Selected Shorts: The Recap

Robert Frank "Political Rally—Chicago, 1956"

I’ve been on the road most of this summer, and have fallen behind on my weekly Selected Shorts posts. To catch us up, here’s a recap, with links to the podcasts–just click through to listen:

First, there was a trio of stories featuring REVELATIONS, involving classic noir, the Amish, and…wait for it…Disco. Ted Marcoux read William Cole’s crime story: “Waiting for Rusty.” Then Khris Lewin took the stage in “Departure” by One Story author Andrew Porter. Finally, the platform heels came out in Karen Russell’s “Disco Papa,” which was read by Susanna Thompson.

Second, we took a LONG WALK OVER A THIN WIRE, with an excerpt from Colum McCann’s National Book Award-winning novel, Let the Great World Spin read by Brian Stokes Mitchell. This was followed by another great tale, Sherman Alexie’s “Salt” performed by David Strathairn.

This coming week, we’ve got a visual feast, with a selection of stories inspired by the haunting photographs of ROBERT FRANK. “Sunflower Sutra” by Allen Ginsberg, performed by our own Isaiah Sheffer;”The Death of Jim Taylor” by Elissa Hutson, and “Good Living” by Aleksandar Hemon, both performed by Boyd Gaines; “Barbara Stanwyck, It’s Your Time to Shine” by Bianca Galvez, and “The Thing Around Your Neck” by One Story author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, both performed by Condola Rashad.

That’s enough short stories to keep everyone going for a while. Go here to find the station/time for this week’s show, or visit the Selected Shorts website to hear these shows for free, on podcast!