The blog of author Dennis Cooper

Ears Only

Lucia Berlin reads Unmanageable (6:23)
https://soundcloud.com/readlucia/lucia-berlin-unmanageable

 

Ron Padgett reads June 17, 1942 (4:18)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/dial_a_poem_poets/disconnected/Disconnected_36_padgett.mp3

 

Lorine Niedecker reads Thomas Jefferson (5:10)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Niedecker/Niedecker-Lorine_01_Thomas-Jefferson_Factory-School-Archive_11-1970.mp3

 

Jim Carroll reads from The Basketball Diaries: Age 13, 1965 (3:43)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/dial_a_poem_poets/disconnected/Disconnected_24_carroll.mp3

 

Jean Baudrillard recites his poetry (8:07)
backed up by an all star band featuring Tom Watson, Mike Kelley, George Hurley, Lynn Johnston, Dave Muller and Amy Stoll
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/baudrillard_jean/suicide_moi/Baudrillard-Jean_Chance-Band_Suicide-Moi_02.mp3

 

Will Alexander reads Compound Hibernation (2:22)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Alexander-Will/Alexander-Will_04_Compound-Hibernation_BPC-Segue_3-17-07.mp3

 

Helen Adam sings Cheerless Junkie Song (2:45)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/dial_a_poem_poets/corpse/Corpse_08_adam.mp3

 

Sylvia Plath reads Daddy (3:43)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/dial_a_poem_poets/corrupt/Totally-Corrupt_04_plath.mp3

 

Pierre Guyotat reads from Progenitures (6:14)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/guyotat_pierre/Progenitures/Guyotat-Pierre_p11.mp3

 

Ted Berrigan reads The Sonnets (1:13:14)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Berrigan/Sonnets-Singles/Berrigan-Ted_The-Sonnets-without-introduction_New-Langton_1981.mp3

 

Joe Brainard reads from I Remember (4:03)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/dial_a_poem_poets/dial/The-Dial-A-Poem-Poets_17_brainard.mp3

 

Stewart Home reads William Burroughs In Hell (0:39)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Home/Cyber-Sadism/Home-Stewart_Cyber-Sadism_11-William-Burroughs-In-Hell.mp3

 


Georges Perec reads TENTATIVE DE DESCRIPTION DE CHOSES VUES AU CARREFOUR MABILLON LE 19 MAI 1978 (A. C. R.) (8:15)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/perec_georges/interviews/3/Perec-Georges_Text-Interviews_02-Tentative-de-descripion..mp3

 

Kathy Acker reads Second Whore Song (3:29)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Acker/Pussy/Acker-Kathy_02_Second-Whore-Song_Pussy_1994.mp3

 

Renee Gladman reads from The Ravickians (12:13)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Gladman/San-Diego-02-15-2012/The-Ravickians.mp3

 

Taylor Mead reads I Was in a Drugstore (3:33)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/dial_a_poem_poets/corrupt/Totally-Corrupt_21_mead.mp3

 

Alain Robbe-Grillet reads from Jealousy (10:07)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/aspen/mp3/robbeGrillet.mp3

 

Susan Sontag reads from Debriefing (17:35)
https://www.ubu.com/media/sound/sontag_susan/debriefing/Sontag-Susan_01_Debriefing_1979.mp3

 

Gertrude Stein reads How She Bowed To Her Brother (2:18)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Stein/Stein-Gertrude_She-Bowed-to-Her-Brother.MP3

 

Lydia Davis reads A Mown Lawn (1:41)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Davis-L/4-25-17/Davis_Lydia_A-Mown-Lawn_KWH-UPenn_4-25-2017.mp3

 

James Schuyler reads Korean Mums (2:09)
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Schuyler/Schuyler-Tapes/92-Street-Y-11-23-89/Schuyler-James_05_Korean-Mums_Reading-at-92nd-Street-Y_11-23-89.mp3

 

Scott McClanahan reads Jenny Sugar (8:16)
https://soundcloud.com/bomb-magazine/scott-mcclanahan-reading-at

 

Vladimir Nabokov reads from Lolita (25:34)
https://soundcloud.com/oobleckboy/nabokov-reading-lolita-part

 


Joy Williams reads The Last Generation (31:42)
https://www.kwls.org/audio/joy_williams_1989_the_last_gen/

 


Maggie Nelson reads The Mute Story of November and The Halo Over the Hospital (15:10)
https://www.kwls.org/audio/maggie_nelson_2008/

