8. Tao Lin's Mandalas, Repetition Compulsion, and Hofstadter's Labyrinth

MEOW: A Literary Podcast for Cats · Oct 4, 2022 · 29m

This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats).

Episode 8: Tao Lin’s Mandalas, Repetition Compulsion, and Hofstadter’s Labyrinth

Today we discuss Tao Lin’s recently publicized mandala art as an extension of his literary practice. Known for its simple language, circularity, and psychedelic aloofness – biting yet airy, kaleidoscopic yet concise, concrete yet polymorphic, polarizing yet irresistible – Lin's prose and poetry embody, to some, the fullest and most elegant form of human expression; infinite yet featherlight, redolent of a master’s koan.

In a 2016…