In this episode we discuss Susan Sontag's incredible 1964 essay Notes on Camp. Join us as we cover Art Nouveau; dandyism; sexuality, gender and race; La Lupe; camp and sincerity; artistic drama; the 2019 Met Gala, memes and Karlie Kloss. Sources Susan Sontag (1964) Notes on Camp. Walter Benjamin: A Short History of Photography (Episode 1)  Clement Greenberg (1939) Avant-Garde and Kitsch.  Paris Métro entrances by Hector Guimard Karlie Kloss Instagram post: Looking camp right in the eye Brennan Eberwine (2021) The campening of Karlie Kloss: The mastermind of camp La Lupe Queen of Latin Soul (Full Documentary) Oscar Wilde Epigrams Fan Fiction Note: we have not always read the fan fictions all the way through, and so often rely on tags and summaries to find pieces. We will usually state if we have read the fan fictions in the episode, and so please approach these with your own discretion. St. rosa and the swallows, or, “notes on camp” by SekritOMG Contact Us You can get in touch with us via our email: theoryishpodcast@gmail.com Socials We are on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok at theoryish_pod and Facebook at theoryishpod Music Outro: Lori Beauty, Coma Studios

This week: The Woman. The Myth. The Legend: Susan Sontag! We attempt to unpack the persona of an exceptional American author, philosopher, playwright, and director, reconciling her life and work. Special shoutout to Nicholas Cage (seriously). 

Books by Susan Sontag:Illness as Metaphor/AIDS and Its MetaphorsIn America: A NovelFascinating Fascism: Susan Sontag on Leni Riefenstahl (The New York Review of Books)Notes on "Camp"Books about Susan Sontag:Sontag: Her Life and Work by Benjamin MoserAbout the Host:Novelist Randy Boyagoda is a professor of English at the University of Toronto and principal of St. Michael’s College, where he holds the Basilian Chair in Christianity, Arts, and Letters. He is the author of three novels: Original Prin, Beggar's Feast, and Governor of the Northern Province. His fiction has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize (2006) and IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize (2012), and named a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice Selection (2012 and 2019) and Globe and Mail Best Book (2018). He contributes essays, reviews, and opinions to publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, First Things, Commonweal, Harper’s, Financial Times (UK), Guardian, New Statesman, Globe and Mail, and National Post, in addition to appearing frequently on CBC Radio. He served as President of PEN Canada from 2015-2017.Music is by Yuka.This podcast series is produced by Toronto Public Library, in collaboration with TIFA (Toronto International Festival of Authors) and Library and Archives Canada. 

Books by Susan SontagThe BenefactorIllness as Metaphor/AIDS and Its MetaphorsFrom America Books about Susan SontagSontag: Her Life and Work by Benjamin Moser Other Books or Materials MentionedGreat Expectations by Charles DickensFilm: David Lean’s 1946 version of Great Expectations (Criterion Collection)The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov About the Host:Novelist Randy Boyagoda is a professor of English at the University of Toronto and principal of St. Michael’s College, where he holds the Basilian Chair in Christianity, Arts, and Letters. He is the author of three novels: Original Prin, Beggar's Feast, and Governor of the Northern Province. His fiction has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize (2006) and IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize (2012), and named a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice Selection (2012 and 2019) and Globe and Mail Best Book (2018). He contributes essays, reviews, and opinions to publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, First Things, Commonweal, Harper’s, Financial Times (UK), Guardian, New Statesman, Globe and Mail, and National Post, in addition to appearing frequently on CBC Radio. He served as President of PEN Canada from 2015-2017. Music is by Yuka. This podcast series is produced by Toronto Public Library, in collaboration with TIFA (Toronto International Festival of Authors) and Library and Archives Canada.  

Writers Off the Page is a biweekly podcast series produced by Toronto Public Library that presents the best of 40 years from the archives of the Toronto International Festival of Authors (formerly known as IFOA: International Festival of Authors). Between 10-20 minutes long, episodes feature interviews, readings and discussions with some of the 20th century's best-known writers. Works by Susan SontagFrom AmericaThe Volcano Lover“Godot Comes to Sarajevo” (New York Review of Books article) Books about Susan SontagSwimming in a Sea of Death: a Son’s Memoir by David RieffSempre Susan: a Memoir of Susan Sontag by Sigrid NunezSontag: Her Life and Work by Benjamin Moser Other Related Books or MaterialsWaiting for Godot: Tragicomedy in Two Acts by Samuel BeckettUbu Roi: Drama in Five Acts by Alfred JarryRegarding Susan Sontag: a 2015 documentaryAbout the HostNovelist Randy Boyagoda is a professor of English at the University of Toronto and principal of St. Michael’s College, where he holds the Basilian Chair in Christianity, Arts, and Letters. He is the author of three novels: Original Prin, Beggar's Feast, and Governor of the Northern Province. His fiction has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize (2006) and IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize (2012), and named a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice Selection (2012 and 2019) and Globe and Mail Best Book (2018). He contributes essays, reviews, and opinions to publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, First Things, Commonweal, Harper’s, Financial Times (UK), Guardian, New Statesman, Globe and Mail, and National Post, in addition to appearing frequently on CBC Radio. He served as President of PEN Canada from 2015-2017. Music is by Yuka From the ArchivesWriters Off the Page: 40 Years of TIFA is the first series associated with the Toronto Public Library’s multi-year digital initiative, From the Archives, which presents curated and digitized audio, video and other content from some of Canada’s biggest cultural institutions and organizations.**Thanks to the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) for allowing TPL access to their archives to feature some of the best-known writers in the world from moments in the past. Thanks as well to Library and Archives Canada for generously allowing TPL access to these archives. 

Works by Susan SontagFrom AmericaThe Volcano LoverTuesday, and After: New Yorker Writers Respond to 9/11 (New Yorker article from Sep 2001)Regarding the Pain of OthersDebriefing: Collected Stories Works about Susan SontagSontag: Her Life and Work by Benjamin MoserRobert Fulford: A Sojourn With Susan Sontag (National Post article from 2012)Susan Sontag: The Complete Rolling Stone InterviewSusan Sontag: A Biography by Daniel Schreiber Other Related Books or MaterialsTheatre of War by Lewis Lapham About the HostNovelist Randy Boyagoda is a professor of English at the University of Toronto and principal of St. Michael’s College, where he holds the Basilian Chair in Christianity, Arts, and Letters. He is the author of three novels: Original Prin, Beggar's Feast, and Governor of the Northern Province. His fiction has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize (2006) and IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize (2012), and named a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice Selection (2012 and 2019) and Globe and Mail Best Book (2018). He contributes essays, reviews, and opinions to publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, First Things, Commonweal, Harper’s, Financial Times (UK), Guardian, New Statesman, Globe and Mail, and National Post, in addition to appearing frequently on CBC Radio. He served as President of PEN Canada from 2015-2017. Music is by Yuka From the ArchivesWriters Off the Page: 40 Years of TIFA is the first series associated with the Toronto Public Library’s multi-year digital initiative, From the Archives, which presents curated and digitized audio, video and other content from some of Canada’s biggest cultural institutions and organizations. Thanks to the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) for allowing TPL access to their archives to feature some of the best-known writers in the world from moments in the past. Thanks as well to Library and Archives Canada for generously allowing TPL access to these archives.

Having discussed the facts of the matter in great detail, Ashley and Michael approach Gaines from a more academic headspace.