Blake Butler on Obsession and the Unholy Sacredness of Time

WAKE ISLAND

Blake Butler is the author of seven book-length works, including Alice Knott (Riverhead), 300,000,000 (Harper Perennial), Sky Saw (Tyrant Books), There is No Year (Harper Perennial), Scorch Atlas (Featherproof Books), and Ever (Calamari Press), as well as the nonfictional Nothing: A Portrait of Insomnia (Harper Perennial). He is a founding editor of HTMLGIANT

We talk about: The Consumer by Michael Gira, insomnia, Penny’s notebook from Inspector Gadget, horror, internet gods and demons, forbidden books, courting insane energy, transcendence, the enduring low cost appeal of text, childhood portals, points of no return, The Bachelor and Blake’s relentless drive to write.

Molly by Blake Butler

“A mastermind and visionary.” —Ben Marcus

“Our premier literary shaman.” —Alissa Nutting

“[Butler’s work is] wild but elegant and smart.” —Roxane Gay

Theme music by Joseph E. Martinez of Junius

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