PODCAST · arts
Personal Rejection Letter
by Kelly Daniels
We're just your everyday struggling writers, looking for some heat in a cold world. Join us as we discuss the dark underbelly of the lit life: writing, reading, working, and burning with envy.
Episodes
-
Episode Twenty Seven
Something different this week. No banter, no topic, no intro, no outro, just a brief introduction and the first chapter of Kelly's memoir, Cloudbreak, California. Please note that PRL will take a break after this episode, and we're not sure how long the break will be. It's been a blast so far…
more -
Episode Twenty Six
Dan and Kelly wrack their memories to find writers famous for either their horribleness or their kindness. Beneath the various stories lurks a question: to what degree to we reward or punish writers based on who they are and not they've written. Do great writers get away with being assholes? Do...
-
Episode Twenty Five
Kelly enjoys a reunion with his old friend from graduate school, Marc P: poet, fiction writer, teacher, and publisher of his own small press. Dan adds his wit and verve to a lively chat about the state of literary publishing, complete with practical advice on starting your own small press.
-
Episode Twenty Four
Dan and Kelly take on a topic that's been dogging graduate students for millenia (a word my mouth-breathing spellchecker doesn't recognize as the plural of "millenium"). Why does it have to be so fricken confusing? Is it all a big scam, or is there something to be gained from making the reader...
-
Episode Twenty Three
Dan and Kelly share experiences with their favoritest and least favoritest "how to" manuals, trying to get at this vital question: can you learn to write by readings books about how to write? An "AJWilson82" inspired episode.
-
Episode Twenty Two
Classic guest Joe Bonomo joins the boys for a live podcast from the ballpark. Heated debate about America's most literary sport ensues, as do hot dogs and beer. Also, raccoons.
-
Episode Twenty One
The boys talk book reviews, their own and those of others. Leaning hard on A Reader's Manifesto, by B.R. Myers, they present an unintentional conspiracy, whereby book reviews have become part of the advertising branch of major book publishers--and therefore completely dishonest and useless to...
-
Episode Twenty
Dan and Kelly opine on the subject of titles. They offer examples of good ones, bad ones, and ugly ones. If only they had a fistful of dollars every time they had to come up with a title... Tune in to this informative and fascinating discussion.
-
Episode Nineteen
Dan claims that people who read on Kindles don't retain what they've read. Kelly is pretty sure that's wrong, but he can't quite remember where he read it.
-
Episode Eighteen
Aphorisms abound in this mean episode.
-
Episode Seventeen
Does "literature" have practical value? What constitutes "literature"? Who gets to decide? Should tax payers fund "literature"? Do the boys have answers to these questions, questions? Will all be revealed if you listen?
-
Episode Sixteen
The boys fantasize about the opportunity to "sell out," whatever that might mean. And Bigfoot porn.
-
Episode Fifteen
The boys are taking requests these days, especially good ones, like A.J. Wilson's question about the challenges and rewards of moving from short forms to book-length works. Kelly's all: blah, blah, blah, Knausgaard; blah, blah, blah, Walden. Dan's like: yadda, yadda, yadda, Alice Munro; yadda,...
-
Episode Fourteen
Dan, with every fiber of his being, supports the Nobel Prize Committe's decision to award harmonica player Bob Dylan the Nobel Prize for Literature. Kelly thinks it should have gone to Billy Joel.
-
Episode Thirteen
Chabon, Chabon, Chabon, sha-doobie, do-doobie, do-bom!
-
Episode Twelve
The boys do not discuss Mary Shelley's famous novel, its influence or content. Instead, they forget to push "record" for the first ten minutes of the initial conversation about some of the favorite books, and then go back into the studio to patch in a new intro. You can hear the stitches.
-
Episode Eleven
Kelly tries, unsuccessfully, to bring bondage and discipline into the conversation, while Dan earnestly talks the highs and lows of submitting for publication when you ain't famous.
-
Episode Ten
The boys pass a podcasting milestone early in their careers: losing an entire recorded episode and having to do it over. Losing a whole episode and having to record it again. The subject is authorial identity, regional vs. nomadic. They talk about local and cosmopolitan writerly personas.
-
Episode Nine
What do you do when you honestly hate your good friend's new book? Find out in this iconoclastic episode on "literary citizenship."
-
Episode Eight
Kelly goes all Christian Science while Dan advocates for a balanced approach.
-
Episode Seven
Dan seethes with envy--and vicarious thrill--as Kelly regales the listener with steamy tales of his time at artist retreats. Or something like that.
-
Episode Six
Starstruck Dan and Kelly fight for Joe's attention, talking baseball, rock n' roll, even a little writing. Three is definitely a crowd in the tiny recording nook, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
-
Episode Five
Dan and Kelly puzzle over "fan fiction," asking, what is it good for...(absolutely nothing?)
-
Episode Four
Dan comes out as a copy cat. Kelly tries to comfort him by pretending that he (Kelly) too is unoriginal.
-
Episode Three
Kelly and Dan disagree about the severity of the risk of being replaced by machines.
-
Episode Two
Dan and Kelly weigh the pros and cons of self publishing vs. continuing to add to the rejection collection.
-
Special Bonus Episode for AWP
Dan and Kelly exchange old war stories from AWPs past, and offer advice (hydrate!) to future attendees.
-
Episode One
Dan and Kelly tell writerly origin stories and offer tepid advice.
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Personal Rejection Letter have?
Personal Rejection Letter currently has 30 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Personal Rejection Letter about?
We're just your everyday struggling writers, looking for some heat in a cold world. Join us as we discuss the dark underbelly of the lit life: writing, reading, working, and burning with envy.
How often does Personal Rejection Letter release new episodes?
Personal Rejection Letter has 30 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Personal Rejection Letter?
You can listen to Personal Rejection Letter on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Personal Rejection Letter?
Personal Rejection Letter is created and hosted by Kelly Daniels.
URL copied to clipboard!