Doggerel Diaries: Ben & Matthew's Literature Program

Ben and Matthew
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Books
  • Updated Biweekly

Ben and Matthew are American writers from Sharkey, KY and Albuquerque, NM, respectively, who live in Germany and talk about fiction, the writing and publishing process, and art and culture in general. Sometimes they get overly excited (in a positive sense), sometimes they are on the attack. Though, hopefully, they are more often than not insightful. 

  1. Jun 9

    Ágnes Makó's "Snow White"

    In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Ágnes Makó's "Snow White," which was published in Ploughshares in their winter 2025/26 edition, then share some  music and book recommendations.

    54 min

  2. Apr 14

    AI and Literature

    In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss artificial intelligence and its relationship, or lack thereof, to literature.

    49 min

  3. 12/18/2025

    Five for Fall Revisited: How Are Those Fall Book Picks Coming?

    In this episode, Ben and Matthew check in on the books they picked for fall reading on the September 19 episode. Each recommended five and this is the winter update, plus they'll give you a few more to read now that the weather's full-on-cold.

    47 min

  4. 12/03/2025

    Sharon Wahl's "Friends"

    In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Sharon Wahl's "Friends,” which was published in Action, Spectacle's summer 2025 edition, then share some small literary magazines they've discovered lately as well as music and book recommendations.

    55 min

  5. 11/20/2025

    Riddhi Dastidar’s “Darling, Darling”

    In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Riddhi Dastidar’s “Darling, Darling,” which was published in Electric Literature. Then, they share some small literary magazines you should be reading and give music and book recommendations. *Correction: The story was mistakenly referred to as "She Stole My Heart and My Favorite Toe" in the introduction. The actual title is "Darling, Darling."

    50 min

  6. 09/19/2025

    Five for Fall: Reading Recommendations

    In this episode, Ben and Matthew recommend five books apiece for the fall that they will be reading and debut a new feature called Things I've Been Noticing in the Zone. If you'd like to see the recommendations, check out their Instagram.

    59 min

  7. 09/01/2025

    Feral Transformation in Lauren Groff's "Dogs Go Wolf

    In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Lauren Groff's "Dogs Go Wolf," which appeared in the New Yorker in 2017, as well as sharing recommendations for reading and listening.

    1h 6m

  8. 07/16/2025

    Strange Magic and Metamodernism in Noah Milligan's "Abyss"

    In this episode, Ben and Matthew read and analyze "Abyss" by Noah Milligan, which appeared in the metamodern-themed May issue of Jokes Review, doing their best to explain it in a metamodern context and, as usual, share music and literature recommendations.

    1h 4m
See All (50)

About

Ben and Matthew are American writers from Sharkey, KY and Albuquerque, NM, respectively, who live in Germany and talk about fiction, the writing and publishing process, and art and culture in general. Sometimes they get overly excited (in a positive sense), sometimes they are on the attack. Though, hopefully, they are more often than not insightful. 

Information