Skylight Books Podcast Series

Debt: The First 5,000 Years (Melville House) Acclaimed anthropologist and author David Graeber Direct Action) visits Skylight Books to discuss and sign his fascinating new book, Debt: The First 5,000 Years, a timely study of the ancient origins of our system of credit and debt. Praise for David Graeber: "I consider him the best anthropological theorist of his generation from anywhere in the world."  —Maurice Bloch, professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics "A scholar whose books and articles are used in college classrooms around the world and an anarchist who is a card-carrying member of the Industrial Workers of the World." —The New York Times Praise for Debt: The First 5,000 Years: "[A]n engaging book. Part anthropological history and part provocative political argument, it's a useful corrective to what passes for contemporary conversation about debt and the economy."  —Jesse Singal, Boston Globe "Graeber's book is not just thought-provoking, but also exceedingly timely." — Financial Times (London) David Graeber teaches anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He is the author of Towards an Anthropological Theory of Value, Lost People, and Possibilities: Essays on Hierarchy, Rebellion, and Desire. He has written for Harper's, The Nation, Mute, and The New Left Review. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 2, 2012.

The Marbled Swarm (HarperCollins) Cult-favorite writer Dennis Cooper (Ugly Man; God, Jr.) returns to Skylight to read and sign his new novel, The Marbled Swarm! "Disquieting, humbling, and sadly beautiful in the way only Dennis Cooper can be, The Marbled Swarm is a mystifying and courageous novel that represents his finest work to date." —Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers and Ablutions "The Marbled Swarm is a mindbending masterpiece from one of my all-time favorite writers. It is vivid, slippery, ferocious, and rich with secrets. Nobody else could have written this novel and nothing else like it exists." —Justin Taylor, author of The Gospel of Anarchy and Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever Dennis Cooper is the author of the George Miles Cycle, an interconnected sequence of five novels: Closer, Frisk, Try, Guide, and Period. His other works include My Loose Thread; The Sluts, winner of France’s Prix Sade and the Lambda Literary Award; God, Jr.; Wrong; The Dream Police; Ugly Man; and Smothered in Hugs. His plays “Jerk” and “Them” are performed all over Europe and the United States. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 17, 2011. Photo of the author by Yuri Smirnov.

Send Me Work: Stories (Triquarterly Books) Katerine Karlin will read and sign her new collection, Send Me Work: Stories (Triquarterly Books). Karlin has worked in oil refineries in Pennsylvania and Texas, a New Orleans shipyard, and a New York printshop, and she draws on her experiences to give voice to the unique experiences of women in the trades. Her narrators, who must daily negotiate the "man's world" of blue collar work, are keenly observant and attuned to the humor that arises when life doesn't turn out as planned. But even more remarkable is the fullness with which she renders characters who make us wonder how they've escaped the notice of other writers. In unadorned prose that evokes complete worlds with deceptive ease, Karlin shows us people immersed in the negotiations of survival, just at the edge of being able to make sense of their lives. "Karlin's stories are rich and deep, so fully lived you would think that each of her characters walks and breathes among us. A truly remarkable achievement."  --T. C. Boyle "These are such beautifully crafted stories, so satisfyingly nailed to time and place they begin to form like memories to a reader; Karlin's prose has hints of Philip Roth and Grace Paley, but the ringing specificity is all her own."  --Aimee Bender Katherine Karlin's stories have appeared in One Story, North American Review, ZYZZYVA, Alaska Quarterly Review, L.A. Weekly, and elsewhere. Her work has been selected for the Pushcart Prize and New Stories from the South. Her short story "Muscle Memory" was read as part of the "Stories on Stage" series at the Denver Performing Arts Center, and her essay "Corn" appears in One Word from Sarabande Press. Karlin currently lives in Manhattan, Kansas, with her dog, Rusty, and her husband, Chris. She teaches creative writing and literature at Kansas State University. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 16, 2011.

