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Prolific author, poet, naturalist, "lister," and Hincy's former professor, Charles Hood stops by Writers Drinking Whiskey to discuss his latest book, A SALAD ONLY THE DEVIL WOULD EAT: THE JOYS OF UGLY NATURE. We discuss what he loves about mixed ecologies, why he describes the Antelope Valley as "the place old sofas crawl to the end of the road to die," and writing tips related to experimental fiction.
Links:
OTIUM (bar and restaurant): https://otiumla.com/
A Salad Only The Devil Would Eat: https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/a-salad-only-the-devil-would-eat/
Hincy's website: https://williamrhincy.com/
Hincy's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ
Bios:
Charles Hood: Charles Hood has studied birds and natural history from the Amazon to Tibet, and he has seen more than five thousand species of birds in the wild. A widely published poet, he has received numerous fellowships and writing awards and is the author of the Heyday collection A Salad Only the Devil Would Eat. His other Heyday titles include field guides to mammals and birds, and for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County he was the lead author and photographer for the book Wild LA.
William R. Hincy: “Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.
Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:17 Introducing Charles Hood
00:02:52 Where to get a drink in LA (and Reno)
00:10:59 The joys of "ugly" nature
00:17:35 Old Sofas
00:24:57 Lake Una
00:27:31 In-between areas
00:32:27 Man vs Nature?
00:38:01 I heart Nature
00:39:16 Zone-Tailed Hawk
00:51:15 Listing obsession
01:01:37 Diorama-bama
01:06:26 Ancient Wounds
01:08:25 Rapid fire questions
01:20:28 Writing tips on experimental fiction
01:24:31 Divorce Insurance
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