Send us a text The opening chapters of BEER! BEER! BEER! drop us into a Depression-era New Jersey town that feels loud, crowded, funny, and just a little bruised, seen mostly through the wandering eyes of a sharp, restless kid. Chapter One is a street-level ramble full of smells, characters, rules, and small humiliations, where “go home” becomes a kind of local anthem. Chapter Two zooms out to City Hall, where politics, paperwork, and personality collide in a very Avram Davidson way—wry, talk...
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Send us a text The opening chapters of BEER! BEER! BEER! drop us into a Depression-era New Jersey town that feels loud, crowded, funny, and just a little bruised, seen mostly through the wandering eyes of a sharp, restless kid. Chapter One is a street-level ramble full of smells, characters, rules, and small humiliations, where “go home” becomes a kind of local anthem. Chapter Two zooms out to City Hall, where politics, paperwork, and personality collide in a very Avram Davidson way—wry, talk...
Send us a text The opening chapters of BEER! BEER! BEER! drop us into a Depression-era New Jersey town that feels loud, crowded, funny, and just a little bruised, seen mostly through the wandering eyes of a sharp, restless kid. Chapter One is a street-level ramble full of smells, characters, rules, and small humiliations, where “go home” becomes a kind of local anthem. Chapter Two zooms out to City Hall, where politics, paperwork, and personality collide in a very Avram Davidson way—wry, talk...
Send us a text In this special holiday episode of the Avram Davidson Universe, Virgil & Bob turn the season of giving into a season of reading by hand-picking the perfect Avram Davidson books for friends, creators, family, and fellow weird-fiction travelers. From occult detectives and haunted walls to eccentric wizards and classic science fiction, we match stories to readers with joyful enthusiasm and a little mischief. It’s all in service of one simple holiday wish: MORE PEOPLE SHOULD BE...
Send us a text Virgil & Bob revisit the hilarious “Milord Sir Smiht, the English Wizard,” as collected in The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy (1975). In this episode of The Avram Davidson Universe Podcast, they return to Bella’s Court of the Golden Hart, where an English “wizard,” a roomful of snuff, and some very dubious odyllic forces somehow add up to one of Davidson’s strangest comic investigations. We previously featured this story with the great Tim Anderson — you can watch or listen...
Send us a text In this episode of The Avram Davidson Universe Podcast, Virgil & Bob try to figure out what the HELL is going on in “The Church of Saint Satan and Pandaemons,” originally published in Fantastic (December 1975) and later collected in The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy and The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy. This one left them baffled, amused, and occasionally questioning their own sanity. Please comment — they need help!
Send us a text In this episode of The Avram Davidson Universe Podcast, we present “The Church of Saint Satan and Pandaemons,” originally published in Fantastic (December 1975) and later collected in The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy and The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy. In the next episode, Virgil and Bob will try to unravel what this story is really about — and they may need a little help from the fans on this tricky one.
Send us a text Join Bob and Virgil for an in-depth conversation about Avram Davidson’s unique storytelling. They discuss “The Old Woman Who Lived with a Bear” (from The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy, 1975). They explore: The strange blend of folklore, satire, and legal reasoning in the Triune Monarchy, Eszterhazy’s role as a rational observer in a world full of myth and superstition, The story’s humor, humanity, and mysterious ambiguity. Perfect for readers who enjoy literary dis...
Send us a text Step into the Triune Monarchy with Avram Davidson’s unforgettable story “The Old Woman Who Lived with a Bear” (from The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy, 1975). This professional narration brings to life the wit, mystery, and folkloric strangeness of Dr. Engelbert Eszterhazy’s world — where Gothic traditions, superstition, and rational inquiry intertwine. Whether you’re a longtime Davidson devotee or new to his genius, this is a chance to immerse yourself in one...
Send us a text Avram Davidson (himself) warms up for a lecture and pulls you aboard a lateen-rigged dhow to ask the irresistible question: where, exactly, did Sinbad sail—Borneo, Sumatra, Serendib, even Madagascar—or only through our imaginations? Show notes: • Paul Bunyan vs. Sinbad: why tall tales can still point to real shores • Baghdad’s golden age, Harun al-Rashid, and merchants’ cargo lists like poetry • Dhows, monsoons, “islands” that breathe (whale?...
Send us a text Bob and Virgil unpack Avram’s clues—dhows, monsoons, Borneo and Sumatra, Sri Lanka’s dagobas, Madagascar’s giant eggs—and debate how far a fable can take you toward the truth. • Reading the text like a chart: Kabil/Kasil → Borneo? • Sumatra’s “island of apes,” ears to the shoulders, and traveler’s overlap with the Odyssey • The roc vs. Aepyornis: why giant birds matter even when they can’t fly • Serendip/Anuradhapura: when a white dagoba becomes a ...
Send us a text A polished, front-to-back performance by David Pickering of Avram Davidson’s masterwork on Sinbad: a lyrical, scholarly, and funny voyage that charts the blurred edge where sailors’ yarns become maps. • From Baghdad to Basra and out across monsoon routes • Kabil/Kasil and the “drums” of hollow rocks; giants with barge-long ears • Diamond valleys, sea-horses, and why travelers fib (beautifully) • Roc feathers, Raphia palms, and the spoor of re...
Send us a text Adventures in Unhistory is a literary journey into the strange, the mythical, and the half-forgotten—led by the genius of Avram Davidson and explored by Bob & Virgil. Each episode dives into Davidson’s witty and erudite examinations of myths and legends: mermaids, dragons, werewolves, unicorns, the phoenix, Sinbad, Prester John, Aleister Crowley, and more. Davidson’s essays, at once scholarly and playful, reveal the hidden roots of stories that have captivated humanity for ...
Send us a text Bob & Virgil go deep on Avram Davidson’s Eszterhazy tale: lurlies vs. Lorelei, undines and baptismal souls, why “Mud” matters, how Davidson blends courtly satire with folklore, and where Eszterhazy fits in the occult-detective lineage (think Hodgson/Machen—but funnier, kinder, and sneakier). We hit publication context (Fantastic, 1975), the expanded Eszterhazy collection, and the story’s quiet ecological thread (buckwheat, wudkey, and the costs of progress). Spoiler-l...
Send us a text Performed by David Pickering. @davidpickering8483 Set in Avram Davidson’s sly, Mitteleuropean corner of the map, this stand-alone performance brings Doctor Eszterhazy to life as he follows a trail from a humble sewing box to lurlies on the Vlox-Minor and a mystery tangled up with folklore, industry, and an undine’s old grief. David Pickering’s rich narration highlights Davidson’s humor, history-deep worldbuilding, and the story’s gentle twist on the “occult detective” tr...
Send us a text In this episode, Bob & Virgil discuss El Vilvoy de las Islas, originally published in Asimov’s (August 1988) and later collected in The Other Nineteenth Century.
Send us a text In this episode, we listen to El Vilvoy de las Islas, originally published in Asimov’s (August 1988) and later collected in The Other Nineteenth Century. A follow-up discussion will be led by Virgil and Bob in the next episode.
Send us a text In this episode, Robert from The Wheel of Genre podcast sits down with Virgil from Literally Books for a deep dive into “The Caravan to Illiel,” originally published in Flashing Swords #3 : Warriors and Wizards, Ed. Lin Carter (Dell, 1976) They explore the story—plus a shoutout to Orbis, which came up in the discussion. https://www.youtube.com/@wheelofgenrepodcast/videos https://www.youtube.com/@UCW1FScyVs3JjysB9wiBb3Gw https://orbis.stanford.edu/
Send us a text In this episode, Robert from The Wheel of Genre podcast sits down with Virgil from Literally Books for a deep dive into “And Don't Forget the One Red Rose,” originally published in Playboy (September 1975). Also worth checking out: The Price (1989), a short independent film adaptation of And Don’t Forget the One Red Rose, directed by Fareed Al-Mashat. Highly recommended for fans of the story.
Send us a text The opening chapters of BEER! BEER! BEER! drop us into a Depression-era New Jersey town that feels loud, crowded, funny, and just a little bruised, seen mostly through the wandering eyes of a sharp, restless kid. Chapter One is a street-level ramble full of smells, characters, rules, and small humiliations, where “go home” becomes a kind of local anthem. Chapter Two zooms out to City Hall, where politics, paperwork, and personality collide in a very Avram Davidson way—wry, talk...
