Archive: Author: Hannah

Two years ago I went to Germany for the first time to promote the publication of Die Linke Hand (The Left Hand)–a German edition of The Good Thief. In Munich, I saw this giant glockenspiel–an amazing animated clock that played out scenes from Bavarian history, including a joust and a dance called the Schäfflerstanz (to celebrate the end of the plague)–all with life-sized animated figures. It’s the first thing that sprang to mind when I first read “I Am Not a Jew” by John Biguenet, performed by Denis O’Hare (True Blood) this week on Selected Shorts. There is a haunting image in the story of a mechanical woodsman in a bell tower, striking each hour with his axe, just as the narrator decides that he is not to blame for his own cowardly actions. From Germany we then move to Ireland, where Colum McCann’s heartbreaking father/daughter story, “Everything in This Country Must” is performed by Amy Ryan (The Office). It starts right in the middle of the action as the narrator and her father try to save a drowning horse. The language is magical, but what impressed me most is how Colum McCann handles the family’s tragic past—a light touch throughout the story, leaving small impressions that build to a giant emotional charge at the end. Finally, we’ll hear another piece on parenting: “Flying” by One Story author Stephen Dixon, read by Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds)–where a father literally shows his daughter how to spread her wings. For your local time/station, go here. For a free podcast of last week’s episode, go here.

This weekend’s Selected Shorts features stories chosen by Colum McCann, who won the 2009 National Book Award with his novel Let the Great World Spin, a stunning portrait of New York City set in the summer of 1974, when Philippe Petit crossed between the two towers of the World Trade Center on a tightrope. Colum picked some fantastic tales for this episode: “(She Owns) Every Thing” by Anne Enright, performed by Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) which shows how much a talented writer can do with one object–in this case, a handbag–to develop an emotional world; “Free Fruit for Young Widows” by Nathan Englander, performed by Michael Cerveris (Sweeney Todd), a gripping story that revolves around a character who is both a murderer and a misken; and finally “The Writers’ Model” by Molly Giles, performed by Blair Brown (Fringe), an interesting addition to the current discussion on women in the literary world over at Vida. For your local time/station, go here. And to download free podcasts of past episodes. Go here. Thanks for listening!

“I would have liked to be a homicide detective, much more than a writer. Of that I’m absolutely sure. Someone who could go back alone, at night, to the scene of the crime, and not be afraid of ghosts.”

–Roberto Bolaño

Last spring, I was lucky enough to spend some time in Barcelona with Jorge Herralde, founder and director of Anagrama, Roberto Bolaño’s publisher and his longtime friend. Jorge told me great stories and made me want to read everything Roberto Bolaño had written, so it was a real pleasure to learn that Selected Shorts was airing a special episode that would take a closer look at Bolaño’s work and his influences. On this weekend’s show we start with two stories by the master of the surreal, Jorge Luis Borges: “The Shape of the Sword” translated by David A. Yates, and performed by Charles Keating (As the World Turns) and “Dreamtigers” translated by Andrew Hurley, and performed by our own Isaiah Sheffer. Next we examine the work of Javier Marias, whose dream-like and surprising “On the Honeymoon,” translated by Margaret Jull Costa, is performed by Ivan Hernandez (Miami Noir). Finally we hear the master Bolaño himself, with his story “William Burns,” translated by Chris Andrews, and performed by Michael Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire). If you’ve read 2666 or The Savage Detectives, this will be a great program to listen to and hear for yourself how Bolaño brought elements of the surreal to his work, spliced it with historical facts and mixed it with hard-boiled plots of detective novels to create his own, original, magnificent style. To find your local station/time, go here, and to read more about Roberto Bolaño, I would recommend  this piece by Marcela Valdes, which originally appeared in The Nation.

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!

When we were kids my siblings and I were big fans of Star Trek–we followed the re-runs of the show religiously, and all had our favorite characters. My sister liked the daredevil Kirk, my brother fantasized about Uhura. But I was in love with Spock. Each week I watched him mind-melding with aliens, scientifically dissecting other people’s emotions or rendering his enemies helpless with neck pinches and thought: that is the guy for me. This weekend on Selected Shorts, my big crush comes to the radio: Leonard Nimoy will read Peter Taylor’s excellent story on aging and parent/child relations, “Port Cochere.” Joining him will be the marvelous Fionnula Flanagan, reading Alice McDermott’s “Enough,” a more joyful take (sex! ice cream!) on the issue of growing older. Flanagan ALSO played a vulcan, (Ambassador V’Lar) on the pre-quel TV show Star Trek: Enterprise. So pour yourself a flagon of Romulan Ale, dial up your local NPR station and join us. This was the first episode of Selected Shorts that I recorded with Isaiah Sheffer–I was EXTREMELY nervous, and am hoping that Stu Kennedy, our talented audio engineer, found a way to edit out my verbal fumbles. Thanks to everyone who has written in about the program. And until next week–Dif tor heh smusma–May you live long and prosper.