This week on The Sound of Young America, careful observation is in evidence.
Caleb Crain is a critic for The New Yorker. His piece in that magazine’s September 11th issue, “Surveillance Society: The Mass-Observation Movement and the Meaning of Everyday Life,” tells the story of a group which sought to create “Popular Poetry” by accumulating information on the day-to-day affairs of people in England. Thousands of volunteers kept notebooks on special days, marking everything they did and observed, and sent in their notes for analysis. Caleb discussed the interview on his blog.
Merrill Markoe is a comic and writer. Her most recent novel is “Walking in Circles Before Lying Down,” about a young woman, adrift in Southern California, who starts taking advice from her dog. She was also a television writer for many years, and was the co-creator and original head writer of both “Late Night with David Letterman” and it’s precedent, the daytime “David Letterman Show.” Be sure to check out our bonus audio with Merrill below.
Please share your thoughts on the show in the comments section!
Download This Week’s Show
Subscribe in iTunes
Donate to the Show
Listen to This Week’s Show
Bonus Audio
Merrill Markoe reads from her novel
Listen to This Week’s Show
Incidental Music by DJW