Three Percent Podcast

Kaija Straumanis pinch hits this week for a discussion about Lost, airplanes, the past and nostalgia, writers vs. narrators, autofiction, how hard it is to sustain a rant, ghosts, pop culture references, where we are in Fresán's trilogy, and much more. The Remembered Part keeps gathering steam, and you'll want to catch up after listening to this so that you can be there for the explosive conclusion to one of the century's greatest literary trilogies. This week's music is "Tropic Morning News" by The National. Next week we'll be covering pages 144-204 (full schedule), and you can watch it live here, or by subscribing to our YouTube channel. You can purchase each of the books in the trilogy separately (Invented, Dreamed, Remembered, OR, if you don't have them and are ready for the reading event of 2023, then get The Part Trilogy for $40—approximately 30% off. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with oth

Maybe not the most informative of recaps, but Brian and Chad discuss what the love about Fresán's writing, things they recall from the first two volumes of the trilogy, ideas about what to maybe expect (Dracula + Proust), peppered with the usual amount of jokes and antics. This week's music is "Pontius Pilate's Home Movies" by The New Pornographers. Next week we'll be covering pages 1-82 (full schedule), and you can watch it live by subscribing to our YouTube channel. You can purchase each of the books in the trilogy separately (Invented, Dreamed, Remembered, OR, if you don't have them and are ready for the reading event of 2023, then get The Part Trilogy for $40—approximately 30% off. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please rate us—wherever you get your podcasts! Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, and 

In this episode, Chad talks with Olga Castro (Univ. of Warwick), and translators Jacob Rogers (Galician), Mara Faye Lethem (Catalan), Robin Munby (Asturian), and Aritz Branton (Basque) about literatures from the official (and unofficial) languages of Spain, ways in which the regional governments support translation from these languages, the burden of pitching, challenges and joys, books you should know about, and much more.  This week's music is "We Will Live for Ages" by Hjaltalín. Things we discussed that you should check out: The Spanish issue of The Riveter; Booktegi, for access to Basque literature; A recording of The Riveter event at the Cervantes Institute. And just like that, the Three Percent Podcast is back! Stay tuned for additional conversations, diatribes, and info about new and forthcoming translations. As such, if you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on iTunes, Stitcher, and other places. Or you can always subscribe by adding our feed directly into your f

The final episode of this season focuses on The Unmapped Country: Stories and Fragments, focusing on the titular story/unfinished novel, along with a few other shorter pieces. The gang looks back at all of Ann Quin's books, speculate on what her career might have been had she lived another couple decades, whether of not she should be taught in a creative writing class, and more. This week's music is "Web in Front" by Archers of Loaf. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and stay tuned for information about Season 19 on The Remembered Part by Rodrigo Fresán. And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more! All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores ever

Chad, Brian, and Kaija finish up their discussion of Tripticks, which basically devolves into reading out the funniest lines they can find from the this trippy-dippy, wild-ass ending. Some analysis is made of the deconstruction of male narratives, the Beats, the Dashiell Hammett of it all, and more, but come prepared for some fun and laughs. This week's music is "How Does the Story Go?" by Sprints. You can watch next week's discussion of Tripticks live on YouTube, Thursday December 29th. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel. And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more! All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better books

NIGHTRIPPER!!!!!!!!! This week's music is "Dirty Boots" by Sonic Youth. You can watch next week's discussion of Tripticks live on YouTube. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel. And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more! All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Kaija Straumanis filled in for a domestically distressed Brian, and Chad went all psych0-philosophical on this week's episode, talking about schizoid personality splits, R. D. Laing, reading the various parts of Passages simultaneously, postulating wild hot takes, and saying "fuck off" to a wide swath of bad actors. (Looking at you, Kanye.) This week's music is "Outlook for the Future" by Inventions. You can watch next week's discussion of Tripticks live on YouTube. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel. And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more! All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be s