 

Benjamin Weissman reads Hitler Ski Story (13:09)
https://www.ubu.com/sound/weismann.html

 

Darius James reads from Negrophobia (23:49)
https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/poetrycenter/bundles/238448

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Lucas Ferraço Nassif, Hi, Lucas! Thank you about the Akerman post. I would love to read your book. Thanks very, very much, that’s very generous of you. My email is: [email protected]. I greatly look forward to it. Take care. ** T, Hi, T! The Furry world seems really interesting. I only haven’t plunged into it because it seems like such a lucrative i.e. very distracting rabbit hole. Guro interests me due to my basically lifelong interest in how to how to represent knee-jerk shocking things while circumventing the shock, and Guro artists are always looking for that perfect fine line, and, yeah, so am I, or at least I used to be on that hunt. Since we both seem to have gotten through Monday okay, let’s make standing (or sleeping) tall at dawn tomorrow our next goal, what do you say? ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi. Kristen did write me a quick email to say thanks to me and to all of you guys for enjoying her show (again). You can’t order take-out/in? English cuisine, yeeks. That would leave me with a diet of mostly chips and scones, I guess. Counting the minutes, pal. ** Bill, I’m not a big Pasolini guy, as you know, but I do remember ‘Medea’ being pretty tops. The big day is almost shockingly soon. Really glad you liked the David Nutt. Good characterisation there. Me too. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Awesome. I’ve always blogged during the hardcore Halloween season and maxed it out with posts, so it’s going to be weird to be offline for a big part of it, if, that is, plans pan out. Speaking of, the big problem is, of course, money. It turns out we don’t in fact have enough to make the film, and we have to raise a little more, which is very depressing since the fundraising was such a nightmare. So, uggggh. Zac and I need to go to LA sometime around the end of this month. We’re still figuring out exactly when. Well, you survived, and you sound like you, so whew. And hopefully no one else you know well will get married for a long, long time. I’ll get the Masters book. Great! Your love is yesterday would be a lifesaver. Also, my laptop is acting weird like it might be dying, so I have to ask love to please cure it today, thanking him in advance, G. ** Travis (fka Cal), Thanks, Travis. I’m doing reasonably well, and how about you, chum? ** Jeff J, Hi, Jeff! That Shangri-Las collection is really the only great, comprehensive one. There must be rights issues or something. Is ‘Kid Marine’ oop? Wow, I’m surprised, if so. It’s spectacular. Pollard’s greatest solo work, which is saying something. ‘Illuminations’ is utterly unique in BSM’s work. The album I chose is just before it when she was working in a folk mode. She moved away from that starting with ‘Illuminations’, sort of like Donovan did starting with ‘Sunshine Superman’. Anyway, ‘Little Wheel …’ is really superb. I honestly love all of Aki Onda’s recordings. I don’t think you can go wrong with him. If you see this before you’re off to the writers retreat, I hope you have the most amazing internal avalanche. Enjoy every second. ** Misanthrope, Yes, never look up your symptoms on the internet, or not if you have a big imagination that is prone to seek the most stressful diagnosis. David seems kind of doomed or something. It’s very sad. ** Dom Lyne, Hi, Dom! Good to see you, buddy! Oh, wow, about you starting the treatment. Great, if complicated, that it’s already triggering important revelations, though. Especially about and encouraging of your writing. Speaking as someone who  had the death of someone very close to me change my writing forever, I really hear you. Awesome about the bulldog. And French even! You sound good, man, you do. Oh, I’m alright. Everything’s about getting to the point where Zac and I can make our new film, and it’s hellish off and on right now, but the payoff will be worth it. But, yeah, I’m good. Really, really happy that summer is over. Love, me. ** Damien Ark, No big on time. Time flows or whatever. Wow, October?! That’s, like, almost now! Who’s publishing it? What’s the story? That’s super great news, maestro! ** Okay. I thought it would be nice to ask you to listen to some excellent authors read their works, so I’m hoping you’ll pick one or two or more and kick back or lean forward or whatever your preferred position is and take in the blog in through your ears today. Simple as that. See you tomorrow.

15 Comments

  1. T

    Some of these links are making me wish I’d taken French class past the two required years.

