app03 Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:34:52 +0000 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Weird Studies - Episodes Tagged with “Thomas Ligotti” https://www.weirdstudies.com/tags/thomas%20ligotti Wed, 08 May 2019 14:45:00 -0400 Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." en-us episodic Art and philosophy at the limits of the thinkable Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." yes weird, art, philosophy Phil Ford and J. F. Martel admin@weirdstudies.com Episode 46: Thomas Ligotti's Angel https://www.weirdstudies.com/46 5ffd3f78-b195-4654-ac87-ebb123061539 Wed, 08 May 2019 14:45:00 -0400 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 46 Thomas Ligotti's Angel full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel An in-depth discussion of horror writer Thomas Ligotti's short story, "Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel." 1:29:07 yes <p>In his short story "Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel," contemporary horror author Thomas Ligotti contrasts the chaotic monstrosity of dreams with the cold, indifferent, and no less monstrous purity of angels. It is the story of a boy whose vivid dream life is sapping his vital force, and who resorts to esoteric measures to rectify the situation. In this episode, Phil and JF discuss the beauty and horror of dreams, the metaphysical signifiance of angels and demons, and the potential dangers of seeking the peace of absolute "purity" in the wondrous flux of lived experience.</p> <p><strong>REFERENCES</strong></p> <p>Thomas Ligotti, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm1iH6EIMAA" rel="nofollow noopener">Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel</a>" (read by Jon Padgett)</p> <p>Roger Scruton, <em><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-face-of-god-9781847065247/" rel="nofollow noopener">The Face of God</a></em><br> Thomas Ligotti, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_a_Dead_Dreamer" rel="nofollow noopener">Songs of a Dead Dreamer</a></em><br> Thomas Ligotti, "The Last Feast of Harlequin" in <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimscribe:_His_Lives_and_Works" rel="nofollow noopener">Grimscribe: His Lives and Works</a></em><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Aickman" rel="nofollow noopener">Robert Aickman</a>, English author<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft" rel="nofollow noopener">H. P. Lovecraft</a>, American author<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._R._Giger" rel="nofollow noopener">H. R. Giger</a>, Swiss artist<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Giraud" rel="nofollow noopener">Jean Giraud a.k.a. Moebius</a>, French comic book artist<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Barthelme" rel="nofollow noopener">Donald Barthelme</a>, American author<br> <a href="https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/Pierre-Soulages" rel="nofollow noopener">Pierre Soulages</a>, French artist<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Schulz" rel="nofollow noopener">Bruno Schulz</a>, Polish author<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bernhard" rel="nofollow noopener">Thomas Bernhard</a>, Austrian author<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe" rel="nofollow noopener">Edgar Allan Poe</a>, American author<br> J. F. Martel, "The Beautiful Madness: Primacy of Wonder in the Works of Thomas Ligotti" (Forthcoming in James Curcio (ed.), <em><a href="https://www.intellectbooks.com/masks" rel="nofollow noopener">Masks: Bowie and the Artists of Artifice</a></em> from Intellect Books)<br> Algernon Blackwood, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10897/10897-h/10897-h.htm" rel="nofollow noopener">"The Wendigo"</a><br> Thomas Ligotti, "The Dark Beauty of Unheard of Horrors" in <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Ligotti-Reader-Darrell-Schweitzer/dp/1592241301" rel="nofollow noopener">The Thomas Ligotti Reader: Essays and Explorations</a></em><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dgen" rel="nofollow noopener">Dogen Zenji</a>, Zen master<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism" rel="nofollow noopener">Manichaeism</a><br> Spencer Brown, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Form" rel="nofollow noopener">The Laws of Form</a></em><br> Ramsey Dukes, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Words-Made-Flesh-Information-Formation/dp/0904311112" rel="nofollow noopener">Words Made Flesh: Information In Formation</a></em><br> Deleuze, <em><a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/essays-critical-and-clinical" rel="nofollow noopener">Essays Critical and Clinical</a></em><br> Thomas Ligotti, "Purity," in <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Teatro-Grottesco-Thomas-Ligotti/dp/0753513749" rel="nofollow noopener">Teatro Grottesco</a></em><br> James Joyce, <em><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4300/4300-h/4300-h.htm" rel="nofollow noopener">Ulysses</a></em><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advaita_Vedanta" rel="nofollow noopener">Advaita Vedanta</a><br> Joshua Ramey, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hermetic-Deleuze-Philosophy-Spiritual-Religion/dp/082235229X" rel="nofollow noopener">The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal</a></em><br> Lewis Carroll, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland" rel="nofollow noopener">Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</a></em> and <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking-Glass" rel="nofollow noopener">Through the Looking Glass</a></em><br> James Hillman, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Underworld-James-Hillman/dp/0060906820" rel="nofollow noopener">The Dream and the Underworld</a></em><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._J._O%27Rourke" rel="nofollow noopener">P. J. O’Rourke</a>, political satirist </p> Thomas Ligotti, mrs Rinaldi's angel, weird fiction, horror, dreams In his short story "Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel," contemporary horror author Thomas Ligotti contrasts the chaotic monstrosity of dreams with the cold, indifferent, and no less monstrous purity of angels. It is the story of a boy whose vivid dream life is sapping his vital force, and who resorts to esoteric measures to rectify the situation. In this episode, Phil and JF discuss the beauty and horror of dreams, the metaphysical signifiance of angels and demons, and the potential dangers of seeking the peace of absolute "purity" in the wondrous flux of lived experience.

