A Five Part Series from TTBOOK!

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Wisconsin Public Radio

APOCALYPTIC FICTION

Program 08-01-20-A

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Every good story comes to an end, but in some stories the End is just the beginning. It takes a special kind of writer to create a believable Apocalypse in the pages of a novel, and right now there are a lot of them. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Apocalyptic Fiction – new stories about the End of the World. Join us for end times, global panic, space plagues, zombies and lots of other good stuff.

SEGMENT 1:

After Kevin Brockmeier reads an excerpt from his "Brief History of the Dead," Jim Fleming talks with Justin Taylor, editor of "The Apocalypse Reader," a collection of 34 short stories abut the end of the world. Taylor says writers have always been fascinated by the subject. (click here to listen to all of Jeff Goldberg's Zombie Story) Also, Anne Strainchamps talks with Kevin Brockmeier about his novel which concerns the dead who have not yet passed from living memory.

SEGMENT 2:

Lydia Millet tells Steve Paulson that she lives in the middle of a national park outside Tucson, Arizona, and is always mindful that she is encroaching on the space of the wild creatures when she drives her car. Her novel is called "How the Dead Dream" and considers the current human impact on animals to be apocalyptic in scope. We also hear excerpts from Millet's novel, cited by the National Book Critics Circle as one of the ten best of the year.

SEGMENT 3:

Scott Westerfeld writes wildly popular post-apocalyptic and dystopian science fiction for teenagers. He's the author of the "Peeps" series about parasite-positive vampires, as well as "Uglies" and "Pretties," who live in a world where plastic surgery is compulsory. Westerfeld tells Anne Strainchamps the idea for thee stories came from a friend's experience with a dentist in Los Angeles.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 08-01-20-A.

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Books:

Kevin Brockmeier, The Brief History of the Dead (Vintage Contemporaries)
Lydia Millet, How the Dead Dream (Counterpoint)
Justin Taylor, ed, The Apocalypse Reader (Thunder's Mouth Press)
Scott Westerfeld, Uglies (Simon & Schuster)

Websites:

• Kevin Brockmeier's website
  http://www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/brockmeier/
• Lydia Millet's website
  http://www.lydiamillet.net/

• Scott Westerfeld's website
  http://scottwesterfeld.com/

Music:

• Apocalyptic Music Notes:

  First off, we should note the use of a tiny excerpt from the BBC’s masterful production of Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” now a classic piece of radio drama.

  The music that ran after that, under the first reading by Kevin Brockmeier, is by Money Mark – the track is “Spooky,” on the CD “Mark’s Keyboard Repair.”

  At the end of the interview with Justin Taylor, we alluded to the end of time with a piece by Dean Elliott and his swinging big band. The tune is “I Didn’t Know What Time it Was,” and we found it on the CD “Zounds! What Sounds!”

  All the readings in our interview with Kevin Brockmeier are from “that subliminal kid,” DJ Spooky. We used “Phase Interlude,” “Thoughts Like Rain,” and “Nihilismus Dub” off of his CD “Songs of a Dead Dreamer” on Asphodel Records.

  The first music break featured more Money Mark – “Slow Flames,” off of the same CD mentioned above.

  We used some nature recordings to set off Lydia Millet’s reading – forest recordings that came to us courtesy of Earth Ear Radio. Also, a track off of David Rothenberg’s experimental recording of himself playing jazz with wild birds. The particular piece we used is called “Bou Bou Swell.” The CD is “Why Birds Sing.” (Terra Nova Music)

  The second music break is a bit from The Chemical Brothers’ appropriately titled CD, “Exit Planet Dust.” We used “Chico’s Groove.”

  You’ll find an MP3 of Scott Westerfeld’s mix, “After Dark” on his website: www.scottwesterfeld.com.

  And finally, the show ended on an up note, with a remix by Eurotrash of a piece of 1960’s electronica by Perrey and Kingsley. It’s called “Love’s Concerto,” and we found it on Vanguard’s definitive 3-CD set, “The Out Sound from Way In!”

  Happy Listening.

Distribution dates: week of 01/20/2008 - hour 1

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

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