Pulphead (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) by Sullivan; House of Prayer No. 2 (Nan A. Talese) by Richard Fans of kick-ass, can't-put-it-down nonfiction, take note: This event combines the funny, probing, insightful cultural musings of John Jeremiah Sullivan with the riveting Gothic-styled memoir of Mark Richard. "Pulphead is upsettingly good. It’s the most inspired book of essays since David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. John Jeremiah Sullivan perceives the world with so much original wit and energy that when I put this book down, the roll of duct tape on my desk suddenly seemed like it might be full of funny secrets. I'm grateful that Sullivan is doing such outlandishly brilliant, enlivening stuff." —Wells Tower "Read Richard's amazing memoir House of Prayer No. 2 -- read it as soon as you can, you'll barrel through it -- and you'll know after just two pages of his effortlessly killer prose that he's special all right ... Narrating, mostly, through the best use of second-person urgency since Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City, he describes being a disc jockey, a deckhand, a private eye, a ditchdigger. The man can tell a full story in the flick of a phrase ... Hallelujah. A"  —Entertainment Weekly John Jeremiah Sullivan is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the southern editor of The Paris Review. He has written for GQ, Harper’s Magazine, and Oxford American, and is the author of Blood Horses. He is the winner of a Whiting Writers’ Award, two National Magazine Awards for feature writing, and a Pushcart Prize. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he currently lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, with his wife and two daughters and, most weeks, his wife’s entire family. Mark Richard is the author of two award-winning short story collections, The Ice at the Bottom of the World and Charity, and the novel Fishboy. His short stories and journalism have appeared in a number of publications, including the New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, Esquire, Vogue, GQ, the Paris Review, Vogue, and The Oxford American. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Whiting Foundation Writer’s Award, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. He has been visiting writer in residence at Texas Tech University, the University of California Irvine, Arizona State University, the University of Mississippi, Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee, and the Writer’s Voice in New York. His television credits include Party of Five, Chicago Hope, and Huff, and movies for CBS, Showtime, and Turner Network Television.  He is the screenwriter of the film Stop-Loss. Richard is a lecturer at the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.  He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer Allen and their three sons. Photo of Sullivan (left) by John Taylor. Photo of Richard by Jeff Vespa.

Beck (Chronicle Books) Photographer Autumn de Wilde (Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie) will discuss and sign her brand-new collection of photographs of Beck, based on a 15-year collaboration between the two, and including portraits, photo sessions, and images from recording sessions and live performances. Autumn de Wilde is a photographer and a director best known for her portrait and documentary work in music, fashion and film. Some of her album covers include The White Stripes, Elliott Smith, Beck, Wilco, Norah Jones, and The Decemberists. Documenting the life and work of Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte has been an ongoing project since the designer's explosive beginning. Her portraits of actors, directors, designers, musicians and artists have been featured in Vogue, L'Uomo Vogue, Lula, Zoetrope All-Story, Interview, Elle, Flash-Art, Purple, Paper, Nylon, Black Book, Tar, The Lab, Spin, and Rolling Stone. She lives in Los Angeles. See more of her work at autumndewilde.tumblr.com. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 11, 2011.

Los Angeles Stories (City Lights Books) Musician Ry Cooder will discuss and sign his new short story collection, Los Angeles Stories, in a conversation with Los Angeles Times book reviewer and author David L. Ulin! Los Angeles Stories is a collection of loosely linked tales that evoke a bygone era in one of America's most iconic cities. In post-World War II Los Angeles, as power was concentrating and fortunes were being made, a do-it-yourself culture of cool cats, outsiders and oddballs populated the old downtown neighborhoods of Bunker Hill and Chavez Ravine. Ordinary working folks rubbed elbows with petty criminals, grifters and all sorts of women at foggy end-of-the-line outposts in Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Rich with the essence and character of the times, suffused with patois of the city's underclass, these are stories about the common people of Los Angeles, "a sunny place for shady people," and the strange things that happen to them. Ry Cooder is a world-famous guitarist, singer and composer, known for his slide guitar work, interest in roots music, and more recently for his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries, including The Buena Vista Social Club. He has composed soundtracks for more than twenty films, including Paris, Texas. In September, Nonesuch Records will release his latest album Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down. Two recent albums were accompanied by stories Cooder wrote to accompany the music. And, in October, City Lights will publish his first book, Los Angeles Stories, a collection of loosely linked tales that evoke a bygone era in one of America's most iconic cities. Photo of Ry Cooder by Vincent Valdez. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 6, 2011.

Green Girl (Emergency Press) by Zambreno; E! Entertianment (Insert Press) by Durbin Kate Zambreno and Kate Durbin join forces for an event launching Zambreno's new novel Green Girl and Durbin's new chapbook, E! Entertainment. Kate Zambreno's novel O Fallen Angel won Chiasmus Press' "Undoing the Novel" contest. Her novel Green Girl was published by Emergency Press in October 2011. A book of essays called Heroines, revolving around and obsessing over the wives and mistresses of modernism, will be published by Semiotext(e)'s Active Agents series in Fall 2012. She is an editor at Nightboat Books. Kate Durbin is a Los Angeles-based writer and artist. She is author of The Ravenous Audience (Akashic Books, 2009), E! Entertainment (Blanc Press, diamond edition, forthcoming), ABRA (Zg Press, forthcoming w/ Amarant Borsuk), as well as the conceptual fashion magazine The Fashion Issue (Zg Press, forthcoming), and five chapbooks: Fragments Found in a 1937 Aviator's Boot (Dancing Girl Press, 2009), FASHIONWHORE (Legacy Pictures, 2010), The Polished You, as part of Vanessa Place's Factory Series (oodpress, 2010), and Kept Women (Insert Press, forthcoming). She is founding editor of Gaga Stigmata, which will be published as a book from Zg Press in 2012. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 5, 2011.

