This week’s episode of Selected Shorts features one of my favorite short story writers: Sherman Alexie. Sherman Alexie is the author of twenty-two books, including The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, winner of the 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, War Dances, winner of the 2010 PEN Faulkner Award, and The Lone Ranger and […]
Two great stories this week: “Yurt,” by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum (one of the New Yorker’s 20 Under 40), read by the great Joanna Gleason and “Wild Plums” by Grace Stone Coates. Both a writer and an editor, Coates helped create the guidebook for the Federal Writers Project, which famously recorded the life stories of everyday […]
I grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, where it is Halloween 365 days a year. One of my first jobs was at a haunted house, where I dressed in a rubber mask and scared people. Because of this I’m pretty comfortable with the macabre, so I was excited that Selected Shorts is getting down and dark […]
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 […]
This week’s episode of Selected Shorts features two stories by Wallace Stegner: “The Traveler,” read by Jack Davidson, and “Goin’ to Town,” read by Jack Davidson, Isaiah Sheffer, and Lillo Way. Recently I listened to Stegner’s radio essay for “This I Believe.” What did he believe in? Moderation and conscience rather than fashion and faith. He also […]
I was in high school, killing time in a bookstore in Boston, when I picked up my first copy of Best American Short Stories from a table of new releases. It was Best American Short Stories 1990, edited by Richard Ford. I flipped through and started reading “River of Toys” by Edward Allen. It began […]
Selected Shorts this week features two stories about difficult women: “Beyond the Pale” by Joseph Epstein, performed by our own Isaiah Sheffer, and “Ma, A Memoir” by Lynn Freed, performed by the great Marian Seldes. Seldes has been on stage, screen, TV and radio. She once famously had her Tony Award for Albee’s “A Delicate […]
A few weeks ago there was a great interview in New York Times Magazine with J.J. Abrams, talking about his new movie, Super 8, and his early love of magic stores. In particular, Abrams discussed the magic of the Mystery Box. A box that you would buy and not open. NOT knowing what is inside […]
This week on Selected Shorts, we’re featuring two Yiddish writers and the fabulist author Aimee Bender. “My First Love,” by Moishe Nadir (read by John Shea), is a beautiful love story set in a small Russian village. Sholem Asch’s “A Quiet Garden Spot” (read by Laura Esterman) explores the collective memory of family. “Job’s Jobs,” by […]
The four tales on this week’s program were all recorded at a live performance celebrating 25 seasons of Selected Shorts. These are great stories, each with hidden surprises. We’ve got Amy Hempel’s road trip tale, “Jesus is Waiting,” (read by Mary Stuart Masterson); “Swimmers” by Daniela Maristany (winner of the Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Writing Contest); “Number 10,” […]