The Cordelivres Club is an ongoing series of literary criticism from Indirect Books. Join us each week for a fresh look at novels and short stores with an eye towards the literary art--all from a revolutionary perspective.
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Lingering in the Chambers of the Sea: Alex, Brian, and PRUFROCK
In this episode of the Free and Direct Podcast, we are joined by repeat guest Brian Heston and our very own Associate Poetry Editor Alexandra Romero, to break down T. S. Eliot’s The Love Song of (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock) (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock)J. Alfred Prufrock (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock). Alex and Brian lead us through a close reading of Prufrock, among the most significant poems of the 20th century, and a cornerstone of Modernist literature. We also get into Eliot’s life and times, along with a consideration of his legacy—and that of Prufrock—into contemporary poetry.
At Indirect Books we’ve recently opened our first poetry contest, the 2026 J. Alfred Prufrock Prize (https://indirectbooks.org/j-alfred-prufrock-prize-in-poetry/), which occasioned this episode. Alex talks about what she finds in Eliot’s work that inspires this contest, and what we’re looking for in submissions. At one point Brian discusses the myth of “the existential peasant.” It’s a great episode.
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2 Apr 2026
Diane Josefowicz on GUARDIANS AND SAINTS
Welcome to this week’s episode of Cordelivres club! Today, we are joined by recurring guest Diane Josefowicz (https://www.dianejosefowicz.com) and Indirect Books’ new Publicist, Millie Oliver!
We discuss Diane’s new book, Guardians and Saints, and the way she explores character, time, and place. We had Diane on an early episode (https://rss.com/podcasts/free-and-direct/2151520) to talk about her novel L’Air du Temps (1985), and in today’s show we get into the ways she has traced her protagonist across multiple books. We also hit on how childhood connections influence storytelling and arrangements evolve into short stories and the vagaries of language.
Millie will be reviewing Diane’s novel for L’Esprit, and that made for a great discussion on the show. I hope you enjoy this conversation, and in the meantime—stay critical.
Merci !
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26 Mar 2026
A Poisonous Little Tale: Eliza Marley and THE TURN OF THE SCREW
Nothing was more natural than that these things
should be the other things they absolutely were not.
I hope you enjoy this conversation, and in the meantime—stay critical.
Merci !
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