: myth and folklore re-told in modern day Brooklyn

Life inside the multiverse: seeing different aspects of characters through time.

Reference Points
Writers
Toni Morrison

Film and TV
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Exorcist

Myths and Folklore
Anansi
Ol Higue
Rolling Calf

31 min
April 20, 2023 Catalan Literature in Translation Special!
It's a Catalan Literature in Translation Special!

I'm delighted to welcome Mara Faye Lethem and Tiago Miller to discuss two recently released books from Catalonia

Irene Solà's When I Sing, Mountains Dance has has been re-released in paperback translated by Mara for Granta

Josep Maria Argemí's The Angel of Santa Sofia has been newly released and translated by Tiago for Fum d'Estampa

Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop

Rippling Points:

Good and Evil: how the boundaries between what's right and wrong are blurred and might reflect debates about Catalonian history

The Catalan Language: Literature and it's role in keeping a language thriving

Reference Points:

Irene Solà's first novel Els dics (The Dams, L'Altra Editorial, 2018)

Jaume Cristòfol Pons Alorda
Jorge Luis Borges
Víctor Català
Jordi Cussa
Josep Palau i Fabre
Maria Mercè Marçal
Mercè Rodoreda
Marià Vayreda

Artists
Caravaggio
Salvador Dali

Mara's Essay in Lithub: https://lithub.com/author/marafayelethem/
46 min

About Rippling Pages: Interviews with Writers

From the publisher's feed

Liam Bishop having a coffee with the world's most interesting writers to inspire your reading and writing on the podcast where writers get real about writing.