August 27th, 2012 / 6:41 pm
Author Spotlight

Hanging Out vs. Being Hanged: An Interview with Jarett Kobek

Jarett Kobek is the author of ATTA, from Semiotext(e), and the forthcoming If You Won’t Read, Then Why Should I Write? on Penny-Ante Editions.

If You Won’t Read…, often referred to by Kobek as “The Sex Tapes Book,” is a collection of the coincidental dialog from celebrity sex tapes (and some other hyper-media-based ‘tapes’) transcribed and presented as a text. Included alongside these transcriptions is the criminal records of the celebrity whose dialog is on display. Riding a fine line between conceptual writing, humor, gossip, and ‘alt-lit,’ the book ends up being hilariously funny while resonating with an intense cultural relevance.

I sat down with Jarett one afternoon at a café in San Francisco’s Mission District to talk about his new book. The hour-long conversation, covering everything from Normal Mailer to Jennifer Lopez to Miley Cyrus’s shamanic trip, is available to listen to below:

Interview with Jarett Kobek, Part 1

Interview with Jarett Kobek, Part 2

Pre-order If You Won’t Read, Then Why Should I Write? at Penny-Ante Editions.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

4 Comments

  1. Nick Mamatas

      ATTA was one of the best books I’ve read all years; certainly the best thing that attempted to tangle with 9/11.

  2. Ultra Vegina

      Totally agree.

      This interview is cool. Very interesting things about celebrity are said. The thing is I cannot understand most of it because of the ambient noise. But anyway, it kinda fits the whole theme of the book, the sex tapes and what not. The recording-verité approach is nice. I don’t know Kobek’s and Impossible Mike’s criminal record, but maybe they were groping each other while they talked.

      Soundtrack is quite good too.

  3. I Can’t Believe 2012 Is Over // I Can’t Believe I’ve Lived In California for a Calendar Year // The Critical Nature of Commentary vs Experience PART TWO | HTMLGIANT

      […] 66 – If You Won’t Read, Then Why Should I Write? – Jarett Kobek The repeated insistence that find me tampering my potentiality of reviewing Jarett’s books in any real capacity are always tempered by him being my “bestie” or whatever. I mean, though really, this book had me thinking a lot, and most of that “thinking a lot” comes out in the interview I did with Jarett. […]

  4. 04.07.13 | bluebeige

      […] Giant: “Hanging Out vs. Being Hanged” (Mike Kitchell, […]