Dennis Cooper

Ugly Man (Harper Collins)

Although we've followed the career of Dennis Copper from the ground up, in this conversation, he acknowledges a new influence—the master director of French film comedy, Jacques Tati. Has Cooper, then, achieved a comic, or even sunny, vision? No. Not at all. Comedy has entered his mix of styles and rhythms to create a smoother (smooth as ice) level of ongoing disturbance.

Note: In the course of this conversation Cooper reads from Ugly Man. In addition to some its sexual content, some listeners may find the subject matter of the reading to be disturbing.