William Davies King, author of Collections of Nothing, was the featured guest for a call-in session this Monday on NPR’s Talk of the Nation. In the show, Davies discusses his unusual passion for collecting, and what’s even more unusual, his passion for collecting items that most would consider junk. Davies describes his habit as a way of coping with difficulties in his life and a profound meditation on how and why we value things the way we do—and listening to the callers describe their own peculiar collections, apparently he’s not the only one. Listen to King’s radio appearance, and read an excerpt from his book on the NPR website.
Also, read another excerpt and an essay by the author on the press’s site.