Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Conversation begins at 7:00
Essayist Sven Birkerts (instagram.com/sven.birkerts51/), one of my favorite past pod-guests, welcomes me back to the mic for a conversation about writing, art, mortality, resistance, technology, and selling rare books! We talk about what he's learned about writing from his daily Substack essay-experiment (svenbirkerts375678.substack.com/), how he rediscovered his bookselling persona with his daughter (at ebay.com/usr/birkbooks), what he gets from audiobooks, the pros and cons of knowing your audience, and more. Plus, I talk about my book-in-progress, what I've learned from stepping back from the weekly podcast routine, why I'd like to see Dylan play one more time before one or the other of us is gone, and where this podcast might be going, among other stuff. Follow Sven on Instagram (instagram.com/sven.birkerts51/), subscribe to his Substack (svenbirkerts375678.substack.com/), and check out his and his daughter's rare bookstore, Birkbooks, at eBay (ebay.com/usr/birkbooks) and Instagram (instagram.com/birkbooks), and listen to our past conversations: 2017 (chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-231-sven-birkerts), 2020 (chimeraobscura.com/vm/covid-check-in-with-sven-birkerts), 2021 (chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-418-sven-birkerts), and 2024 (chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-608-sven-birkerts) • More info at chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-670-sven-birkerts • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Stripe (buy.stripe.com/dR603B83MbhS4XS3ce), Patreon (patreon.com/vmspod), or Paypal (paypal.me/vmspod), and subscribe to our e-newsletter, https://buttondown.email/vmspod
Conversation begins at 7:00
Essayist Sven Birkerts (instagram.com/sven.birkerts51/), one of my favorite past pod-guests, welcomes me back to the mic for a conversation about writing, art, mortality, resistance, technology, and selling rare books! We talk about what he's learned about writing from his daily Substack essay-experiment (svenbirkerts375678.substack.com/), how he rediscovered his bookselling persona with his daughter (at ebay.com/usr/birkbooks), what he gets from audiobooks, the pros and cons of knowing your audience, and more. Plus, I talk about my book-in-progress, what I've learned from stepping back from the weekly podcast routine, why I'd like to see Dylan play one more time before one or the other of us is gone, and where this podcast might be going, among other stuff. Follow Sven on Instagram (instagram.com/sven.birkerts51/), subscribe to his Substack (svenbirkerts375678.substack.com/), and check out his and his daughter's rare bookstore, Birkbooks, at eBay (ebay.com/usr/birkbooks) and Instagram (instagram.com/birkbooks), and listen to our past conversations: 2017 (chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-231-sven-birkerts), 2020 (chimeraobscura.com/vm/covid-check-in-with-sven-birkerts), 2021 (chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-418-sven-birkerts), and 2024 (chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-608-sven-birkerts) • More info at chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-670-sven-birkerts • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Stripe (buy.stripe.com/dR603B83MbhS4XS3ce), Patreon (patreon.com/vmspod), or Paypal (paypal.me/vmspod), and subscribe to our e-newsletter, https://buttondown.email/vmspod
