Free and Direct | Podcast on RSS.com

Free and Direct

Free and Direct

by Indirect Books

Season 1

The Sculptural Rightness of Her Limbs: Rachel Cusk's The Bradshaw Variations

In this episode we talk about Rachel Cusk's The Bradshaw Variations, from 2009, looking at how Cusk’s narration and its interest in philosophical depth power the book. We talk about how her use of free indirect style—one more attuned to an “observational mirroring” rather than the messier, more associative syntactic refraction of, say, Woolf—enables her to cover an entire year in the lives of several perspective characters while still getting us close to them. We read out a few passages and talk about the ways that art—what it is and why it matters—gets into this novel. I would definitely encourage everyone to check it out; it’s a great first Cusk book if you’ve never read her. Some really incredible lines and passages all over this one. Hope you enjoy this one, and in the meantime—stay critical. Merci !

Sensitized To Linguistic Difference: Rebecca Ruth Gould on Translation and STRANGERS

In this episode of Cordelivres Club, we are joined by Rebecca Ruth Gould, a UK-Based Translator and Writer, to discuss her relationship with translation, global perspectives, and immersion across borders. Rebecca is a special guest of ours because she was our first translated submission, where her translated novel extract from Night of Terror is featured in Issue Two of L’Esprit Literary Review. She has won awards with her full book translation, and has a short story collection called Strangers that came out at the end of 2025. In this week’s podcast, we talk about the impact of translation in her personal and creative life, and how the world of her characters involves a multilingual approach. Through upholding emotion through language changes and abandoning the idea of perfectionism, Rebecca explores how moving away from mastery allows for freedom to feel the impact of a story. I hope you enjoy this conversation, and in the meantime—stay critical. Merci !

Jessica Swoboda and Attention Ecology in "Outline"

Jessica Swoboda joins the show to talk about her essay, “Rachel Cusk’s Attention Ecology,” adapted from her PhD dissertation and published in Contemporary Literature. We talk about the Outline trilogy and Jessica’s scholarship, and the fascinating work she does into the intersections of narrative theory and interpersonal relationships—the ecologies of attention, and the ways in which they serve as a lens to viewing how a novel might impact, or inform, the world around us. Listen in as Dan and Jessica discuss the novels, PhD life, and drop some very cool book recommendations (Cusk and non-Cusk alike) throughout the show. In the meantime, check out the continuation of our Dalloway centenary series next week and, as always, stay critical!

The Past As A Place We Can Find: A Conversation with Lincoln Hirn

This episode is our first Past Contributor Conversation (we’re still workshopping the name…), featuring Lincoln Hirn! Lincoln has one story out with us already—Until You Return in Issue Five—and one forthcoming in Issue Seven, as a Finalist in the 2026 Clarissa Dalloway Prize, Carry Me Along. Subscribe now We talk about both pieces, as well as Lincoln’s ongoing pursuit of his PhD in American History and how both his academic work in slave narratives and his reading of writers such as Melville, Faulkner, and Morrison have influenced his creative style. As Lincoln puts it on the show, his goal is to “write in a way that is somewhat oceanic,” which is great—and can be seen in both his pieces at L’Esprit. We close off this wonderful conversation with Lincoln reading from the opening of his new story. I hope everyone enjoys this talk, and please do go check out Lincoln’s work on his website and elsewhere—it’s formidable!

Merely A Gifted Eccentric: Dalloway Intertextualities [Part Two]

Happy New Year! This episode is the second half of our conversation on Mrs Dalloway intertextualities, looking at Michael Cunningham's The Hours and Robert Lippincott's Mr. Dalloway. We dove right back into composition, looking at how both novels look to make their readerly impact through plot-based narrative developments rather than through narration itself, which differs from Woolf's approach in MRSD. We also covered the books’ status as queer literature, their meta-textual elements, and a look at how POV functions in each. In this second part, we focused a lot on the various ways in which Lippincott and Cunningham “win”—by which we simply mean how they seek to execute the plans and goals of their work and, ultimately, achieve an emotional resonance. Check out the Substack post with complete show notes, and in the meantime—stay critical. Merci !

