Selected Shorts: Icebergs

Roughly, only ten percent of an iceberg can be seen floating above water. The other 90 percent is under the surface—treacherous for boats navigating the frozen seas, but a wonderful metaphor for dark emotions and hidden secrets. We have a special mini-edition podcast of Selected Shorts this week, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, featuring “Carpathia” by Jesse Lee Kercheval. Kercheval’s beautifully written short-short focuses on a newly married couple, passengers on The Carpathia (one of the ships that picked up survivors from the Titanic), whose experience reveals the tip of their own looming disaster. We also have our regular radio program this week, continuing in the vein of  married couples in trouble: Nahid Rachlin’s “Strangers in the House,” read by Freda Foh Shen, and “A Disappearance,” by Julie Otsuka, read by Jane Kaczmarek. There’s also a great interview with Julie Otsuka about her work. You can enjoy this program on the radio or via podcast. In the meantime, keep an eye out for icebergs.