Kaija Straumanis joins Chad and Brian this week to talk about orchids, hot takes (did S. sleep with L.?? how exactly did she die?), creepy British dudes, symmetry in Three, Ann Quin's statement on threesomes, the ambiguity of the text, and much more. This week's music is "What Went Down" by Foals. You can watch next week's discussion of Passage live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Thursday, December 1. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel. And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more! All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better

Chad and Bria dive into Three, discussing the humor of the dialogue, the poetic-cinematic techniques Quin employs, monogamy and marriage, whether or not L was a collaborationist or worse, the importance of the number three, the play-like elements of the books, anti-mimetic writing, and much more. It's a fun episode complete with dog barks, laughs, unanswered questions, and a decent amount of insight into Three for anyone feeling lost. This week's music is "Lost Heads" by Moon Duo. You can watch next week's discussion of Three live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Wednesday, November 9th. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel. And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or a

Dead dummies, drowned tramps, resolving the Oedipal complex, the forever incompleteness of the number "3," sex, the sea, slapstick comedy, irony, competing desires of domesticity versus the desire to escape, the beautiful ending and the reverse coda, and much more is discussed on this episode covering the whole of Ann Quin's Berg.  Now Chad and Brian move on to Quin's second novel, Three, which came out in 1969 and, in a way, begins right where we left off, opening  "with the disappearance at sea, possibly suicide, of a young woman, identified only as S." You can get the book via And Other Stories, Bookshop, your local indie, or Amazon. This is the book that got Chad completely hooked on Quin, so read along and tune in! This week's music is "City of the Dead" by Superchunk. You can watch next week's discussion of Three live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Wednesday, November 9th. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel. And you can support us at Patre

Chad and Brian dive into the first half of Berg this episode, mispronouncing words, talking about the literary scene Quin came out of, whether or not Berg/Greb is an incel, the humor found in the book, and more. (Inevitably there's a dig at Ohio somewhere in this recording.) This week's music is "When a Woman Is Around" byUnloved. You can watch next week's discussion of Berg live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Wednesday, November 9th. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel. And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

The eighteenth season of the Two Month Review is all about Ann Quin's books—all four novels and her collected stories and fragments—and starts off with an overview of who she was, the context of experimental British writing in the 1960s, how/why Quin has been underappreciated, some info on supplementary critical materials, and much more. This week's music is "HaHaHome" by twen. You can watch next week's discussion of Berg live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Wednesday, November 2nd. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel. And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at bett

Katie and Chad tackle this section alone, discussing the revolutionary background of the main characters, going off into Bernadine Dohrn, the SDS, the Weather Underground, and direct action. They also talk about the timeline—as far as they understand it—the challenges of translating legal terms, Danny's multiple read throughs of the text, and much more. This week's music is "Simulation Swarm" by Big Thief. If you like what you hear, review, rate, and support us on Patreon! You can watch next week's episode (June 22nd, 9am ET) which will cover through page 136 in Never Did the Fire and page 152 in Catching Fire live on YouTube here, and watch all previous seasons on our YouTube channel. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions. And all of Katie’s translations, especially Four by Four, Last Words on Earth, and her forthcoming Tr

In addition to talking about the Trump/Tesla/Lockwood conspiracy theory, our hosts this week discuss "bone avalanches," how translators are paid, the global literary network available for "experimental" books translated into English, "runts," Lativa's obsession with MILF graffiti, "catching fire," and driving a convertible off a cliff. This week's music is "Bicameral" by The Range. If you like what you hear, review, rate, and support us on Patreon! You can watch next week's episode (June 15th, 10am ET) which will cover through page 136 in Never Did the Fire and page 152 in Catching Fire live on YouTube here, and watch all previous seasons on our YouTube channel. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions. And all of Katie’s translations, especially Four by Four, Last Words on Earth, and her forthcoming Translator Triptych.

