M. Allen Cunningham

In this long-lost recording made for KQED San Francisco (circa 2006), M. Allen Cunningham reads from his second book Lost Son, a large experimental narrative about Rainer Maria Rilke. At age twenty-one, while living as an obscure, penurious poet in Munich, Rilke met Lou Andreas-Salome. She would quickly become one of the most important people in his life, and would remain one of his most profound influences. This excerpt begins with their meeting, and renders the young Rilke in his most unrestrained Romantic phase. It was an important early stage of his poetic development, but Lou would ultimately guide him into deeper artistic and intellectual waters.

In this audio clip from a 2006 interview, M. Allen Cunningham speaks about Rainer Maria Rilke and the novel Lost Son.(Music: "Lights Out" by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of Free Music Archive)

This is the eleventh installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:TWITTERVIDEO GAMESVIRALWINDOWYOUTUBEZENITHMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive.

This is the tenth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:REALITY TVRIOTTECHNOPOLYTRENDING NOWMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive.

This is the ninth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES (televised)PROPAGANDAPROTESTSPSEUDO-EVENTSQUIZ SHOWS (scandals)Music by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive.

This is the eighth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:MEMEMOVIESOJ SIMPSONPANDEMICPRESENTISMMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive.

This is the seventh installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:INTRAVIDUALJFK ASSASSINATIONMARSHALL MCLUHANMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive.

This is the sixth installment in the Scherzo Series, which brings you short readings from the A-to-Z "Scherzo: A Glossary of Spectacle & Bewilderment (with Anecdotes) Compiled on Behalf of the Imaginative Mind," found in Cunningham's new book We Are Guests of Ancient Time.The terms defined in this installment are:IDEOLOGYINSURRECTION (Jan. 6th, 2021)INTERNETMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive.