This is an all-time great episode of This Is Your Afterlife, the entry point I'll give to TIYA newcomers going forward. Poet, essayist, cultural critic, Ohioan, and MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient Hanif Abdurraqib explores death, loss, grief, awe, and even heaven so deeply in his work that I had to rephrase the show's tentpole questions for this conversation. The result is a dream episode with a new metaphor for the afterlife I can't stop thinking about. Hanif has a way with images that keep you thinking.

We talk about: birds, aboutness as myth, talking to Martin Scorsese about The Last Waltz, not wanting war criminals in your heaven neighborhood, what Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison taught him about "sad songs," making a city yours, checking in with people about the condition of their heart.

This Is Your Afterlife is made possible by listeners like you on Patreon. Support the show & get bonus episodes by subscribing to TIYA After Dark:

https://www.patreon.com/thisisyourafterlife

Follow Hanif:

https://www.instagram.com/nifmuhammad/

I'm Always Looking Up and You're Jumping comes out April 2027!

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790234/im-always-looking-up-and-youre-jumping-by-hanif-abdurraqib/

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Music by TIYA house band Lake Mary:

https://lakemary.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/chaz.prymek/

Artwork by Matt Sage:

https://www.instagram.com/matthewjsage/