Episode 231-April 13, 2024 Live Event to Launch Jose Vadi's Chipped, a reflective, creative, subtly brilliant essay collection The Chills at Will Podcast

Notes and Links to José Vadi’s Work
 
   For Episode 231, Pete welcomes José Vadi, in Pete’s first in-store, live interview, as José launches his essay collection at Capital Books on K in Sacramento. It was a blast, due to José’s reflective, thoughtful, and witty answers, and the event featured great questions from the audience.
 
 
   José Vadi is an award-winning essayist, poet, playwright and film producer. He is the author of Inter State: Essays from California and Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder’s Lens.
   His work has been featured by the Paris Review, The Atlantic, the PBS NewsHour, the San Francisco Chronicle, Free Skate Magazine, Quartersnacks, Alta Journal of California, and the Yale Review.

Buy Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lense
 
 
Los Angeles Times Review for Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lens
 
Chipped Book Tour Details
 
Jose's Website

At about 2:30, José talks about his book tour and initial days of publishing
At about 4:15, José talks about his mindset as the book comes out and the initial feedback he’s gotten, as well
At about 7:00, José responds to Pete’s questions about perspective and how he looks back at what he has written, particularly after having moved a few times
At about 9:15, José shouts out great Sacramento skate spots
At about 10:15, Jsoe talks about making his book about skateboarding “accessible” to non-skaters also
At about 11:45, José, freshly-hydrated, reads the book’s titular essay
At about 16:45, José’s reading leads to a discussion of the quote from the book “documentation is domination” from Ed Templeton, and José discusses the power of one’s board as an “extensión of [a person]”
At about 18:55, The two compare the destroyed boards with the raggedy basketball, and José alludes to Hanif Abdurraqib’s writing
At about 21:05, José talks about the adage from the book of “Time is a skater’s worst enemy” and attendant ideas of aging and obsession and pride
At about 23:20, José narrates and explores his essay about a big injury on the night on which Jake Phelps died, and José responds to Pete’s questions about “respecting the game [skating]” and its relation to injuries
At about 28:30, José and Pete discuss the frenzied and wonderful “Wild and Crazy” essay
At about 31:15, José discusses the phenomenon of skate videos and the DIY documentation of the 90s and early 2000s
At about 34:00, Pete asks José about what music he most identifies with his own skating history 
At about 35:15, José discusses musical connections with his parents that came from the music scene in skating 
At about 37:50, Pete asks José to discuss how he looked at the thrills and dangers of skateboarding and being “policed” by those in power as an adolescent
At about 40:05, José replies to Pete’s wondering about José’s view of progressive and inclusive cultures within skateboarding, especially with regards to contrasting the “old days” and more recent times
At about 42:20, Pete and José fanboy about Sun Ra-Pete regarding José’s brilliant essay about Sun Ra’s style and music and skateboarding, and José about Sun Ra’s prodigious brilliance 
At about 44:00, Pete wonders about the process for José in creating Sun Ra as an imagined skateboarder in the essay
At about 45:10, Pete and José discuss José’s time with Youth Speaks, and Pete uses one scene as a metaphor for José’s stellar writing
At about 47:35, Pete highlights a story involving “power” as indicative of José’s successful writing style, and José tells an incredible story about losing the mic and then hugging Michael Franti
At about 49:20, “Never meet your heroes” is discussed in relation to Ed Templeton and his support for José and skating as a whole, as well as Ed’s major injury; José discusses how Ed’s example gave José agency to write and create and skate 
At about 53:10-Lazer Round! Kings, Warriors, Lakers?