REFERENCES

Thomas Ligotti, "Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel" (read by Jon Padgett)

Roger Scruton, The Face of God
Thomas Ligotti, Songs of a Dead Dreamer
Thomas Ligotti, "The Last Feast of Harlequin" in Grimscribe: His Lives and Works
Robert Aickman, English author
H. P. Lovecraft, American author
H. R. Giger, Swiss artist
Jean Giraud a.k.a. Moebius, French comic book artist
Donald Barthelme, American author
Pierre Soulages, French artist
Bruno Schulz, Polish author
Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author
Edgar Allan Poe, American author
J. F. Martel, "The Beautiful Madness: Primacy of Wonder in the Works of Thomas Ligotti" (Forthcoming in James Curcio (ed.), Masks: Bowie and the Artists of Artifice from Intellect Books)
Algernon Blackwood, "The Wendigo"
Thomas Ligotti, "The Dark Beauty of Unheard of Horrors" in The Thomas Ligotti Reader: Essays and Explorations
Dogen Zenji, Zen master
Manichaeism
Spencer Brown, The Laws of Form
Ramsey Dukes, Words Made Flesh: Information In Formation
Deleuze, Essays Critical and Clinical
Thomas Ligotti, "Purity," in Teatro Grottesco
James Joyce, Ulysses
Advaita Vedanta
Joshua Ramey, The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal
Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
James Hillman, The Dream and the Underworld
P. J. O’Rourke, political satirist

]]> In his short story "Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel," contemporary horror author Thomas Ligotti contrasts the chaotic monstrosity of dreams with the cold, indifferent, and no less monstrous purity of angels. It is the story of a boy whose vivid dream life is sapping his vital force, and who resorts to esoteric measures to rectify the situation. In this episode, Phil and JF discuss the beauty and horror of dreams, the metaphysical signifiance of angels and demons, and the potential dangers of seeking the peace of absolute "purity" in the wondrous flux of lived experience.

REFERENCES

Thomas Ligotti, "Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel" (read by Jon Padgett)

Roger Scruton, The Face of God
Thomas Ligotti, Songs of a Dead Dreamer
Thomas Ligotti, "The Last Feast of Harlequin" in Grimscribe: His Lives and Works
Robert Aickman, English author
H. P. Lovecraft, American author
H. R. Giger, Swiss artist
Jean Giraud a.k.a. Moebius, French comic book artist
Donald Barthelme, American author
Pierre Soulages, French artist
Bruno Schulz, Polish author
Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author
Edgar Allan Poe, American author
J. F. Martel, "The Beautiful Madness: Primacy of Wonder in the Works of Thomas Ligotti" (Forthcoming in James Curcio (ed.), Masks: Bowie and the Artists of Artifice from Intellect Books)
Algernon Blackwood, "The Wendigo"
Thomas Ligotti, "The Dark Beauty of Unheard of Horrors" in The Thomas Ligotti Reader: Essays and Explorations
Dogen Zenji, Zen master
Manichaeism
Spencer Brown, The Laws of Form
Ramsey Dukes, Words Made Flesh: Information In Formation
Deleuze, Essays Critical and Clinical
Thomas Ligotti, "Purity," in Teatro Grottesco
James Joyce, Ulysses
Advaita Vedanta
Joshua Ramey, The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal
Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
James Hillman, The Dream and the Underworld
P. J. O’Rourke, political satirist

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