I’m at the AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Conference in DC this week, where I participated in a fun panel with BJ Hollars, Bryan Furness, Scott Francis & Laura van den Berg called “Things That Go Bump When You Write: Monsters, Myths & the Supernatural in Literary Fiction.” We talked about Goat Men, Zombies, Dwarves and the Loch Ness Monster, but also how to write a sentence so that a reader will believe a Werewolf just walked into the room. This weekend on Selected Shorts, Isaiah Sheffer and I will introduce three great stories that play with language as well as the supernatural world: “Ever After” by Kim Addonizio, performed by Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole (Grey Gardens), takes the fairy-tale of Snow White and sets it on its head; “Boys” by Rick Moody, performed by Tony award-winner B.D. Wong (M. Butterfly), repeats the phrase “The Boys enter the house” over and over, creating a pattern that devastates when it is finally broken; and “The Fortunes of Madame Organza” by Natalie Babbitt, performed by Janel Maloney (who played my favorite character on The West Wing, Donna Moss), asks the question–what happens when a fortune teller’s fortunes come true? To find your local time/station go here. To hear podcasts of the past few shows, go here. Thanks again, everyone, for listening!
