Joy Holley’s collection of short fiction Dream Girl published by Te Herenga Waka University Press is an amazing read. I loved talking to Joy about it.
Joy chose as a starting point to talk about laughter and writing the 2022 film Bodies Bodies Bodies. This American black comedy horror film directed by Halina Reijn, in her English-language debut, with a screenplay by Sarah DeLappe from a story by Kristen Roupenian. It stars Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha'la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, and Pete Davidson.
I really liked how this conversation concentrated a lot on joy and pleasure which is perhaps something that has been missing from these conversations about comedy.
I also loved talking about the way Joy is reimagining some elements of horror and the surreal.
I have a signed copy of Dream Girl to give away. Simply leave a comment here on Instagram or reply to the story on Twitter by June 11 and I’ll do a draw and send it to the winner.
I think this conversation was quite influenced by an amazing book I’m reading by Nuar Alsadir called Animal Joy: A Book of Laughter and Resuscitation. This book is literally changing my life. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s ostensibly about a psychoanalyst who goes to clown school and investigates humour in an incredibly inciteful way. The book is also making me feel a bit stupid, so many of the things I say that I think are profound are all described here as the stock and trade of psychoanalysis.
Ep 82: Sound Series 10 - Showcase with Sudha Rao
Ep 81: Sound Series 9 - Cassandra Barnett and Luke Buda
Ep 80: Sound Series 8 - Anna Smaill and David Long
Sounds Series - The Exercises
Ep 79: Sound Series 7 - Kerry Ann Lee and Jackson Nieuwland
Ep 78: Sound Series 6 - Carl Shuker and Simon Sweetman
Ep 77: Sound Series 5 - Brannavan Gnanalingam and Tokerau Wilson
Ep 76: Sound Series 4 - Sinead Overbye and Charlotte Forrester
Ep 75: Sounds Series 3 - Eamonn Marra and Cooki Aimee M
Ep 74: Sound Series 2 - Ruby Solly and Chris Tse
Ep 73 Sound Series 1 James Woods and Nick Ascroft
COMING SOON Better off Read: Sound Series
Ep 71 Sinead Overbye talks to Pip Adam about Bernadine Evaristo's novel 'Girl, Woman, Other'
Short Red: Exercise 26
Short Red: Exercises 25
Short Red: Exercises 24
Ep 71 Jackson Nieuwland talks to Pip Adam about Crispin Best's 'gently' and Jackson Nieuwland's 'I am a photographer.'
Short Red: Exercises 23
Short Red: Exercises 22
Short Red: Exercises 21
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