The genre-defying author joins us to explore his lifelong obsession with Francis Bacon, the undefinable magic of language, and pushing readers outside their comfort zones.
Max Porter broke new ground with his highly-original debut Grief is a Thing With Feathers, and firmly established himself as a major literary talent with his second novel Lanny. The cult author joined us to explore his latest and most ambitious novel yet: The Death of Francis Bacon, a collection of ‘verbal paintings’ depicting the final moments of the artist’s life. What responsibility does an author owe to their subject, and to their audience, in the age of the Internet? Is culture becoming less tolerant of ambiguity? How far can a novelist experiment before commercial considerations kick in? Max answers all these questions and more — and gives us a breathtaking performance from the new novel quite unlike any literary reading you’ve ever heard.
