Author Thomas Farber Interviewed by Michael Ellsberg

The Michael Ellsberg Show

Thomas Farber's new book "Acting My Age" (2021, University of Hawai‘i Press) is a literary meditation on the intermingling of our death as individuals, as a species, and as a planet--with a focus on the fate of the oceans. Always carving away the inessential, Farber has perfected the art of the terse sentence as arrow of difficult truth. This book is the culmination of half a century of Farber's devotion to writing craftsmanship. Any writer can learn from his style, and anyone reflecting on death (personal or planetary) will find companionship in his compassionate literary grief. In this interview, author Michael Ellsberg--who has looked up to Farber as a writing mentor for two decades--discusses with Farber, among other things: the moral status of humans in a world we are exterminating, the literary stance of misanthropy, and the role of gallows humor as palliative care. This interview will not cheer you up, but it will meet with kindness and vibrancy in the places you may not allow your mind to wander otherwise. Buy "Acting My Age" here: https://amzn.to/36uSrKt