    Furries are a deep, deep rabbit hole because there’s so much ground to cover. I mean, they can be into Guro as well for example. Vore seems big with them in that vein—never understood it, probably never will. I’m really curious about how people figure out they’re into being eaten, or whatever. Wish I could track down some furry and interrogate them. I’m sure that wouldn’t be appreciated.
    I’ve always been fascinated by these niche kink communities. I usually latch onto one, watch it for a while, then find another when it gets boring. About a decade or so ago (or, when I was “too young” to be looking) I did look around Gurochan. Still up, I see. Finding ever-expanding ways to bring cute anime girls to their hyper-specific, untimely ends.

    Sleeping sounds good. I was rudely awoken by my cat trying to eat plastic, and slogged through the rest of the day.

    • Damien Ark

      Hopefully this comment didn’t get posted three separate times, but I was having trouble putting it up. I’m a furry from those nether regions of gore and extreme art, so if you were curious about the community, I could definitely answer questions. I know a lot of people think of us as a weird side culture, something amusing from a distance, but it’s only as weird as people make it. All the kinky stuff that furries do are things normal people do as well. The not possible or legal stuff, like snuff art etc, well, the anthropomorphic world and body is a safe space for someone to explore their kinks as freely as they want. A proxy, maybe. I always think of the fursona as ones creative way of being something else that they’ve always wanted to be, but also, expressing those qualities that already exist within the character. Be it the colors and designs, your species… It’s all a reflection of the person. At times, I think I identify and feel more like my fursona than my human body and the normal human aspect I have to perform for others. If I’m with my furry friends, you can get those chest rubs, bark, make sounds, wear suits, etc, talk openly about sexuality, and it’s totally normal and fine. If you look up statistics, a vast majority of the furry community is LGBT (only 20% is apparently heterosexual https://furscience.com/research-findings/sex-relationships-pornography/5-1-orientation/ ). With that, a decent amount are also trans. Very kink friendly and educated on the topics. So it’s quite easy to find a group that’s into your niche kinks, no matter how bizarre or extreme.
      I have a snuff fetish, and it was easier finding people into that in the furry community than normal non furries (however I found some in the latter as well). Turns out the furry ones seem much more safe and less suspicious than those that aren’t. Maybe because the focus of fantasy is more on point. I don’t know. The more I get to know people in their specific niche, even if I judged it, I slowly end up getting turned on and into it as well… For a while I thought the diaper furs were strange, now I think it’s super fun, and the people that are part of it are really friendly. Strange how the most supportive people I’ve met have drawn pictures of organs ripped out, decapitation, feces all over, etc.

      • T

        Oh yeah, I know a lot about furry history, etc. I watched this long video on youtube (Furries | Down the Rabbit Hole). It’s all pretty interesting. I was sort-of a furry years ago as well, and had a fursona, but I fell out of it. I don’t remember why or how (I think I started watching anime?). Lots of them seem quite kind, and there’s the misconception that it’s only a sexual activity too. There’s a bad rap from “normies” that’s undeserved.
        Most kinks I can understand. Vore is the one I just can’t really seem to grasp, mentally. It just seems so divorced from sex to me. I’m really interested in this stuff as an outsider (or voyeur) and trying to understand it. There probably isn’t an “explanation” for a lot of it per se, just individual mental wiring. But when I find a kink I’ve never seen before it stirs a boylike wonder in me, haha. Like, someday I sort of hope I’ve seen it all.
        Thank you for taking the time to reply to me!!

  2. Dominik

    Hi!!

    It’s amazing how different a text feels when you read it for yourself and when it’s read aloud. Jim Carroll’s performance is so imperfect I wish I could’ve published it in SCAB, ah. Wonderful post again! Thank you!

    Yeah, it’ll definitely be weird to prepare for Halloween without the usual countdown on your blog. Maybe I’ll skip a few posts in September and explore them as The Time approaches.

    Fucking money, seriously… I keep my fingers as tightly crossed as humanly possible!!

    Huh, I certainly hope so. No bachelorette parties or weddings for a long time to come. Except for my friend’s actual two-day wedding ceremony this weekend, of course…

    Oh, no! It’d be really unfair of life to kill your laptop on top of everything else! Love pulling himself the fuck together and fixing your laptop right away, Od.

  3. Misanthrope

    Dennis, Ha! I was thinking about ears a bit last night. A lot of live broadcasters wear these fucked-up earpieces anymore and it really distorts their ears. They all look like they’re half elf or something. It’s kerazy looking.

    Right? About David. He just doesn’t know what to do, though he’s been told over and over and over. So he just ignores things and thinks (I guess) that he’ll charm his way out of them. His mom was/is like that. Then she’d finally go to pay the piper, acting all dumb and oblivious, and cry cry cry and get not so much as a slap on the wrist. Oh, and lie lie lie.