Dreaming Animal Dreams: Dalloway Intertextualities [Part One]

This episode is the first half of our conversation on the intertextualities of Mrs Dalloway, looking at Michael Cunningham's The Hours and Robert Lippincott's Mr. Dalloway. We introduced the books, spending a little time on each and discussing the MRSD legacy more broadly before turning to the texts themselves. We talk about how both authors approach narration differently, with Lippincott using a more playful style that closely mimics Woolf's technique of moving between multiple character perspectives within a single point of view, particularly during a party scene set on a train. Cunningham's approach is a bit more structured, with distinct chapters for each timeline and perspective character. Ultimately, these are both very accomplished novels that are super cool emanations of the great Mrs Dalloway. Check out the Substack post with complete show notes, and in the meantime—stay critical. Merci !

Waves of Pure Lemon: Katharine Smyth and "All The Lives We Ever Lived"

Katharine Smyth joins the show to talk about her memoir, All The Lives We Ever Lived, her Woolfian inheritance, her family, and much more. She takes us through how Woolf inspired the emotional symbolism of her memoir and connected it with the impact of her father’s death. Listen in as Dan and Katharine discuss tattoo parallels, going to Woolf’s former house, and how the publication of her memoir affected her family. In the meantime, check out Katharine’s website and, as always, stay critical!

It Was His Sayings One Remembered: Mrs Woolf and Mrs Dalloway

Suddenly Elizabeth stepped forward and most competently boarded the omnibus, in front of everybody. This episode is the first in our series on Mrs Dalloway, for the 100th anniversary of its publication. In this episode, we talk somewhat generally about the novel, getting into Woolf’s style and narrational mode, and how she manages to create a sense of her book being “lived-in.” What’s really interesting about MRSD, (well, one of the many, many things), is how scenic it is. Literally: the novel is almost entirely scene. This creates a sense of it being “shot in one continuous take,” to use a cinematic comparison, and deepens the feeling of life at its core. This universality, I think, gives MRSD its remarkable staying power. This series will continue over the rest of the year, looking at other texts, taking a deeper dive into MRSD itself, and having a guest or two on to discuss. It’s my favorite book and I really enjoyed recording this one; an excellent way to spend Halloween. Stay tuned for the Substack post with complete show notes next week, and in the meantime check out everything happening at the journal and the press and, of course—stay critical. Merci !

Searching for Witticisms: Rachel León on THE REMAINS OF THE DAY

This episode features the excellent Rachel León joining the show to discuss Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. Rachel wrote for L’Esprit way back in Issue Zero, and has all sorts of cool stuff going on. We get into the novel and break down its use of first person narration, and Stevens’ endless search for the appropriate invocation of banter. It’s a wild book and a fun conversation; hope you enjoy it. In the meantime, check out Rachel’s website and, of course, stay critical!

A Region That Outlay Human Identity: Rachel Cusk's "The Last Supper"

Our first memoir in the Cordlivres Club! On this episode, we’re talking Rachel Cusk’s The Last Supper, from 2009, about a summer spent in Italy with her family. It’s all about art, language, meaning, truth, tennis—you know, typical stuff. We get into Cusk's distinctive writing style, particularly her ability to blend abstract philosophical concepts with concrete human experiences through figurative language. I touch on her unique narrative technique of "first-person free and direct," which allows readers to experience conversations more intimately by subtly incorporating other characters' speech patterns into the narration. We share a few passages from the book to demonstrate how Cusk explores the relationship between language, art, and experience, observing how she approaches memoir writing with those novelistic techniques that make her nonfiction particularly compelling. Check out the free Substack post with complete show notes. More soon, and in the meantime—stay critical. Merci !

1 of 3