The Collidescope Podcast

In this episode, the writer Alan Singer and host George Salis talk about whether or not an MFA is useful, the increasingly stifling atmosphere of universities, the question of free will versus ‘acting’, the primitive muses of violence and sex, film adaptions, dealing with doubt as a writer, Alan’s fruitful friendship with Joseph McElroy, his unfortunately failed attempt to befriend Djuna Barnes, and much more!

Alan Singer is the author of six novels, including The Charnel Imp, The Inquisitor’s Tongue, and most recently Play, A Novel (Grand Iota, 2020). He also writes about aesthetics and the visual arts. His most recent work in this area is Posing Sex: Toward a Perceptual Ethics for Literary and Visual Art (Bloomsbury, 2018).

Purchase Singer’s latest novel here: https://www.grandiota.co.uk/alan-singer.php

Dancing in Chains: An Interview with Alan Singer: https://thecollidescope.com/2021/01/24/dancing-in-chains-an-interview-with-alan-singer/

A review of The Ox-Breadth by Alan Singer: https://thecollidescope.com/2021/11/01/the-ox-breadth-by-alan-singer/

A review of The Charnel Imp by Alan Singer: https://thecollidescope.com/2021/01/24/the-charnel-imp-by-alan-singer/

Intro/outro music: DJ Griffin

Let us know your thoughts.

Support the show

The story of a species of creature known as oono, so massive it can't be seen in full, and the ignook couple who is trying to start a family in the arctic wilderness. Their only hope is for the aspiring father to connect with an oono spirit even if it means deceiving him, even if it means becoming more than human.

Interview with Patricia Eakins: https://thecollidescope.com/2019/10/18/imaginary-beings-an-interview-with-patricia-eakins/

Review of Eakins' first novel: https://thecollidescope.com/2020/01/12/the-marvelous-adventures-of-pierre-baptiste-by-patricia-eakins/

Huge thanks to Patricia for permission to read this story!

Intro/outro music: DJ Griffin

Let us know your thoughts.

Support the show

The culinary stand-off between a potential son-in-law and a potential mother-in-law from hell, with hilarious results. This story is from Early Stories.

Beyond the Zero Podcast with guest George Salis: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5hm5RJQZrqTuuAtynNgFcW?si=33HWHqUDRZqDx_NE77rlwQ&dl_branch=1&nd=1

Interview with Alexander Theroux: https://thecollidescope.com/2020/07/05/the-apocalypse-of-wordlessness-an-interview-with-alexander-theroux/

A review of Darconville's Cat: https://thecollidescope.com/2020/03/07/darconvilles-cat-by-alexander-theroux/

A review of Laura Warholic: https://thecollidescope.com/2020/07/05/laura-warholic-or-the-sexual-intellectual-by-alexander-theroux/

Huge thanks to Alex for permission to read this story!

Intro/outro music: DJ Griffin

Let us know your thoughts.

Support the show

Welcome to The Collidescope Podcast!

I’m George Salis, founder and editor of The Collidescope, an online publication dedicated to promoting innovative fiction. I started this podcast as another way to promote the kind of writing I love. For my first choice, Joseph McElroy was kind enough to give me permission to read the title story from his collection Night Soul, which was published by Dalkey Archive in 2011.

This particular story stands out for its intimacies between a father and his infant son. The feeling of connection to the past, to one’s parents, beyond the past, a connection to a being that’s future even as you’re becoming past. McElroy explores this connection with an emphasis on language, on communication, what’s implicit if not subconscious, instinctual.

For plenty of text interviews, reviews, as well as fiction and poetry in general, feel free to visit www.TheCollidescope.com. If you’d like early access to content like this and other cool benefits, such as monthly book picks or editorial services, then be sure to support the publication through Patreon.com/TheCollidescope.

There’s always awesome content in the works, so stay tuned and thanks so much for your support. Together, we can make the invisible visible or, in this case, the unheard heard.

Other links:

Joseph McElroy interview: https://thecollidescope.com/2021/04/04/a-chaotic-science-an-interview-with-joseph-mcelroy/

Review of Women and Men: https://thecollidescope.com/2021/06/01/women-and-men-by-joseph-mcelroy/

Intro/outro music: DJ Griffin

Let us know your thoughts.

Support the show