35. Dave Eggers Part I

Gabe and Dave Eggers have been friends for the last 25 years: since Dave first popped up on the national stage, with his memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. And his indie publishing juggernaut: McSweeney's. This interview is, in part, to support Dave's new novel, The Eyes and the Impossible. A novel that’s for all ages. And for the ages. This book is written in the first person, from the perspective of a dog named Johannes. (Go ahead, take a second to reread that last sentence.) This book is wondrous, beautiful, hilarious, and somewhat heartbreaking. It also has gorgeous illustrations. And some editions have a wooden cover. Dave Eggers quotes On having lunch with Kurt Vonnegut Gabe: Vonnegut was obsessed with the idea, and I know you know this because I have always known that you love him, too –Dave: I met him.Gabe: You met him? Well can you tell me about that?Dave: in New York. His wife, Jill Krementz, reached out and she was a photographer. So she did a photo thing of me in Central Park. And she said, Oh, you know, you’ve got to come over. And it was a lunch, I think, in their house in the twenties. And it was me. This was 2002. And it was me and Colson Whitehead and, I think John Leonard. And then there was a jazz writer. And then Vonnegut and Jill. And what was funny was… (click the above podcast device to hear the rest)On early McSweeney’s event with David Byrne We did one “happening” in San Francisco at a place called Cell Space. Which is this cavernous sort of event hall slash living environment. It was like a pirate ship, with people living in the rafters and under the stage. It was really old timey San Francisco hippie space, but most of the people there were youngish. And we had an event there where David Byrne might have been out here for his book, The New Sins, that we published.We said it would be a panel. And it was Byrne and I on the panel. And then we got an FBI agent, who I don't know why or who he was. I can't remember how we found him. And then a local professor who was an expert on ancient Sumerian iconography, I think.And we planted a bunch of people in the audience, so that the Q&A – because I think we went straight to Q&A – was all directed to the Sumerian iconography experts. So that you have David Byrne sitting there, silent, for an hour. Because every last question was somebody like, “Well, in AD 540, the Sumerian, poet…” We had all of these questions written by the expert himself beforehand.And then the whole thing ended, we had booked, I think with David Byrne's knowledge, but maybe without. We had booked a band called the Extra Action Marching Band, which was a big sort of anarchic marching band with tattoos and piercings and weird clothes. But drums and a majorette and everything. And they broke into the place and then just shut the whole event down by playing in the crowd until it was over. So the event was crazy. Buy Dave Eggers’ new novel The Eyes and the Impossible (with wooden cover) from McSweeney’s Buy Dave’s new novel (without wooden cover) from Bookshop Rate/review Kurt Vonnegut Radio on podcast platform of your choice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices