The Free and Direct Podcast
A literary-inclined release from the publishers of Indirect Books. Subscribe for conversations with authors, editorial talks, critical deep dives, and other book-type discussions.
Updated at certain times.
Free episodes of our dedicated book club feed, The Cordelivres Criticism Club (also on Apple and Spotify), are cross-posted in Free and Direct. To check out the Show Notes and more, head over to our Substack.
Jessica Swoboda and Attention Ecology in "Outline" – Free and Direct
Jessica Swoboda joins the show to talk about her essay, “Rachel Cusk’s Attention Ecology,” adapted from her PhD dissertation and published in Contemporary Literature. We talk about the Outline trilogy and Jessica’s scholarship, and the fascinating work she does into the intersections of narrative theory and interpersonal relationships—the ecologies of attention, and the ways in which they serve as a lens to viewing how a novel might impact, or inform, the world around us.Listen in as Dan and Jessica discuss the novels, PhD life, and drop some very cool book recommendations (Cusk and non-Cusk alike) throughout the show. In the meantime, check out the continuation of our Dalloway centenary series next week and, as always, stay critical!
- Jessica Swoboda and Attention Ecology in "Outline"
- The Past As A Place We Can Find: A Conversation with Lincoln Hirn
- Merely A Gifted Eccentric: Dalloway Intertextualities [Part Two]
- Dreaming Animal Dreams: Dalloway Intertextualities [Part One]
- Waves of Pure Lemon: Katharine Smyth and "All The Lives We Ever Lived"
Indirect Books 