When was the last time you read a short story? This hour, we talk about why short stories are so popular in the classroom, but why adults dont seem to read them much once theyre done with school. And we make the case for why you should. Plus, a look at the art of the short story with some masters of the craft.
You can read .
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As part of this show we asked each of our guests to recommend a short story, a collection, or an author. Here are those recommendations:
- Rebecca Makkai: The Dinner Party by Joshua Ferris
- George Saunders: The Stone Boy by Gina Berriault, The Conventional Wisdom by Stanley Elkin
- Deborah Treisman: Liberation Day by George Saunders, After the Funeral by Tessa Hadley, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak by Jamil Jan Kochai
- Amy Bloom: The Dead by James Joyce, stories by Edward P. Jones, essays by Samantha Irby
- Irene Papoulis: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
- Brian Slattery: Hell is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang
- Colin McEnroe: The Hole on the Corner and Whats the Name of That Town? by R.A. Lafferty
GUESTS:
- Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-finalist , among other books; her newest book is , and she is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago
- George Saunders: Author of twelve books; his most recent is , a collection of short stories
- Deborah Triesman: Fiction editor for and the host of their
- Amy Bloom: Author of four novels and three collections of short stories; her most recent book is the memoir
- Irene Papouli: Teaches writing at Trinity College
- Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the
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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.