Hannah Tinti

 
Last year, I was in Alaska for a while. The glaciers I saw were the most brilliant blue–and as I watched them break apart (folks call it “calving”) all I could think of was the history of that ice–time and pressure had turned it into something beautiful, and now it was crumbling apart, after thousands of years. The image came back to me as I listened to Haruki Murakami’s story “Ice Man,”performed by Jane Curtin on Selected Shorts –a  love story between a woman and a man made of ice. Murakami has an imagination like no other, and the ability to capture that middle ground between waking and sleeping, reality and dreams. This week’s episode is dedicated entirely to his world, with the second story, “Lederhosen,” performed by Aasif Mandvi. If you aren’t familiar with Murakami’s work, I’d suggest starting with his author interview over at The Paris Review, and then download our free podcast. It’s snowing here in Brooklyn and all over the East Coast. Stay in, stay warm and turn on your radio.

There’s a bar on East 4th street in New York City called KGB. Long ago it used to be the headquarters for the communist party, but now it’s a performance space and on the 2nd floor there’s a smoky old room that hosts readings and is plastered with Soviet propaganda posters like this one, which translates roughly to: “Knowledge breaks the chain of slavery.” This week on Selected Shorts we’ve got three stories by Russian authors: “My First Goose,” by Isaac Babel, performed by Joe Morton. “The Father,” by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, performed by Nina Arianda, and “Rothschild’s Fiddle,” by Anton Chekhov, performed by Denis O’Hare. Petrushevskaya is a great storyteller, and Babel and Chekhov know more about heartache than anyone else, so tune in to your local public radio station or download a free podcast of the show. And if you find yourself in New York City, stop by 85 East 4th street. You’re bound to find a Russian, or at least writer or two, drinking on the 2nd floor.

The days between Christmas and New Year’s are full of memories–memories that settle down on the couch like a flock of house guests waiting to be served. It is wonderful to see them again, and they are entertaining for a while, but by the end of the week, we’re ready for them to leave, and they do, the whole weight of the past year falling off our shoulders when the clock strikes twelve. This week, Selected Shorts has four great stories to help you navigate your way from the 25th to the 31st:  Something to make you laugh with “The Night the Ghost Got In,” by James Thurber, performed by our own Isaiah Sheffer. A tale of bad luck turning good with “Examining the Evidence,” by Alice Hoffman, performed by Joanna Gleason. An angel who carries away aches and pains in “It Had Wings,” by Allan Gurganus, performed by Marian Seldes. And a love story full of second chances in “Secondhand Man,” by Rita Dove, performed by Audra McDonald. Listen in by podcast or on your local public radio station. Here’s to angels and second chances. I’ll see you all in 2012.

We’ve got some great stories this week on Selected Shorts. The first is “Troll Bridge,” by the wonderful and multi-talented Neil Gaiman, performed by the man himself.  This was part of a special night Gaiman hosted at Selected Shorts on stage, which featured his work as well as writers who have influenced him, including the master of magic realism Jorge Luis Borges, whose story “The Circular Ruins,” is performed by Boyd Gaines. Go here to watch a great video of Neil Gaiman answering questions from fans about his writing, music, dance moves, and eating caterpillars vs. eating beetles. Our final story is the winner of the Selected Shorts annual short story contest: “Tender” by Carly Sachs, performed by Mary Brienza. Listen in on your local Public Radio station or download a podcast for free!

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, there is a whole lot of eating going on. But people are also hungering for something else: love. This week on Selected Shorts we’ve got two stories that use food as a tool for finding romance. Christina Pickles reads “But the One on the Right,” by Dorothy Parker, where a witty heroine discovers dinner  parties are like life–it’s all about who you get seated next to.  Heather Goldenhersh reads Lara Vapnyar’s “A Bunch of Broccoli on the Third Shelf,” about a young Russian émigré who cures her heartache by learning to cook. Both these tales should leave you feeling full and satisfied, whether you listen on our free podcast or tune into your local public radio station. Isaiah and I joked that we should include recipes with this episode. So here goes: for all of you who feel the same tearing I do when faced with a  pile of apples and can’t decide between a crumble or a pie: a few years ago, while reading The Boston Globe, I found the answer to this terrible dilemma:  AN APPLE CRUMBLE PIE. Now, I make it every Christmas. Enjoy!

This week on Selected Shorts, we bring you two darkly comic and touching stories about Bad Dads. “More Life,” by Mark Strand, performed by our own Isaiah Sheffer, features a father who comes back from the dead to haunt his son, while “Creeping,” by Maxine Swann, performed by Christine Ebersole, is about a hippie Dad gone wrong. Neither one of these men is probably in Darth Vader territory, but from Oedipus to Star Wars, fathers will forever be in conflict with their children. So why not have a few laughs along the way? Listen to our free podcast, or on your local Public Radio station. You never know when you might end up clinging to an antenna underneath Cloud City.