When I first came up with the idea for a regular Twin Peaks Conversations podcast last year, Laura's Ghost: Women Speak about Twin Peaks author Courtenay Stallings was one of the first guests I hoped to invite. Her 2020 book, a collection of interviews, essays, and comments from women in the Twin Peaks community (both fans and collaborators on the series and film), is focused on the experience and legacy of Laura Palmer, which I've always considered to be at the center of the narrative David Lynch and Mark Frost created in 1990. But as I initially frontloaded discussions with authors whose books or podcasts I'd already consumed, after which more immediate releases kept taking precedent, I had to keep postponing this one. In the end, the delay was fortuitous because now I can incorporate Laura's Ghost into a larger month of Fire Walk With Me focus on my Patreon (with Lost in Twin Peaks episodes on the film opening to all patrons while my main podcast offers its final "Twin Peaks Reflections" and "Twin Peaks Cinema" sections, both cued to the movie more than the show). Those podcasts and this one - which premieres tomorrow night at 8pm - are being published during what Fire Walk With Me depicts as the last seven days of Laura Palmer's life (through February 24, when the series begins). The first half of this conversation digs into how Courtenay wrote the book, what it reveals about the character and those who relate to her, and how season three has impacted her perception. The book was four years in the making (its completion now a year and a half in the past), so our discussion spans an era not only divided before and after The Return, but also before, during, and after (?) the pandemic.
PART 1 on YouTube
(premieres at 8pm on Monday, February 21)
The second part runs a bit longer and is, as always, exclusive to $5/month patrons; it shifts from the book's focus on Laura and her trauma to broader but related topics especially regarding Sarah Palmer (Courtenay interviewed Grace Zabriskie for Laura's Ghost and it was a memorable experience). As always, my guest and I wonder what further Peaks would entail and if that's desirable, and we also ask questions like "Is the New Mexico girl really Sarah (and should she be)?" and "What is the connection between Cooper and Sarah?" Courtenay also explores her thesis of season three as a subversive fairy tale in both halves of the conversation.
Listen to...
(link will be active on Monday, February 21 at 8pm)
(10% of proceeds go to RAINN)
Also subscribe to Blue Rose Magazine
Courtenay's interviews w/ former Twin Peaks Conversations guests include:
(w/ other contributors to the book including Sheryl Lee)
No comments:
Post a Comment