Reading McCarthy

Send us Fan MailWith this episode, READING MCCARTHY has discussed every novel published by Cormac McCarthy.  Published in early December of 2022, STELLA MARIS was the last novel published by McCarthy in his lifetime.  The second book in a pair of sibling novels about the Westerns, STELLA MARIS consists of a series of interviews between the troubled genius Alicia Western and a research psychiatrist. Alicia first appears in THE PASSENGER, but it is in this novel that the spotlight is firmly upon her.  My guests for this episode are Nell Sullivan, who joined us previously for episodes on McCarthy and Women Characters, on Outer Dark, on a consideration of The Border Trilogy, and the tribute episode to McCarthy.  She is Professor of English at the University of Houston-Downtown, where she teaches courses in American literature, the literature of the American South, and zombies.  She has published essays on William Faulkner, Nella Larsen, Katherine Dunn, and, of course, Cormac McCarthy. She is currently working on a book on McCarthy’s representation of women.  Like myself and Vern Cisney, her most recent chapter on McCarthy has recently been published in the collection, New Perspectives on Cormac McCarthy, Encountering The Passenger and Stellar Maris, edited by the Brothers Elmore.  Joining Dr. Sullivan is Dr. Vernon W. Cisney, who is Chair and Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. He teaches at the intersections of philosophy, religion, film, literature, and politics. He is the author of Deleuze and Derrida: Difference and the Power of the Negative (2018), as well as Derrida’s Voice and Phenomenon: An Edinburgh Philosophical Guide (2014). In addition, he is the co-editor of Between Foucault and Derrida (2016); Biopower: Foucault and Beyond (2015); and The Way of Nature and the Way of Grace: Philosophical Footholds on Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2016). Most recently, he has written articles and chapters included in Deleuze and Guattari Studies and New Perspectives on Cormac McCarthy: Encountering the Passenger and Stella Maris, and is currently editing with Jonathan and Rick Elmore a volume on McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.  All music for READING MCCARTHY is  composed, performed, and produced by Thomas Frye.  Support the showNew! A book adaptation of many of the episodes focusing on McCarthy's Southern novels is forthcoming in December, 2026.  Click the link for details on Reading Cormac McCarthy: Scholars Discuss the Southern Novels.Starting in spring of 2023, the podcast began accepting minor sponsorship offers to offset the costs of the podcast.  This may cause a mild disconnect in earlier podcasts where the host asks for patrons in lieu of sponsorships.   But if we compare it to a very large and naked bald man in the middle of the desert who leads you to an extinct volcano to create gunpowder, it seems pretty minor...As always, the views of the host and his guests do not constitute the views of the Cormac McCarthy society, or their employers or institutions, or their pets or favorite sporting teams.  

Send us Fan MailLast October while attending the American Literature Association fiction symposium in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I managed to sequester two live, dyed-in-the-wool employed philosophers who also happen to be Cormac McCarthy experts.  My AV guy (which is me) thought to handle the situation in some arm chairs near an elevator using a very expensive microphone rig ($28 at least) which attached to my phone.  So--the sound is challenging, but I hope that listeners will forge ahead to this excellent conversation.  Returning to the podcast is Dr. Rick Elmore, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Appalachian State University and Senior Managing Editor of book reviews at Symposium. He researches and teaches in the areas of twentieth-century French philosophy, critical theory, animal philosophy, and Cormac McCarthy Studies. He is the co-editor of The Biopolitics of Punishment: Derrida and Foucault (Northwestern University Press), The Evolving Project of Cormac McCarthy (LSU) and, published after this recording, New Perspectives on Cormac McCarthy: Encountering The Passenger and Stella Maris (U. South Carolina Press). His articles and essays have appeared in Politics & Policy, Symplokē, Symposium, Mississippi Quarterly, and The Cormac McCarthy Journal, among others. Joining him is his good friend Dr. Vern Cisney,  the chair and associate professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Gettysburg College, where he teaches at the intersections of philosophy, religion, film, literature, politics, and popular culture.  He is the author of Deleuze and Derrida: Difference and the Power of the Negative (Edinburgh, 2014).  He is additionally the coeditor of Between Foucault and Derrida (Edinburgh, 2016), BioPower: Foucault and Beyond (Chicago, 2015), The Way of Nature and the Way of Grace: Philosophical Footholds On Terence Malick’s Tree of Life (Northwestern, 2016) and a number of other books.  Recent articles include work in Deleuze and Guattari Studies, and pieces in The Evolving Project of Cormac McCarthy, and New Perspectives on Cormac McCarthy: Encountering The Passenger and Stella Maris. Thanks as well to Thomas Frye, who composed, performed, and produced the music for READING MCCARTHY.  The views of the host and his guests do not necessarily reflect the views of their home institutions or the Cormac McCarthy Society.  We appreciate favorable reviews on the platform of your choice.  If you enjoy this podcast you may also enjoy the GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL PODCAST, hosted by myself and Kirk Curnutt. To contact me, please reach out to readingmccarthy(@)gmail.com. The website is at readingmccarthy.buzzsprout.com Support the showNew! A book adaptation of many of the episodes focusing on McCarthy's Southern novels is forthcoming in December, 2026.  Click the link for details on Reading Cormac McCarthy: Scholars Discuss the Southern Novels.Starting in spring of 2023, the podcast began accepting minor sponsorship offers to offset the costs of the podcast.  This may cause a mild disconnect in earlier podcasts where the host asks for patrons in lieu of sponsorships.   But if we compare it to a very large and naked bald man in the middle of the desert who leads you to an extinct volcano to create gunpowder, it seems pretty minor...As always, the views of the host and his guests do not constitute the views of the Cormac McCarthy society, or their employers or institutions, or their pets or favorite sporting teams.