This episode aired on Feb 23, 2022, as a tribute to Mr O'Rourke who passed away on Feb, 15, 2022. 

We pause in our interviews and other segments in this episode, to pay tribute to a brilliant mind of our times—writer, satirist and brilliant wit, PJ O'Rourke.

In this episode, Ramjee Chandran talks about how PJ O'Rourke influenced his writing more than any other literary figure has. And rues that he missed the opportunity to meet and interview him.

There would be no need to explain why anyone would emulate PJ O'Rourke—man, author and analyst.

From being a gonzo journalist in National Lampoon, the wackiest publication of all time (it even out-wacky'd MAD magazine) to becoming a respected political analyst, O'Rourke's career took interesting turns.

Only the most capable among us would be able to fashion a life and earn a living from what we want to do, and not what we have to do.

Only O'Rourke's unusual approach to analytical reportage and his extremely popular wit, could have given him the leeway to get editor to allow him—and fund him—to do the stories he wanted to do. This included travelling to terrible places in which to live, or even visit. To give you a sense of what that means, a present day sequel to Holidays In Hell would have included Aleppo in Syria.

A committed conservative, he was apologetic for much his hippie years and became a believer in free market economics. His conservative side seemed more about the economy than about politics, and to prove it, O'Rourke savaged both sides of the aisle equally.

In his book, "Don't Vote, It Only Encourages The Bastards", he made the case that to vote for a politician is to provide that individual with your licence to do whatever it is they do.

PJ O'Rourke died from lung cancer. He leaves behind a rich legacy—of descriptions of a time in which we currently live.

The audio passages of O'Rourke are from him reading from the introduction to his book, "A Cry From The Far Middle - Despatches From A Divided Land" (Grove Atlantic). The extract is from a YouTube video, accessible here.

You can buy the book here. Or wherever you buy books, of course.

In this episode we have. not included the popular segment, WHAT'S THAT WORD?! but if you have a word or phrase you would like to explore, join us live on the show. Reach us by mail: theliterarycity@explocity.com or simply, tlc@explocity.com.
Or, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bangaloreliterarysociety
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If your word or phrase is selected, we'll call you.

Join our Facebook group, Bangalore Literary Society. It does not matter if you are not in Bangalore. This group is for anyone interested in language and words.

HELP EDUCATE A NEEDY CHILD
The Literary City encourages you to give to those children who struggle to get an education.  We ask you to contribute whatever you can to The Association of People with Disability. The link to donate is: https://www.apd-india.org/donations. Visit their site and take a look at the wonderful work they do and find it in your heart to, well, teach a child to fish.