Notes and Links to Isaac Fitzgerald’s Work

Isaac Fitzgerald is the New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts (winner of a New England Book Award and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award). He appears frequently on The Today Show and is also the author of the bestselling children’s book How to Be a Pirate as well as the co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (winner of an IACP Award). His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, GQ, The Guardian, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and numerous other publications. He lives with his wife, Kelly Farber, and their two dogs on the North Fork of Long Island. His next book, American Rambler, is forthcoming from Knopf.

At about 3:20, Isaac talks about the book as “braided” and positive feedback he’s gotten from independent booksellers

At about 4:40, Isaac gives background on his rich reading and writing life from childhood

At about 7:00, Isaac talks about a few catalysts for American Rambler, including Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods… Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn, and An American Story by Howard Means

At about 8:55, Pete shouts out Matt Bell’s Appleseed, and Isaac reflects on the “mythification” of Johnny Appleseed

At about 13:20, Pete cites a beautiful quote on the connection between parents and storytelling and expands on how his parents and their travels and their storytelling thrilled him

At about 17:00, Pete tells about his own experience with childhood stories, and Isaac shares his thoughts on oral storytelling and its connection to real-life experiences for children winning out over continued screen time

At about 19:10, Isaac responds to Pete’s asking about his mother and father as opposites in many ways

At about 23:00, Pete compliments the book’s first line and asks Isaac about the book’s first hike: Isaac refers to the book as a “coming-of-middle-age”

At about 28:10, Isaac responds to Pete’s questions about Swedenborgism and its influence on Johnny Appleseed

At about 33:10, The two discuss the balance between the social and the solitary

At about 35:50-John Freeman shoutouts! Isaac talks about important advice/editing from John Freeman with AA Knopf

At about 38:20, The two discuss reading as a collaborative pursuit-a “two-person technology”

At about 39:00, Pete and Isaac talk about Old Man and the Sea and the idea of a “comfort read”

At about 40:15, Pete cites two examples of Isaac’s work in connection to David Foster Wallace’s work in complimenting Isaac’s work in opposition to the “flyover country” ethos; Isaac cites Rabin’s Old Glory: An American Voyage

At about 45:40, Pete and Isaac highlight a particularly charismatic person who was featured in the book

At about 48:25, Isaac talks about his great experience with the Fort Wayne Tin Caps in the book

At about 50:50, Isaac responds to Pete asking about the passages from the book where he shared profundity with Ashley C. Ford and Saeed Jones

At about 51:25, It gets defecatory!

At about 52:15, Isaac expands on how his time staying with writer friends is in a Kerouac-ian tradition

At about 55:40, Isaac talks about his process that allowed him to “writing conversationally” and the importance of reading his work aloud

At about 57:20, Pete and Isaac reflect on the idea of the public intellectual and the balance between social media communities and authentically celebrating exploration and wonderful art

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This month’s Patreon bonus episode deals with short, powerful poems and prose that pack a punch-take that, alliteration! The episode features meaningful and resonant work from Robert Hershon, Mosab Abu Toha, Ernest Hemingway, Sara Abou Rashed, Khaled Juma, Andrea Cohen, and Marwan Makhoul.

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The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

Please tune in for Episode 343 with Steven Thrasher, whose writing has been widely published by Scientific American, The New York Times, Nation, The Journal of American History, BuzzFeed News, Esquire and New York magazine. In 2019, Out Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential and impactful people of the year and in 2020, the Ford Foundation awarded him a grant for Creativity and Free Expression. The Viral Underclass, his first book, was widely-awarded and acclaimed, and his second book, The Overseer Class: A Manifesto, will be the focus of the podcast conversation.

The episode airs on May 14, and the book has a May 19 Pub Date.

Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.

You can also donate at chuffed.org, World Central Kitchen, and so many more, and/or you can contact writer friend Ursula Villarreal-Moura directly or through Pete, as she has direct links with friends in Gaza.