Episode 65: Touched by that Fire: On Visionary Literature, with B. W. Powe

Episode 65: Touched by that Fire: On Visionary Literature, with B. W. Powe

Author: SpectreVision Radio February 5, 2020 Duration: 1:20:07
B. W. Powe is a Canadian poet, novelist, essayist and professor at York University, in Toronto. His work, though it covers an immense range of topics from politics and poetics to magic and technology, proceeds from a mystical apprehension of the universe as the locus of magical operations, the site of experiments in cosmic becoming. In his various books and essays, Powe continues a uniquely Canadian form of the visionary tradition whose luminaries include his former teachers Marshall McLuhan and Northrop Frye. In this episode, he joins JF and Phil for an exploration of the meaning, potency, and danger of the visionary in art and literature. Header image: Detail of "Green Color" by Gausanchennai (Wikimedia Commons). REFERENCES B. W. Powe's website B. W. Powe, The Charge in the Global Membrane B. W. Powe, Marshall McLuhan and Northrop Frye: Apocalypse and Alchemy Frank Lentricchia, "Last Will and Testament of an Ex-Literary Critic" Lorca's concept of duende Hildegard of Bingen's concept of viriditas Gilles Deleuze, Cinema II Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy Marshall McLuhan, "Notes on William Burroughs" Phil Ford, Dig: Sound and Music in Hip Culture John Clellon Holmes, beatnik Northrop Frye, Canadian literary critic Hildegard von Bingen, Ordo Virtutum Joni Mitchell, "Woodstock" Genesis 32, Jacob and the Angel R. D. Laing, Scottish psychologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience Sylvia Plath, "Lady Lazarus" Sylvia Plath, "Daddy" Jack Kerouac, American writer Allen Ginsberg, American poet Lionel Snell, British philosopher and magician Special Guest: B. W. Powe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the heart of Weird Studies, a podcast from SpectreVision Radio, you’ll find long-form conversations between Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel. Their discussions aren’t simple reviews or straightforward analyses; instead, they wander through the tangled undergrowth where art and philosophy meet, giving generous time to concepts that resist easy understanding and to creative works that fracture our ordinary sense of the world. This podcast deliberately lingers in that ambiguous space, treating the “weird” not as a genre but as a particular mode of experience-one that reveals the cracks in what we comfortably assume is real. Each episode feels like joining a deep, meandering dialogue between two friends who are both deeply knowledgeable and endlessly curious, covering a vast terrain that includes literature, film, music, and esoteric thought. It’s a show for anyone who suspects that the most profound truths are often found in the shadows, the anomalies, and the strangely beautiful. As part of the SpectreVision Radio network, which specializes in content that explores the uncanny edges of creativity, Weird Studies builds a unique community of listeners who are eager to think differently. You won’t find pat answers here, but you will encounter compelling questions and a shared sense of exploration that makes each installment a distinctive journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 230

Weird Studies
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