Chad and Brian go it alone and discuss "navel gazing" novels, books that entertain vs. ones about the prose, where Eltit's novel resides on that spectrum, Tommy Pham slapping Joc Peterson, shit in the bed, and much more. This week's music is "It Was Us" by Arms and Sleepers. If you like what you hear, review, rate, and support us on Patreon! You can watch next week's episode (June 1st) live on YouTube here, and watch all previous seasons on our YouTube channel. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions. And all of Katie’s translations, especially Four by Four, Last Words on Earth, and her forthcoming Translator Triptych.

Technical difficulties are kept to a minimum on this week's episode, as Chad, Brian, and Katie talk about the advancement of plot, the French New Novel, the title and its translation, the body, trauma, touching eyeballs, and more. This week's music is "Monday" by The Regrettes. If you like what you hear, review, rate, and support us on Patreon! You can watch next week's episode (June 1st) live on YouTube here, and watch all previous seasons on our YouTube channel. Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions. And all of Katie’s translations, especially Four by Four, Last Words on Earth, and her forthcoming Translator Triptych.

In lieu of a live episode, this week's TMR features interviews with Mónica Ramón Ríos and Carlos Labbé about their relationship with Diamela Eltit and her role in Chilean letters. That's followed by a conversation with Tony Malone (of Tony's Reading List) about the two books under discussion this season and the Shadow Man Booker International jury that he's been helping run for a number of years. Katie, Brian, and Chad will be back live on May 25th to cover up to page 68 in Never Did the Fire and to page 78 in Catching Fire. This week's music is "No Blade of Grass" from the new(ish) Bodega album. If you like what you hear, review, rate, and support us on Patreon! Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions. And all of Katie’s translations, especially Four by Four, Last Words on Earth, and her forthcoming Translator Triptych.

Technical difficulties abound as Chad struggles to find reliable Wifi in Latvia. (While being recruited by the Russian mafia?)  Katie and Brian take the lead this episode, discussing the next few chapters of Never Did the Fire, gendered adjectives and information, Marxist groups and analysis, and much more. Also: Stay tuned at the end for a special interview with Sam McDowell of Charco Press! This week's music is "Age of Anxietyt I" from the new Arcade Fire album. If you like what you hear, review, rate, and support us on Patreon! Also: use code 2MONTHREVIEW at the Charco website for 10% off everything. (Lies! Discount only applies to books—no bundles, no tote bags, etc.) Next week's episode will be available on 5/14 to Patreon supporters, and will drop wherever you get your podcasts on Wednesday, May 18th. Unlike other episodes, it'll consist of two interviews related to Eltit and the books rather than a breakdown of the next sections. We'll be back to normal on May 25th! Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and B

TMR is back, breaking down Daniel Hahn's translation diary, Catching Fire, alongside his translation of Never Did the Fire by Diamela Eltit.  In this episode, they contextualize Eltit and this particular book, talk about intentional ambiguity, Franco and Pinochet, action vs. analysis, bad and hard to eat rice, and more.  Also, Katie sings.  And there's a long interview with Daniel Hahn! This week's music is "Impossible" from the new Röyksopp album. If you like what you hear, review, rate, and support us on Patreon! Also: use code 2MONTHREVIEW at the Charco website for 10% off everything.  You can watch next week's episode (May 11th) live on YouTube here, and watch all previous seasons on our YouTube channel.  Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions. And all of Katie’s translations, especially Four by Four, Last Words on Earth

After a two-year hiatus, Chad and Tom are back! In this episode—maybe the final one of this particular scope and format—they talk about what's gone on over the past couple years, how much printing sucks right now, distribution issues, Fum d'Estampa, ELADATL: A History of the East Los Angeles Dirigible Air Transport Lines by Sesshu Foster and Arturo Ernesto Romo, Everything and Less by Mark McGurl, Tokyo Redux by David Peace, Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura, Jon Fosse, Dalkey Archive's impending relaunch, and more.  This week's music is "Always Together With You" by Spiritualized. If you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on iTunes, Stitcher, and other places. Or you can always subscribe by adding our feed directly into your favorite podcast app: http://threepercent.libsyn.com/rss