    Or maybe he’s wanting something that’ll be an impetus to get off his ass.

    Was just talking to a friend at work who’s son was a heroin addict and spent a couple years in prison for robbery. He’d been doing great the past couple years…and now is back doing really bad shit. Almost killed himself driving under the influence the other night.

    It’s really sad. And people wonder why I give side eye at their stories of their massive drug use. Ugh.

    To each his own, but man…I just can’t anymore.

  4. David Ehrenstein

    GODARD EST MOT

  5. David Ehrenstein

    GEORGES FRAJU “BUTNSURELYMOMSIEUR GODARDYOUNHVE TOMSDMITTHSTNA FILMHAS ABGBEGINNING A MIDDLE AND AN END”

    gODAARD “yES BUT NOTNECESSARILYNIN THATORDER”

  6. _Black_Acrylic

    I checked out Weissman’s Hitler Ski Story (a lot of fun) and then Plath’s Daddy (not what I expected and it turns out they go together quite well).

    The Queen’s cortege actually went through Dundee yesterday on its tour of Scotland. Don’t think anybody I know went to attend. Funny, I just assume that all my friends feel the same way as me but for all I know they could be ardent Royalists.

  7. Tosh Berman

    Thanks for the blog today. I’m going to go through all of them. Some of them I don’t even know their actual voices, such as Joe Brainard. And Dennis your Favorite albums of all time really made an impression on me. I’m doing (so far) a 10 part My favorite albums of all time. Part two is here:
    https://tosh.substack.com/p/my-favorite-albums-of-all-time-part-7f2?r=352m9&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

  8. Damien Ark

    Hi Dennis. A place called Feral Dove. They’re very new… Just put out a short story collection by Alexandrine, who you seem to like (Amphetamine Sulphate). It’s an autobiographical family drama horror thing or whatever. I did the first chapter about four years ago, another two years later, and then decided to finish the project after Jon’s death. I guess grief/death makes you reflect on your own mortality, so that’s mostly what shaped it. Hard to explain, and of course, I have no idea how people will respond to it until it’s out there. Could be a total failure like my life, lol. Not that I really care. It’s Fucked Up but For Real. Only two years of my early childhood life are depicted. I’m also trying to get some illustrations done for the book as well. I have no idea how I’m supposed to promote it or show it off to others; it doesn’t feel right to advertise my trauma experience. Of course, the book is more than that. It just still feels weird to me.

  9. Travis (fka Cal)

    hey Dennis, doing alright lately. trying to get more art/writing done. but keep feeling stopped up and hoppin between too many projects to make any headway with any of them. today’s post is a lotta fun. really enjoyed hearing Acker reading, Plath too. Havent popped it on yet but looking forward to spinning Renee Gladman’s. Been wanting to dive into her work. im trying to pick one of your cycle books to reread and was wondering if any of them are your favs or shine a bit more in your nostalgic eye? Sending you mucho mehr mehr luck finding funding for your film!

  10. John Christopher

    Dennis I can’t express how much I like this post.

  11. Steve Erickson

    RIP Godard. I’m not sure what to say beyond that.

    I’ve now seen two Sato films. He’s been called the Cronenberg of Japan, and THE BEDROOM has a lot of similarities to VIDEODROME. WIFE COLLECTOR is nastier and grimmer. I hope Adam is able to show MUSCLE & BONDAGE ECSTASY in November, because they don’t seem readily available. Sato made five gay pink films, which I have not been able to track down.

    Re: furries, the anime TV series BEASTARS, set in a world where intelligent carnivorous and herbivorous animals live side by side, does something interesting with animal imagery, flirting with allegory but refusing to be pinned down to it. The second season includes several scenes where a female herbivore performs at a strip club for an audience of male carnivores. (She’s placed inside a cage for her own protection.) I thought “furries will love this,” and of course, the clips can be found out of context on YouTube.

  12. Robert

    God, these are great. Have you ever heard these?: https://faulkner.lib.virginia.edu

    I can’t stand audiobooks but authors reading their own stuff is always nice. All the authors I’ve listened to have really good voices–I wonder if that’s an objective thing or if it’s just imagination or their voices matching their textual voices or something.

  13. x

    s p o k e n w o r d s https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6S8mKRzQkkSKpKYvXT1xUw?si=93f040dc237e4d5b

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