Episode 39: Riding into the Evening Reddit in the West with Joe Parslow

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Apr 27, 2023

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INSIGHT

Philosophy Eases McCarthy's Depths

Parslow's background in philosophy and English made McCarthy's themes more accessible to him.
Shared intellectual sensibilities reduced the effort required to appreciate complex philosophical threads in McCarthy's work.

ADVICE

Moderate By Curation, Not Heavy-Handedness

Curate relevancy rather than censoring content; remove only rule-violating or off-topic spam.
Bring on moderators with complementary tastes to balance culture and humor.

ADVICE

Grow Communities By Selective Invitation

Parslow grew the subreddit by selectively inviting readers from related communities rather than mass-advertising.
Target members already engaged with McCarthy to cultivate deep, high-quality conversation.

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Cormac still types his novels on an Olivetti typewriter and your host can't figure out Facebook. So for Episode 39 we bring in some expert help in the form of a lively discussion with Redditor supreme Joe Parslow. He has moderated the Cormac McCarthy subreddit for over a decade and has seen it grow from its first post in April 2012 to its current position as the largest online community devoted to the works of Cormac McCarthy. In March 2023 the membership of the subreddit approached 12,000 members. He is a professional writer and the former Senior Editor of the online literary journal Holy Cuspidor. Joe earned simultaneous bachelor’s degrees in English and philosophy from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, where he also earned his Master’s degree in English. He lives in upstate New York with his wife, his daughter, and his dog, Pfeiffer. Please join us for this discussion of the role of social media in getting the word out, a brief consideration of The Passenger and Stella Maris, and other things cormackian. As always the discussion is far ranging, and beware: there be spoilers here.

As always, thanks to Thomas Frye, who composed, performed, and produced the music for READING MCCARTHY.

The views of the host and his guests do not necessarily reflect the views of their employers or the Cormac McCarthy Society, although in our hearts we hope they’ll someday see the light. You can follow the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re agreeable it’ll help us if you provide favorable reviews on these platforms. If you enjoy this podcast you may also enjoy the GREAT AMERICAN PODCAST, hosted by myself and Kirk Curnutt.

To contact me, please reach out to readingmccarthy(@)gmail.com. Despite the evening redness in the west Reading McCarthy is also on Twitter. The website is at readingmccarthy.buzzsprout.com, and if you’d like to support the show you can click on the little heart symbol at the top of the webpage to buy the show a cappuccino, or you can support us at www.patreon.com/readingmccarthy.

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