The Interview

Hi all,

In this episode of The Interview, Leah Eichler and Susan Catto discuss the controversy over the film, Blonde, and the bizarre critique of Joyce Carol Oates, who wrote the novel, Blonde, on which the film is based. It all gets very meta.

We also chat about banned book week, and our fav banned books (yay, who doesn’t love a banned book?!) Some highlights: Maus, 1984, Lolita and The Handmaid’s Tale, naturally. Would Lolita be published today? Let us know your thoughts.

We also discuss the Booker shortlist, which has some surprises.

Don’t forget to submit your work to our short story contest. Also, if you have questions or want to appear on a podcast, email us at [email protected].

Until next week, my lovelies.

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We also discuss:

* What makes a great short story, inspired by A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

* Life in the newsroom, inspired by Margaret Sullivan’s upcoming book, Newsroom Confidential

* John Irving - It’s been 45 years since he published The World According to Garp. Boy, was he ahead of his time.

Tune in to the Interview every Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern on YouTube, Facebook, IG, Twitter and/or LinkedIn.

Reminder that we are still accepting submissions for our short story contest. Details here.

Get full access to Leah Eichler at esotericamagazine.substack.com/subscribe

Best-selling author Samantha Bailey talks about her new thriller, Watch Out for Her, inspired by that nagging need mothers sometimes succumb to to be constantly on alert for their children. Bailey also talks about the myth of the overnight success and why you should never give up on your dreams. Listen in!

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In this wide ranging interview with Michael Arntfield, a global expert and former detective who has devoted his career to solving cold cases, we discuss the rising interest of true crime stories, what it really means to have a case go cold and the fantasy that most killers get caught.

Arntfield, whose new book, “How to Solve a Cold Case: And Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Killers,” explains that the pandemic created a dangerous human experiment never before seen and unleashed record homicide rates that will have a impact for many years to come.

In Canada, dangerous offenders can only legally spend 15 days in solitary confinement, Arntfield explains. “After 15 days, the deterrent begins to ebb, and the offender loses touch with reality and goes deeper into revenge fantasy mode. With each passing day, the offender gets more dangerous as they are put back into the general population. That’s 15 days. How about 15 months imposed on the entire population who are no longer incentivized to play by the rules because what did it get them?”

Chilling words. Listen in:

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What would Kurt Vonnegut do (WWKVD)? Or, more accurately, what would he say about the last 15 years? Vonnegut died on April 11, 2007 and we can only imagine. Listen in on Esoterica's The Interview with Julia Whitehead, CEO of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Robert Basler, a lifelong, global journalist who interviewed the cult author as we discuss all things Vonnegut.

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In this week’s episode of The Interview, Susan Catto, an award-winning writer and editor who has contributed to The New York Times, The Economist and Time, talks to Esoterica’s Leah Eichler about the commercialization of International Women’s Day and offers concrete ways to make the holiday your own. Listen in!

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Bombing, $100 million stock scams, surreptitious arms sales, being declared dead — twice! Bruce Farrell Rosen gives us the lowdown on an uncle who considered himself a modern day Robin Hood. The courts, and his victims, likely thought otherwise. Listen in:

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Get full access to Leah Eichler at esotericamagazine.substack.com/subscribe

Get full access to Leah Eichler at esotericamagazine.substack.com/subscribe

Enzo Silon Surin is a Haitian-born award-winning poet, educator, publisher and social advocate. He is the author of three collections of poetry, including, When My Body Was A Clinched Fist, winner of the 21st Annual Massachusetts Book Awards for Poetry.

In the interview, Enzo explains how “When My Body Was a Clinched Fist” chronicles growing up in New York city, in an area grappling with the crack epidemic, and how refusing to participate in the violence in his environment came at a cost. He had to decide how to manage his pain and trauma, and settled on poetry. Enzo emphasizes the difference between a choice and a decision.

“A choice is having options. A decision is having someone else choose the options for you and telling you to choose … I compare it to a buffet. You can want whatever you want but you are making a decision about what to eat. You are making a decision because if you had a choice, you’d say, ‘can I have something that’s not here?’”

Enzo is also co-editor of Where We Stand: Poems of Black Resilience (Cherry Castle Publishing, 2022), and the recipient of a Brother Thomas Fellowship from the Boston Foundation, and a PEN New England Discovery Award (Celebrated New Voice in Poetry). 

He teaches creative writing and literature at Bunker Hill Community College and is also Founding Editor and Publisher at Central Square Press and the President/Executive Director at the Faraday Publishing Company, a nonprofit literary services organization and social advocacy organization.

To learn more about Enzo, or to buy his books of poetry, click here.

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