“The Sears Christmas Wish Book was, for me, a kind of foundational text — a secular counterpoint to the Bible stories I learned around that time in Sunday School. I paged through the holiday catalog’s 620 glossy pages as if they amounted to an intoxicating graphic novel of desire, rich with abundance and possibility.” – Rolf Potts, from “Literature of Desire”

In this episode Rolf reads an audio version of his Christmas-themed essay “Literature of Desire,” and discusses the wonders of the Sears Christmas Wish Book with novelist Tod Goldberg (@todgoldberg). Tod is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, including the novel Gangsterland, which is currently being developed into a television series. He is also the director of the University of California-Riverside Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA, and the co-host of the Literary Disco podcast.

Introduction (00:35 – 11:20)

Vintage Sears Wish Book online archive
What Exactly is Christmas Tree Flocking? from Mental Floss
Klonopin (anxiety medication)
Janis Ian (singer-songwriter)
Enchroma glasses (to correct colorblindness)

Literature of Desire essay (11:20 – 32:20)

Richard Warren Sears (catalog founder)
Mr. Sears’ Catalog (video) from PBS’s American Experience
Sears Catalog Home (ready-to-assemble houses)
That ’70s Show, Happy Days, Good Times, Welcome Back, Kotter (TV shows)
Christie Brinkley and Renee Russo (fashion models)
Pong (video game)
Big Jim’s P.A.C.K. (toy line)
Jay J. Armes (private investigator)
JJ Armes action figure (TV commercial)
“Is Jay J. Armes For Real?” from Texas Monthly
WishBookcom

Sears Wish Book memories (32:20 – 50:10)

Action figures (dolls marketed to boys)
Toughskins (jeans for children)
Huffy (bicycle brand)
BEST (showroom retail store)
“Kerouac’s Fantasy Baseball Obsession” from Mental Floss
Coleco’s Electronic Quarterback (game)

This episode was sponsored by the Paris Writing Workshops, which offer intensive one-week travel-writing courses in the artistic heart of Europe.

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.