Writer, singer, composer and poet Rick Moody first gained widespread acclaim with his 1994 novel, The Ice Storm, a portrait of dysfunctional suburban life that plays out over the course of a long Thanksgiving weekend. In 1999, The New Yorker named Moody one of America’s most talented new writers, with a voice that constantly pushes the stylistic boundaries of modern literature. He has published five novels, three collections of short fiction and two nonfiction works. He also performs with the Wingdale Community Singers, an acoustic band that blends the sounds of old-time folk, gospel and bluegrass, with hints of rock and baroque chamber music to augment their arch, literary lyrics. Their most recent album is Night, Sleep, Death, released only on LP by Drag City. Moody will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Moody: I’m on my third time reading Dante, but I’ve never quite made it through Paradiso before. The common wisdom is that heaven is too hard to describe, and that Dante is nowhere near as creative with heaven as he is with hell. But I love the fact that Beatrice gets more beautiful the higher he goes in heaven, and that a corollary emerges: the more love you feel the more beautiful are your surroundings. It should be celebrated in song.
Video after the jump.
