Thalia Field, professor of Literary Arts, has just released a new AUDIO collaboration with actor and sound artist Ben Williams – performed by Shannon Tyo, Stephanie Weeks and special guests, with additional music by Billy Martin.

 

LEAVE TO REMAIN (LEGENDS OF JANUS) (published by Dalkey Archive in 2020) tells a picaresque tale of a two-faced Janus. It's both a spy and detective story, but also a story of how double-ness (double dealing, traitors, translators, faux amis, and even philosophical and existential non-unity) affects our ability to get to any form of truth. Written by two authors (Thalia Field & Abigail Lang) and playful as well as deadly serious, the adventures of this Janus couldn't be more pressing in a world of war, nuclear conflict, double-speak, double-agents, and distrust. Who is a friend or an enemy? What strategies evade detection and which reveal treachery?

 

You can listen to chapter-by-chapter installments as they are released at www.category-other.com -- an online home for experimental and innovative sound projects.

 

Chapter One -- Janus at a Chinese Restaurant in Paris: in which Janus attempts to enjoy a meal "between wars" and between cases. The background of their conversation reveals some of the major questions they face (from their two faces) throughout the book.

 

Chapter Two -- A Bridge to Turn Around; in which Janus deploys spy-craft to expose the role of bridges, betrayal, and secret codes in warfare and in myth.

 

Chapter Three -- Case the Case: 11, rue Larrey: in which Janus takes on the special case of Marcel DuChamp's apartment between the wars, in particular how he built a three-way door that is never open or shut, and how his ready-mades double as both regular objects and as art. The chapter also tells the story of his various loves and personalities, especially Mary Reynolds' role in the French resistance and escape.

 

In addition, all chapters of Thalia Field's latest book, PERSONHOOD, produced and designed by Ben Williams, starring April Mathis and Shannon Tyo are now available to listen to at www.category-other.com