<![CDATA[bradkellyesque]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!C3am!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4993213a-2fed-45a6-bb31-7215584dc892_400x400.pngbradkellyesquehttps://bradkellyesque.substack.comSubstackWed, 17 Jun 2026 19:02:38 GMT<![CDATA[Ep. 18.1 - TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson w/Kevin Kautzman]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ep-181-tree-of-smoke-by-denis-johnsonhttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ep-181-tree-of-smoke-by-denis-johnsonWed, 17 Jun 2026 13:21:34 GMTGood Morning and please listen to me: TREE OF SMOKE is a Great American Novel, about war, espionage, fathers, sacrifice, depravity, and much more. The book’s central metaphor stands everywhere and nowhere, like a dark wraith unfolding itself across the modern psyche.

The great Kevin Kautzman, from , joined me in the tunnels beneath this remarkable book.

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]]><![CDATA[AMA.04 - As w/Andrew Edwards]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama04-as-wandrew-edwardshttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama04-as-wandrew-edwardsFri, 12 Jun 2026 15:01:06 GMTCheck it out. The great joined me for a crossover AMA. We get into reading like a writer, CIA secrets, mysterious circumstances in CROWBAR, and much, much more.

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]]><![CDATA[Ep. 17.2 - The MADNESS of William H. Gass' THE TUNNEL [free version]]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ep-172-the-madness-of-william-h-gasshttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ep-172-the-madness-of-william-h-gassThu, 11 Jun 2026 13:32:25 GMTIn this FREE version of the MADNESS episode, I get into hobby tunneling, Gass via Gaston Bachelard, the linguistic and mythic dimension of matter, and what it means that THE TUNNEL is a novel of the Earth.

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]]><![CDATA[Episode 17.2 - The MADNESS of William H. Gass' THE TUNNEL]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/episode-172-the-madness-of-williamhttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/episode-172-the-madness-of-williamThu, 11 Jun 2026 13:12:27 GMTIn this full version of the MADNESS episode, I get into hobby tunneling, Gass via Gaston Bachelard, the inexplicable draw of holes in the ground, the linguistic and mythic dimension of matter, the metaphysics of glass, and what it means that THE TUNNEL is a novel of the Earth.

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]]><![CDATA[Melee - Kenan Meral on STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-kenan-meral-on-stigma-of-thehttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-kenan-meral-on-stigma-of-theTue, 09 Jun 2026 10:40:13 GMTAuthor Kenan Meral joined me to talk about books within books, the terror of sublimity, the reality of deepfakery, and his excellent new novel STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH.

Follow Kenan on twitter

Buy STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH from New Ritual Press

]]><![CDATA["The Man Who Would Not Die" by Harold Ward [audio recording]]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/the-man-who-would-not-die-by-haroldhttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/the-man-who-would-not-die-by-haroldFri, 29 May 2026 13:02:28 GMTOut of the archives of The Black Mask—the magazine that launched the careers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler—comes a tale by Harold Ward, an unsung hero paid pennies by the word.

Inspector Des Moines is clever, tough, and no nonsense, but when dead people start pulling heists, he has to call on the enigmatic Mohammed Gunga to wage battle against evil itself.

]]><![CDATA[Melee - Laeth on SKETCHES OF ALICE]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-laeth-on-sketches-of-alicehttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-laeth-on-sketches-of-aliceThu, 28 May 2026 12:04:21 GMT

I’m joined by the Portuguese fiction writer and aphorist for a conversation about jazz, writing as discovery, listening for the voice, and his singular work, including his most recent novel SKETCHES OF ALICE

Laeth’s website (buy SKETCHES OF ALICE and his other books)

Laeth on substack

]]><![CDATA[AMA.04 w/Andrew Edwards - Questions]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama04-wandrew-edwards-questionshttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama04-wandrew-edwards-questionsSun, 24 May 2026 13:56:28 GMT

In June, the great will join me for a cross-over AMA for premium subscribers of either of our feeds. Drop your questions, ponderings, and more-of-a-comment-reallys for either/both of us in a reply below and we’ll respond in audio form. Writing and books are always a good topic, but just about anything is fair game.

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]]><![CDATA[You can't outsmart the Devil | 5/2026 Tarot Reading]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/you-cant-outsmart-the-devil-52026https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/you-cant-outsmart-the-devil-52026Fri, 22 May 2026 12:21:25 GMTA tarot reading on the things that enslave us, self-medicating and scrolling, and organizing one's mental state to bring vision into reality.

DM me with TAROT in the first few words to set up a personal reading for a reasonable fee.

