The Arc of The Bard

Michael Spring-Springer | 021

Michael [https://michaelspringauthor17.art/] and I talked about his 2 books, The Flowerbed and Two Minutes. He sees our minds as each being a unique universe to draw from. He was inspired by his grandpa who used poetry to heal from war. The excerpt from Two Minutes is a whimsical use of a darkroom as both respite from the outside world, and vehicle in which to detach and travel through space. Please listen and enjoy that. The Flowerbed features the set up to an important lesson for a small girl from her grandfather, regarding a seemingly magical bed of flowers. An important validation for his confidence, Michael received top marks for his essay on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as a young student. We discussed the importance of having good adults to influence us as young people. This man does not trifle. As well as being a Barrister in all Australian Jurisdictions, his accomplishments are formidable in the arts. You must visit his website and take it all in. He does not suppress his mental health experiences either, and he recognizes the importance of being forthright. You’ll find all of his social media [https://michaelspringauthor17.art/social-media/] at his website. Michael’s Substack: Michael Springer [https://substack.com/profile/147046500-michael-springer] I read my microfiction story He Knows How this Ends [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/p/he-knows-how-this-ends-finale]. That link will take you to an audio version. If you support what I’m doing, spread my designs [https://easytopia.printify.me/products] and get one for yourself. Please do share. If you have social media, you can share there also, because I don’t even bother with it anymore. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

MIRIAM KUZNETS | 020

Wow, talk about noir. I had to make up a new word for Miriam [https://www.miriamkuznetsauthor.com/about]! I probably didn’t make Noiress up first. LOL. Miriam read from Gray New Deal [https://www.miriamkuznetsauthor.com/gray-new-deal] and also from her entry Saving, in Austin Noir [https://bookshop.org/books/austin-noir/9781636140896]. Much of this discussion is about the dark turn in American economics of the past few decades and the effects it has had on people’s lives. Noir, indeed. Being an LCSW, MFA—that’s a social worker who mostly works with seniors, she’s seen a lot of the effects. It’s also evident in her writing, of course. We talked a lot about writing as therapy and how fiction plays that role while also helping us imagine real-life solutions. It’s horrifying living in the collapse of an empire, yes? In almost all of these conversations, and in general, there’s a lot of talk about the Data Centers and the intentions of the AI industry. It speaks to the value human life has for some people, and their priorities. Consider going to my swag page and picking out something to express yourself. If AI were sentient, it would be jealous of you. -HS → ta [https://easytopia.printify.me/products]! [https://easytopia.printify.me/products]← This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

A Word from Herschel | 019

Lessons from The Arc of The Bard | Things for guests to consider | An analysis of the process to this point | How it came about in the first place | Back to Sundays only Dialogue Impetus My podcast, The Arc of The Bard [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/p/episode-000-promo-description], is built on storytelling and on simply doing what I want. The guest discussions are about the nature of storytelling as a facility of consciousness, as well as an opportunity for storytellers to bring their books and other forms of storytelling. I have always been fascinated with how thoughts arise in our minds. What happens in our minds and brains to formulate new ideas, especially creative, imaginative scenarios, out of nowhere, and then bring them forward into the world in the form of stories? Where do stories come from? What is that about? I think we are momentous beings and refractions of and manifestations of a single creative force. It’s most certainly a niche thing. While it’s fascinating for me, and I never stop learning from it, I do not have a budget for marketing, and to this point, even if I felt I could afford it, I would not pay for exposure. It’s steadily growing on its own, and I think that’s the core audience that I want. I would prefer to have a foundation of listeners who consistently want to be there and then build from that. At some point, once I feel it’s at a good place, I’ll hire out some marketing. My other podcast easytopia [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/s/easytopia]! [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/s/easytopia] was the foundational audience for The Arc of The Bard. I write and podcast stories there. Having that built-in audience is how I felt comfortable starting the discussion show. Since that one has been going for three years, and I’ve consistently had 200+ shows each year, I do get more audience engagement for that reason, and some discussions in the comments from time to time. To the point of good dialogue. In The Arc of The Bard, I want to let the guest really take it where they want to go. I get excited about the conversation and participate, of course, but it’s really about them. I want them to have the floor. There are times I get excited about their subject and get in there and get involved, but that’s only because they are a good guest making great points. It’s not about arguing. There’s a loose format, but the conversation has to dictate things. I do my best to be consistent, but sometimes a guest is engaging and has good skills, and things diverge a little. I introduce the guest, usually reading directly from their website. Then I bring them in to follow up on that. From there I go into a question about how they think stories are formed and why we have this propensity. Once I have that answer, I know what kind of conversation it’s going to be. It will be either more philosophical or more technical. Then there is the conversation of what books and authors they were inspired by and maybe an adult from their childhood who encouraged them. Now they get to read something, and we discuss that. By this point we are having a blast. Then I also read from my very large catalogue of microfiction and flash fiction, trying to keep it within the theme that the guest has presented. We may talk about that for a minute and have more conversation. Then, ideally, the guest will read once more. Sometimes, however, the conversation is so good, or their first piece was long enough, that we don’t get around to a second reading by the guest. Readings should be short, though! But that’s another subject. To conclude, for good dialogue, give your guest the reins. You play a role in setting up the arena and pointing out the course, but you have to get to know them. That question about the origin of consciousness is a very good indicator for how my guest will be leading the discussion and what type of conversation it’s going to be. * For guests to consider * An analysis of the process to this point * How it came about in the first place * Back to Sundays only I’m getting this new product portal together. There’s only one design for now but I’ll be adding a lot more. Cool colorful options soon. Maybe you want to let people know how you feel about the posthuman narrative. easytopia [https://easytopia.printify.me/]! [https://easytopia.printify.me/] printify store [https://easytopia.printify.me/]! [https://easytopia.printify.me/] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

