TOD 052 The Outer Dark Symposium 2019, Part 3: The Fiction of Forking Paths and Readings by Larissa Glasser, Selena Chambers, and Edward Austin Hall

September 12, 2019
12 mins to read

In this podcast The Outer Dark presents the third installment of The Outer Dark Symposium on the Greater Weird 2019 including the panel: ‘The Fiction of Forking Paths: Weird Horror and Spec-Lit from Latin-, Afro-, and other non-Anglo Traditions‘, moderated by Balogun Ojetade and and featuring Milton J. D avis , John C. Foster, Kyoko M, Gabriela Damián Miravete, Scott Nicolay, and Lesley Wheeler, as well as readings by Larissa Glasser, Selena Chambers, and Edward Austin Hall, and an introductory interview with Edward Austin Hall. These segments were recorded live on Saturday March 23 at Silver Scream FX Lab in Atlanta, GA.

Introduction with Special Guest Edward Austin Hall

Author/editor Edward Austin Hall joins Anya to help thank Bronze, Silver and Platinum symposium sponsors, followed by a spirited interview (0:10:38) about spec-lit and Weird poetry. Ed discusses how he selected among his “crayon poems” what to read and contribute to the program chapbook, the uncanny similarity between kaiju and kudzu, the intersection between color and language in his work, some inspiration from The Far Side, an obsessive color out of Lovecraft and a hint of disease, inspiration from the first The Outer Dark Symposium (Atlanta, 2017), and poet/novelist Lesley Wheeler’s observation on the panel that ‘all good poetry is essentially Weird’. The conversation concludes with Ed’s thoughts on how mixing readings and panels on the single track makes the symposium unique, including making room for poetry.

Show Notes

(0:14:15) In this podcast The Outer Dark presents the third installment of The Outer Dark Symposium on the Greater Weird 2019 beginning with readings by Larissa Glasser (0:33:49) and Selena Chambers (0:44:54) and concludes with a reading by Edward Austin Hall (1:38:41). In-between, listen in to the symposium’s third panel (0:55:30) ‘The Fiction of Forking Paths: Weird Horror and Spec-Lit from Latin-, Afro-, and other non-Anglo Traditions‘, moderated by Balogun Ojetade and featuring Milton J. D avis , John C. Foster, Kyoko M, Gabriela Damián Miravete, Scott Nicolay, and Lesley Wheeler. English-speaking self-anointed genre “scholars” tether The Weird’s genesis as a literary force to H.P. Lovecraft and his circle, and science fiction to John W. Campbell’s ‘Golden Age’, but looking out at The Weird, horror, and spec-lit from the windows of other cultures reveals a radically different and dynamic landscape. Panelists will discuss some of these alternate literary paths taken by other nationalities and African-American and indigenous communities, as well as recommend must-read seminal authors and talk about their own experiences writing non-Anglocentric narratives. Be sure to check out the Additional Links below for the panelists’ reading recommendations. These segments were recorded live on Saturday March 23 at Silver Scream FX Lab in Atlanta, GA.

The Outer Dark Symposium on the Greater Weird is the only annual conference centered around contemporary Weird fiction. Our mission is to foster conversation and connect communities among the diverse slate of creators and audience members under the umbrella of speculative fiction—inclusive, safe and welcoming to women, LBGTQ+, and writers of color. The fourth annual symposium will be held March 26-27, 2020 at Silver Scream FX Lab. Find out more, including a link to purchase supporting and attending memberships at TheOuterDark.org.

This episode was brought to you by 2019 Bronze Sponsors Argawarga/Autonomous Press, Dunhams Manor Press, Eraserhead Press, Mocha Memoirs Press and Silver Sponsor Dim Shores, as well as our Platinum Sponsors PseudoPod, Innsmouth Free Press, Nightscape Press, Kino Lorber, and NecronomiCon Providence; and Emerald Sponsor Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing. Thank you to all our attending and supporting members, sponsors, and Indiegogo campaign supporters who help make Something Weird happen.