Alex Jennings

About this episode

Alex Jennings discusses his new book 'Dead End Boys' and the impact of his move from New Orleans to Chicago.

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Alex Jennings! Who is Alex Jennings: Author, poet, and former standup comedian who lived in New Orleans for nearly 20 years—now working on his second novel from Chicago. You might remember Alex from my New Orleans series where we discussed his book, The Ballad of Perilous Graves , here . In our conversation, Jennings talks through his new book Dead End Boys—set in an alternate New Orleans where communicating with the dead is the main industry. He connects the project to comedy and digs into how moving from Louisiana to Chicago reshaped his rhythm. As he puts it, the book is "a chance to say something about blackness, about the pandemic and about the creep of fascism." He recalls discovering Henry Dumas and heading back to New Orleans for the Tolodano Comedy Festival. We get into living in one place longer than anywhere else, balancing graduate degrees with novel writing, and how that shift shaped his voice. Be sure to follow Alex Jennings to keep up with his work and future projects. Photo courtesy of subject The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund , the Maryland State Arts Council's…

People in this episode

Host: Rob Lee

Guest: Alex Jennings

Topics covered

• literature
• comedy
• New Orleans
• blackness
• pandemic
• fascism
• writing process

Keywords

• Alex Jennings
• Dead End Boys
• The Ballad of Perilous Graves
• New Orleans
• comedy
• blackness
• pandemic
• fascism
• writing

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Ballad of Perilous Graves, Dead End Boys

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