WALT MEYER—018

Walt Meyer is a journalist and a fiction and non-fiction writer. We talked lot of writing process and also sociology. What do you think of American education and bullying? How about elves? This talk is a very good time. Walter G. Meyer is also a travel writer [https://waltswanderings.com/] and a journalist. He also co-wrote GAM3ERS, a one-man play about World of Warcraft. [https://waltswanderings.com/] Then we got into the subject of his book, Rounding Third [https://www.waltergmeyer.com/rounding-third/], which he read from, a work of fiction that approaches the issue of bullying that Walt has taken very seriously [https://www.waltergmeyer.com/coverage/]. We discussed the terrible teachers in the American education system we can all relate to and didn’t forget to recognize the good ones. But seriously, they really do let anyone become a teacher, don’t they? We need to work on that. Walt also read from a forthcoming book that might be a while called Elfland. This is one of the coolest ideas I’ve ever heard, and I’m going to make you listen to the discussion to hear for yourself. His Youtube travelogue is called Walt’s Wanderings [https://waltswanderings.com/]. Before he can release that, he’s working on a couple of important non-fiction books. He is a busy guy and you should see all of his experience and get the lowdown on all his writing here [https://www.waltergmeyer.com/about-walt/]. He’s written for so many papers and magazines; you need to check that out. Let’s get Walter G Meyer [https://substack.com/profile/21463294-walter-g-meyer]’s Substack going. As for me, I read one of my microfiction stories called The Buckway Journal, about a small town newspaper man. A good way to help out with this effort is to check out my several types of designs. The supplier has all kinds of discounts and you never have to pay full price. Sign up for their newsletter and the offers are there. I’ll appreciate it and you’ll be stylin’ [https://www.teepublic.com/user/easytopia]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Jamie Baker—017

Jamie [https://jamiebakerauthor.com/]wrote a genre-bending foodie book [https://jamiebakerauthor.com/books]. He is an innovative guy with an interesting approach to writing and marketing his books. Music is a big motivator. It’s enough to make me want to play along with the acclaimed playwright [https://search.brave.com/search?q=jamie+baker%2C+playwright&conversation=08ff93d709be891205fb06413f3a9c510c84&summary=1]. The main purpose of TAOTB [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/p/episode-000-promo-description] is to discuss storytelling and the origin of thought and a lot of philosophical stuff like that. But we discussed the difference in writing plays for theater and novels. Jamie is an award-winning playwright. He knows the satisfaction of letting the audience in on the play action. How to do that with a novel? He gets it. He’s bringing a lot of worlds together. It’s pretty fun. Am I teasing you? I hope so, because this is cool. Listen. He reads three excerpts for us to touch on all the flavors in the book. I also read one of my very short pieces. It was a fantastic time, and as usual I learned so much from my guest. “INSTA” [https://www.instagram.com/thepretentiousboar/] how do you know if you’re an easytopian or a 2minutarian? easytopians share. that’s it. that’s all. Here is another way to help me do more [https://www.teepublic.com/user/easytopia] while doing something for you and other people. [https://www.teepublic.com/user/easytopia] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe [https://commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]