Ed Atkins, artist and author of Flower, Old Food and A Primer for Cadavers, speaks to Dan Fox, filmmaker, musician and author of Pretentiousness: Why it Matters and Limbo, about his work to date. The conversation touches on catachresis and its relation to the animism of childhood, the feeling of words in the mouth, the thin border between pathos and slapstick, and the pleasure of making lists. Listen here.
Below for reading list of the books mentioned in the episode:
Speedboat by Renata Adler (1976)
Report from the Interior by Paul Auster (2013)
Arts of Impoverishment by Leo Bersani and Ulysse Dutoit (1993)
The Stumbling Block, Its Index by Brian Catling (1990) Suspended Passion by Marguerite Duras (2020)
Pepsi Cola Addict by June-Alison Gibbons (1982)
Bosses by Ghislaine Leung (2023)
Vanishing Point by David Markson (2004)
Studying Hunger Journals by Bernadette Mayer (1976) Berg by Ann Quin (1964)
Testimony by Charles Reznikoff (1965)
Love’s Work by Gillian Rose (1995)
Aug 9 – Fog by Kathryn Scanlan (2019)
Recorded in May 2025. Edited by Frankie Wells. Music by Kwes Darko.
