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This is a clean copy of my 2023 birthday lecture, about what transgression and edginess meant, for Gen X and beyond. You can find my earlier thoughts on the subject of the intellectual history of Gen X here: ruclips.net/video/Sos_3fLDZzM/видео.htmlsi=l2XV1hbd6C9OYfY3 Subscribe to my substack for more critical writing, podcasts, and videos: peterberard.substack.com

This is a clean copy of my 2022 birthday lecture, about the intellectual history of Gen X, what methods of intellectual history might be used to chase it down, and what the deal is with generational politics anyway. If you like this sort of thing, consider subscribing to my substack: peterberard.substack.com

This is the lecture I wrote for my birthday in 2021. It discusses alternate history fiction, it’s production, it’s context, it’s relationship to historical changes since and past the “End of History” era.

This is a reading of a Jorge Luis Borges essay from 1932, “A Defense of Basilides the False,” where Borges talks Gnosticism. Contemporary scholars of the subject rather rue the day Borges got involved, as he gets things “wrong,” but as a modernist I don’t care that much, and Borges was quite honest about his sources. Enjoy! peterberard.substack.com

This is a LIVE recording of my 2021 Birthday Lecture, “Alternate History at the End of History and Beyond,” captured at Peterfest 2021, complete with introductory remarks by E. James Golden, random interruptions, QnA, my getting sloppier as I drink more, etc. I’ll probably record a “clean” version, too, just for the historical record.

This is a reading commissioned by a Citizen! It is the poem “The Circus” by Kenneth Koch. If you want me to do a reading of your choice, become a Citizen and put a request in! peterberard.substack.com/about

This is the first in what could be a series of readings of interesting texts that aren’t elsewhere on RUclips! This one is Charles Portis’ short story “I Don’t Talk Service No More,” about what a lonely veteran gets up to in his nursing home. I think it is very good and Portis is one of my favorite authors. Want a custom reading? Become a Citizen of Melendy Avenue Review! Five bucks a month or ...

This is Part 2 of a two part series on two genres that I don't know much about, which are also two of the most popular literary genres on the planet. This one is on romance fiction. What distinguishes a romance novel? What is its history? Why do so many of them take place during the Regency era? Answering all of these questions and more is writer and critic Gillian Daniels! Check out Gillian's ...

This is Part 1 of a two part series on two genres that I don't know much about, which are also two of the most popular literary genres on the planet. This one is on thriller fiction. What makes a thriller a thriller? What makes any genre any genre? Are thrillers the "dad rock" of literature? Answering all of these questions and more is thriller author Jack Mahoney! Check out Jack Mahoney's work...

This birthday lecture has a look at two New England genre writers - H.P. Lovecraft and Dennis Lehane - and the ways their work reflect their region’s long history of (failed) social/existential experiment.

In this I talk about the ways in which the sixties counterculture understood American history. This came out of my long (and ongoing) grapple with the works of Ishmael Reed, not exactly a hippie but an influence on the counterculture, and one of the great American writers of the twentieth century. I discuss Reed’s concept of history and that of other countercultural writers, why it’s not necess...

This one is fun. I discuss “Traditionalism,” ala fascist occultist Julius Evola, “traditionalism,” ala boomer loudmouth Bill O’Reilly, and what either could possibly mean to the zoomers running around calling themselves “traditionalists.” Check out my newsletter: peterberard.substack.com

This is a reading of my 2017 Birthday Lecture, where I discuss my dissertation topic- the history of counterinsurgency doctrine and its relationship to the history of liberalism in the late twentieth century. I think it’s a nice little intro to the topic. peterberard.substack.com

Finally, I make good on my threats to have on guests. Matt, Tosh, Philip, and Jared join me to discuss Super Smash Brothers: Melee, and why it might interest a humanities dude like me with an interest in contemporary culture. Melee developed a whole underground subculture due to a variety of unusual circumstances, and our guests follow this subculture and/or participated in it. This is a good v...

Lethality and Merit - 2016 Birthday Lecture - Melendy Avenue Review

The Individuality of the Hamster Wheel Runner - 2015 Birthday Lecture - Melendy Avenue Review

The Long March Through the HR Department - 2014 Birthday Lecture - Melendy Avenue Review

Call Me Melville - 2013 Birthday Lecture - Melendy Avenue Review

Henry Adams, Builder of Tombs - 2012 Birthday Lecture - Melendy Avenue Review

Rebuking Thomas Bissell's Hackjob on "A Confederacy of Dunces" - Melendy Avenue Review

Quality Right-Leaning Writers - Melendy Avenue Review

The 10 Worst Books I Read in 2020 - Melendy Avenue Review