]]><![CDATA[AMA03-Answers]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama03-answershttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama03-answersMon, 18 May 2026 11:48:16 GMThaving a “Michigan moment” and responding to some great questions

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]]><![CDATA[[PREVIEW] Ep. 16.2 - The Madness of BUTCHER'S CROSSING by John Williams]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/preview-ep-162-the-madness-of-butchershttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/preview-ep-162-the-madness-of-butchersFri, 08 May 2026 12:11:46 GMTIn this clip, I get into the influence of Yvor Winters’ odd brand of classicism on one of the 20th Century’s greatest novelists.

]]><![CDATA[Ep. 16.2 - The MADNESS of Butcher's Crossing by John Williams]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ep-162-the-madness-of-butchers-crossinghttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ep-162-the-madness-of-butchers-crossingFri, 08 May 2026 12:08:40 GMTIn which we go deep into the life of John Williams: oil booms, abandonment, tall tales about WW2, booze, women, and three “perfect” novels.

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]]><![CDATA["The Nameless Offspring" by Clark Ashton Smith [audio recording]]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/the-nameless-offspring-by-clark-ashtonhttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/the-nameless-offspring-by-clark-ashtonFri, 01 May 2026 12:40:12 GMTClark Ashton Smith was a poet once called “The Last of the Great Romantics”.” But he is more remembered as one of the three most significant writers of pulp mainstay Weird Tales. H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith who was perhaps even stranger in his vision than either of them.

“The Nameless Offspring” first appeared in Strange Tales in 1932. A tale of family secrets, a haunted manor, and a beast we’d now refer to as a Pale Crawler.

]]><![CDATA[AMA.03 - Qs]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama03-qshttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama03-qsMon, 27 Apr 2026 12:31:02 GMT

Reply w/ your question or more-of-a-comment-really and I’ll record responses to them mid-May behind the paywall

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]]><![CDATA[Melee - GETTING LIT]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-getting-lithttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-getting-litWed, 15 Apr 2026 12:54:07 GMT and of the Getting Lit Podcast join me to talk about the history of their show, niche literary podcasting, the Australian scene, Sini’s provocative statement that there is no such thing as an atheist fiction writer, and much, much more.

Matt Sini’s substack pieces mentioned:

No Atheists in Plotholes

Current Thing Writing Killed the Literary Journal

Neo-Passeism piece on Australian scene

Matt Fresta’s stories at Apocalypse Confidential:

“A Super Position”

“Black and White and Blue”

“Count Whack-ula”

]]><![CDATA[Melee - Paul Heron on The End of History]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-paul-heron-on-the-end-of-historyhttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-paul-heron-on-the-end-of-historyMon, 13 Apr 2026 12:15:18 GMT
The ever-insightful joins me to figure out if History is in fact over, what Fukuyama meant by posing the question, cycles of history, nostalgia for the future, and much much more.

Subscribe to Some Private Diagonal and check out Paul’s work at Café Américain

]]><![CDATA[AMA02-As]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama02-ashttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ama02-asSat, 11 Apr 2026 14:11:01 GMTTaking your questions. Showing v. telling, nonliterary works of art, current writing projects, and more.

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]]><![CDATA[Ep. 16.1 - BUTCHER'S CROSSING by John Williams w/Lake Markham]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ep-161-butchers-crossing-by-johnhttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/ep-161-butchers-crossing-by-johnFri, 10 Apr 2026 13:03:55 GMTBUTCHER’S CROSSING by John Williams is an unassuming masterpiece. The writer (LO SIENTO) joined me to talk about what makes this book special. We get into the meaning of the Western, the ideas and images that drive this book, buffalo, what Williams has to say about America and Transcendentalism, and some of the things that writers can learn from this potent little volume.

BUY LO SIENTO

Lake on instagram.
Lake on twitter.

Lake’s website.

]]><![CDATA[Melee - David Simmons on ERADICATOR,]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-david-simmons-on-eradicatorhttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-david-simmons-on-eradicatorFri, 03 Apr 2026 12:29:58 GMT is a genre unto himself. We talk about his unsettling novel ERADICATOR--a white-knuckle book that is part AMERICAN PSYCHO, part THE FLY, and all Simmons. We also get into his upcoming short story collection FETTY ON THE SWITCHES, his creative process, why Baltimore is such rich terrain for fiction, and much, much more.

David’s linktree

Pre-order FETTY ON THE SWITCHES

]]><![CDATA[Melee - Tom Will on RHYMES]]>https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-tom-will-on-rhymeshttps://bradkellyesque.substack.com/p/melee-tom-will-on-rhymesWed, 25 Mar 2026 14:12:28 GMTThe dynamic poet Tom Will has yet another modern classic. His new collection, RHYMES out now on , a unique exploration of poetic form is the new poetry you need. We talk about the history of the roundel and other poetic forms, the potency of poetry in the age of the algorithm, and much more.

Pre-order RHYMES from Farthest Heaven
Tom on twitter

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