Last summer I became aware of this rather brilliant video essay by Sam Pulham, co-host of the Sherds Podcast, “a literary discussion programme exploring the peripheries of world literature and unearthing neglected texts from outside the mainstream canon.” Pulham’s thesis is that the weird supernatural-horrific sensibility that infuses and defines Ligotti’s 2006 fiction collection Teatro Grottesco echoes and resonates strikingly with the fundamental sensibility of twentieth-century Polish avant-garde literature and theater, as represented by the likes of Bruno Schulz and Tadeusz Kantor. Pulham addresses three specific motifs, devoting three separately titled sections to them: degraded reality, mannequins, and circus and spectacle.
His insights are lucid. His delivery is somber and measured. The video’s overall tone is hypnotic, and its production quality is high. Consider this necessary viewing if the topic and theme are at all interesting to you.