Elise Riley, an accessioning archivist at the Beinecke Library, offers us an expert's perspective on In The Freud Archives, Janet Malcolm's nonfictional exploration of archival infighting. The book concerns three psychoanalytic scholars who come to epistolary blows over the scattered remains of Freud's legacy. But unlike most niche academic debates, this one resulted in a $13 million dollar lawsuit. In this episode, we discuss Malcolm's narrative distance, the role of fantasy versus reality, and some things the Sigmund Freud Archives could have done to avoid all this Oedipal drama.
For more on archives and obsession, join our Patreon to hear next week's episode on Henry James' The Aspern Papers.
Dylan and Kassia discuss Howard Sturgis' 1904 novel Belchamber. It follows the coming of age of Sainty, a not-so-average English boy who prefers needlepoint...
In this enlightening conversation, we talk to scholar Dan Sinykin about his book Big Fiction, which details the rise of conglomeration in American publishing...
In this bonus teaser, we discuss a work of experimental poetry chosen by a patron. Explore the hidden character of the vowels here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=84429384
