We are joined by poet and debut novelist Kaveh Akbar to discuss his book Martyr!, the story of a newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants on a quest for answers and meaning. Kaveh explains how fonts play into his revision process, and why he wanted to proselytize the art he likes most in the book. He also reveals what he found most difficult about prose, compared to writing poetry.
The Stacks Book Club selection for January is Erasure by Percival Everett. We will discuss the book on January 31st with Zach Stafford.
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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon
- Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
- “Ep. 261 All at Once with Clint Smith” (The Stacks)
- Steph Curry
- Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present
- Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
- Moleskine notebooks
- University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)
- “Miserere” (Gregorio Allegri, 1630s)
- “Strictly Business” (EPMD, 1988)
- Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (Pieter Bruegel the Elder)
- Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green, 2008)
- Kaveh on Instagram
- There There by Tommy Orange
- Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing
- Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN)
- Portrait of the Alcoholic by Kaveh Akbar
- The Simpsons (Fox)
- Richard Pryor
- Duolingo
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Ross Gay
- “Ep. 264 Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay — The Stacks Book Club (Clint Smith)” (The Stacks)
- Iran–Iraq War
- Iran Air Flight 655
- “Ep. 89 Staying True to Yourself with Jason Reynolds” (The Stacks)
- “Ep. 193 Betting on the Kids with Angelina Jolie and Tokata Iron Eyes” (The Stacks)
- “Ep. 172 The Art vs. The Artist with Quentin Tarantino” (The Stacks)
- Checkpoint by Nicholson Baker
- Hanif Abdurraqib
- “Poem About Police Violence” by June Jordan
- Indiana Pacers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Sam Cassell
- Ray Allen
- Glenn Robinson
- Vin Baker
- Golden State Warriors
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- American Fiction (Cord Jefferson, 2023)
- Jeffrey Wright
- Sacramento Kings
- Khris Middleton
- Vivian Lee
- Little, Brown and Company
- Vivien Leigh
- Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1940)
- Nabila Lovelace
- Joy Priest
- Natalie Diaz
- Draymond Green
- Adam Silver
- Ja Morant
- “Ja Morant, Draymond Green and the NBA’s rehabilitation conundrum” (David Dennis Jr, Andscape)
- Russell Wilson
- Montrezl Harrell
- Jorge Luis Borges
- Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (audiobook)
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