Notes and Links to José Vadi’s Work

For Episode 231, Pete welcomes José Vadi, in Pete’s first in-store, live interview, as José launches his essay collection at Capital Books on K in Sacramento. It was a blast, due to José’s reflective, thoughtful, and witty answers, and the event featured great questions from the audience.

José Vadi is an award-winning essayist, poet, playwright and film producer. He is the author of Inter State: Essays from California and Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder’s Lens. His work has been featured by the Paris Review, The Atlantic, the PBS NewsHour, the San Francisco Chronicle, Free Skate Magazine, Quartersnacks, Alta Journal of California, and the Yale Review.

Buy Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lense

Los Angeles Times Review for Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lens

Chipped Book Tour Details

Jose's Website

At about 2:30, José talks about his book tour and initial days of publishing

At about 4:15, José talks about his mindset as the book comes out and the initial feedback he’s gotten, as well

At about 7:00, José responds to Pete’s questions about perspective and how he looks back at what he has written, particularly after having moved a few times

At about 9:15, José shouts out great Sacramento skate spots

At about 10:15, Jsoe talks about making his book about skateboarding “accessible” to non-skaters also

At about 11:45, José, freshly-hydrated, reads the book’s titular essay

At about 16:45, José’s reading leads to a discussion of the quote from the book “documentation is domination” from Ed Templeton, and José discusses the power of one’s board as an “extensión of [a person]”

At about 18:55, The two compare the destroyed boards with the raggedy basketball, and José alludes to Hanif Abdurraqib’s writing

At about 21:05, José talks about the adage from the book of “Time is a skater’s worst enemy” and attendant ideas of aging and obsession and pride

At about 23:20, José narrates and explores his essay about a big injury on the night on which Jake Phelps died, and José responds to Pete’s questions about “respecting the game [skating]” and its relation to injuries

At about 28:30, José and Pete discuss the frenzied and wonderful “Wild and Crazy” essay

At about 31:15, José discusses the phenomenon of skate videos and the DIY documentation of the 90s and early 2000s

At about 34:00, Pete asks José about what music he most identifies with his own skating history

At about 35:15, José discusses musical connections with his parents that came from the music scene in skating

At about 37:50, Pete asks José to discuss how he looked at the thrills and dangers of skateboarding and being “policed” by those in power as an adolescent

At about 40:05, José replies to Pete’s wondering about José’s view of progressive and inclusive cultures within skateboarding, especially with regards to contrasting the “old days” and more recent times

At about 42:20, Pete and José fanboy about Sun Ra-Pete regarding José’s brilliant essay about Sun Ra’s style and music and skateboarding, and José about Sun Ra’s prodigious brilliance

At about 44:00, Pete wonders about the process for José in creating Sun Ra as an imagined skateboarder in the essay

At about 45:10, Pete and José discuss José’s time with Youth Speaks, and Pete uses one scene as a metaphor for José’s stellar writing

At about 47:35, Pete highlights a story involving “power” as indicative of José’s successful writing style, and José tells an incredible story about losing the mic and then hugging Michael Franti

At about 49:20, “Never meet your heroes” is discussed in relation to Ed Templeton and his support for José and skating as a whole, as well as Ed’s major injury; José discusses how Ed’s example gave José agency to write and create and skate

At about 53:10-Lazer Round! Kings, Warriors, Lakers? Shout outs to Iain Bordem, Kyle Beachy, Molly Schiot, Percival Everett, and more!

At about 56:10, José talks about an exciting new project, an “East Coast version of Inter State”

At about 56:45, Audience questions!

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Please tune in for Episode 232 with Jazmina Barrera Velasquez, who is a fellow at the Foundation for Mexican Letters. Her book of essays, Cuerpo extraño, was awarded the Latin American Voices prize from Literal Publishing in 2013, and she is the editor and co-founder of Ediciones Antílope, and author of, most recently, Cross-Stitch.

The episode will go live on April 16 or 17.

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