Iron City (White Whisker Books) Join L.A. novelist David Scott Milton for the launch of his new novel, Iron City! About Iron City: Frank Kalinyak, disgraced ex-cop, returns to Pittsburgh, Pa., “Iron City”, his hometown, from Tucson where he has been living a desperate existence since the death of his young daughter. He has been summoned home by Bobby Mack, an Assistant D.A., to find out who murdered an old high school friend. Kalinyak is swept into a whirlpool of bizarre killings, religious fanaticism, church duplicity, hustlers, cops, junkies, old friends gone bad. Amid the fractured landscape of Iron City, rusting mills, rotting industry, he struggles to find sense in his life. Ultimately he must ask: who is he and can he survive? David Scott Milton started as an actor in New York, learning acting and playwriting at  Theatre Genesis alongside Sam Shepard, Leonard Melfi, and Murray Mednick. Milton’s first play, Bread, appeared at the American Place theatre, and he had a half-dozen more plays appear Off-Broadway.  Duet premiered on Broadway, starring Ben Gazzara. Milton’s play Skin won the Neil Simon Playwriting Award. When Milton moved to Los Angeles in the seventies, he fell into film writing and fiction writing. Ivan Passer directed his first screenplay, Born to Win, starring George Segal and Karen Black. Iron City is his sixth novel. He taught playwriting at USC starting in 1977, and for thirteen years, he also taught creative writing to men at the maximum security prison in Tehachapi. He wrote an article about the the prison for the Los Angeles Times (click here) and he created a one-man show, Murderers Are My Life, which was nominated as best one-man show by the Valley Theater League of Los Angeles. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 4, 2011.

Luminous Airplanes (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Novelist Paul La Farge (Haussmann, or the Distinction) visits Skylight for a reading and signing of his latest, Luminous Airplanes, a novel that was 10 years in the making. "This is one of the best works of fiction to come my way in a long time. Paul La Farge writes beautifully, with wit, humor and passion. He has created as thoroughly imagined a world as you would expect from Chekhov or Flaubert, and has bestowed upon two fictional families enough sympathy and care to rank himself among the best of parents. Luminous Airplanes is a quiet triumph of a book." --Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story “Remarkable . . . brilliantly imagined . . . La Farge spins his tale with the grace of an acrobat and creates the thrill of watching a high-wire act when digressions begin to converge into a coherent story.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A page-turning pleasure . . . Where so much experimental fiction seems pessimistic or even cynical about its possibilities, this novel sustains a spirit of innocence and wonder.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Paul La Farge is the author of two previous novels: The Artist of the Missing (FSG,1999) and Haussmann, or the Distinction (FSG, 2001); and a book of imaginary dreams, The Facts of Winter. His short stories have appeared in McSweeney’s, Harper’s Magazine, Fence, Conjunctions, and elsewhere. His nonfiction has appeared in The Believer, Bookforum, Playboy, and Cabinet. He teaches at Bard College. Photo of the author by Carol Shadford. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 28, 2011.

Shards (Grove Press) Debut novelist Ismet Prcic will read and sign Shards, based on his experiences leaving war-torn Bosnia. "Ismet Prcic has taken apart the complexities of war, love, family and home and scattered them across a novel that is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful. Shards is an original work of art, brutal and honest, and absolutely unforgettable." --Dinaw Mengestu, author of How to Read the Air "Ismet Prcic's prose is a gleaming pinball kept in inexhaustible play, kinetically suspended in time and space, endlessly flung away from its inevitable ending, colliding with memory and invention. This is writing fed by skill, inertia, horror, and sorrow, a survivor's story of triumph and guilt. Yet Prcic's sensibility is at once brutally and tenderly comic. Humanity seems to run deepest among those who have survived its near-absence in the world." --Brad Watson, author of The Heaven of Mercury and Aliens in the Prime of their Lives Ismet Prcic (ISS-met PER-sick) was born in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 1977 and immigrated to America in 1996. He holds an MFA from the University of California, Irvine, and was the recipient of a 2010 NEA Award for fiction. He is also a 2011 Sundance Screenwriting Lab fellow. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 27, 2011.