The Earthen Dark feat. Brad Kelly

The Earthen Dark feat. Brad Kelly

From The Getting Lit Podcast by Getting Lit

March 17, 2026 · 1h 25m

About this episode

Brad Kelly discusses his new novel, The Earthen Dark, exploring themes of underground obsession and the writing process.

Brad Kelly joins us once again to talk about and around his new novel, The Earthen Dark. We discuss why men loves holes in the ground, writing about jobs, why humans are so obsessed with underground, MFA writing, "literary men" and much more. Buy The Earthen Dark here: https://www.amazon.com/Earthen-Dark-Brad-Kelly/dp/B0GF67226L And follow Brad on X: https://x.com/bradkelly And Substack: https://bradkellyesque.substack.com/ "Disgraced anthropology professor Jim Murray has been drawn into the dark. Ousted from his career by the algorithm and mob rule, desperate for money, he joins a shabby crew of repairmen working in the tunnels beneath the City of Detroit. They say their job is to keep the earth from falling in. One day, waist-deep in the filth, they stumble upon an ancient secret and soon discover that the city above them is no longer home. In time, the sewer will show Jim worlds far stranger: a landscape scourged by fire and insanity, a dystopia ruled by a mad god...To find his way through the labyrinth will prove to be a brutal test of his soul—and a penetration into the nature of reality." This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other…

People in this episode

Guest: Brad Kelly

Topics covered

  • underground exploration
  • writing process
  • literary themes
  • MFA writing
  • dystopian fiction

Keywords

  • Brad Kelly
  • The Earthen Dark
  • underground
  • MFA writing
  • dystopia
  • literary men
  • Jim Murray

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Substack, Amazon

Books & works: The Earthen Dark

Places: Detroit

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