Summary
The Last Novel (Shoemaker & Hoard)
David Markson has invented his own "personal genre." His novels
present collaged panoramas of the travails of art and artists—the bad
reviews, the rivalries, the life-long neglect, the impoverished deaths. His juxtapositions can be comic or tragic.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Funds for Bookworm are provided in part by Lannin Foundation. |
| 0:07.0 | You are a human animal. |
| 0:11.6 | You are a very special breed. |
| 0:15.4 | Or you are the only animal. |
| 0:18.7 | Who can think, who can reason, who can read. |
| 0:21.6 | From KCRW, Santa Monica, I'm Michael Silverblatt, and this is bookworm. |
| 0:27.6 | Today, I'm honored to have as my guest, David Markson. |
| 0:32.6 | The occasion is the last novel, which has been published by Shoemaker and Horde. |
| 0:40.5 | They are now known as Counterpoint, and they have also republished David Markson's first novel, |
| 0:52.0 | The Ballad of Dingus McGee, as well as his prior entertainments, as |
| 0:57.9 | Graham Green used to say, epitaph for a tramp and epitaph for a deadbeat. They're published |
| 1:04.0 | in the same volume. They're the Harry Fanon Detective novels. Also published by Schumeri Geron Horde, Vanishing Point, |
| 1:14.7 | This is Not a Novel, by Donkey Archive, Reader's Block and Wittgenstein's Mistress. |
| 1:22.0 | This is going in reverse order. |
| 1:24.4 | Donkey also publishes Springer's Progress and David Markson's collected poems. |
| 1:31.8 | They have done, going down, his unconventional novel is published by Counterpoint, |
| 1:43.0 | which was then known as Shoemaker and Horde, an unconventional |
| 1:47.3 | history for an unconventional writer. Now, you know, since I started the show 19 years ago, |
| 1:54.7 | I get frequent calls from listeners asking me to talk to particular writers. And I have to tell you that you, |
| 2:06.2 | David Markson, are the most frequent request that I've had. And I've been planning for several |
| 2:15.7 | years to come to New York City |
| 2:17.8 | to talk to David Markson, and here I am. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KCRW, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of KCRW and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.