Ben Marcus reads at the School of the Art Institute

Ben Marcus set the literary blogosphere aflame with this interview over at the Millions last week. It contains maybe my favorite quote about the hazards of writing a novel ever: "Then there was the problem of the fucking seeds. Where did they come from? I had to source them. With such mania I was either onto something or I completely misunderstood what a fiction writer was supposed to do." Yes, the fucking seeds.

Marcus is by far one of the most intriguing and provocative fiction writers we have, and I don't mean provocative in a small-intestine-down-the-pool-drain-Chuck-Palahniuk kind of way. I mean I-like-whatever-the-hell-is-going-on-here provocative. His new novel, The Flame Alphabet, is about a couple who realize that the very speech of their teenage daughter is making them physically ill. I've been waiting for a good 24-hour stretch to sit and read the whole thing at once.

Marcus is reading at SAIC's Columbus Auditorium, 280 S Columbus Drive, Tuesday (tomorrow) night at 6pm. He's reading with Sam Lipsyte, author of the very funny The Ask joins him. First come, first served.