Two California tales, and a terrifying trip back in time.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
"Some family histories are forever silent, transmitting no echoes of discord into the future. Others are like seashells, those curved volutes of the mind…"
—Thane Rosenbaum, "Cattle Car Complex"
TRAFFIC by Ruben Mendoza read by Joe Mantegna
LOS ANGELES NOTEBOOK by Joan Didion read by Linda Hunt
CATTLE CAR COMPLEX by Thane Rosenbaum read by Mark Nelson
We begin this program with a story we presented as part of a series of programs about the city of Los Angeles at The Getty Center, our west coast touring outpost, TRAFFIC, by Ruben Mendoza. Mendoza is a poet and political activist who lives in L.A., and has published work in the LA Weekly and BOCA MAGAZINE. He is the author of the story collection LA LOTERIA AND OTHER STORIES. TRAFFIC is a story about one segment of the city's population intersecting, however briefly, with another segment.
Our reader is Joe Mantegna who starred and won a Tony Award and a Joseph Jefferson Award in David Mamet's GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, as well as appearing in the Mamet plays WORKING and SPEED THE PLOW. His films include Woody Allen's ALICE and CELEBRITY, GODFATHER III, BUGSY and SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER.
Joan Didion's "Los Angeles Notebook," is an essay, but filled with vivid character sketches. David Ulin, editor of the Library of America’s wonderful anthology, WRITING LOS ANGELES, writes: "The essays of Joan Didion revolutionized the popular conception of Southern California...re-imagining the place in terms of distance, dissonance, as a landscape where the standard social "narratives" don't apply.....Didion explores Los Angeles from an elemental standpoint, entertaining the paradox that Eden might contain the seeds of its own destruction, that paradise and devastation might necessarily go hand in hand. Of all the writers who have tried to make sense of the Southland, none has internalized this vision quite so deeply as Joan Didion, whose every work contains an undertone of prickly dread."
The reader is Academy Award-winning actress Linda Hunt. In addition to her Oscar for the film THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, Linda Hunt's movies include SILVERADO, DRAGONFLY, THE BOSTONIANS, POPEYE, and KINDERGARDEN COP.
Our concluding story is Thane Rosenbaum's intense tale CATTLE CAR COMPLEX. Thane Rosenbaum is the son of two Holocaust survivors who left his job at a major New York law firm to be a writer. He writes essays, articles, and reviews for THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, and THE WASHINGTON POST. His books are entitled ELIJAH VISIBLE, SECOND HAND SMOKE, and, THE GOLEMS OF GOTHAM.
Our reader is the fine actor MARK NELSON, whose Broadway credits include Tom Stoppard’s THE INVENTION OF LOVE, Chekhov's THREE SISTERS in which he was a memorable Andre, A FEW GOOD MEN, RUMORS, Neil Simon’s BILOXI BLUES, and AMADEUS. He's received many awards, including an Obie and a Drama Desk nomination for his portrayal of Albert Einstein in PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE.
TRAFFIC by Ruben Mendoza read by Joe Mantegna
LOS ANGELES NOTEBOOK by Joan Didion read by Linda Hunt
CATTLE CAR COMPLEX by Thane Rosenbaum read by Mark Nelson
—Thane Rosenbaum, "Cattle Car Complex"
TRAFFIC by Ruben Mendoza read by Joe Mantegna
LOS ANGELES NOTEBOOK by Joan Didion read by Linda Hunt
CATTLE CAR COMPLEX by Thane Rosenbaum read by Mark Nelson
We begin this program with a story we presented as part of a series of programs about the city of Los Angeles at The Getty Center, our west coast touring outpost, TRAFFIC, by Ruben Mendoza. Mendoza is a poet and political activist who lives in L.A., and has published work in the LA Weekly and BOCA MAGAZINE. He is the author of the story collection LA LOTERIA AND OTHER STORIES. TRAFFIC is a story about one segment of the city's population intersecting, however briefly, with another segment.
Our reader is Joe Mantegna who starred and won a Tony Award and a Joseph Jefferson Award in David Mamet's GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, as well as appearing in the Mamet plays WORKING and SPEED THE PLOW. His films include Woody Allen's ALICE and CELEBRITY, GODFATHER III, BUGSY and SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER.
Joan Didion's "Los Angeles Notebook," is an essay, but filled with vivid character sketches. David Ulin, editor of the Library of America’s wonderful anthology, WRITING LOS ANGELES, writes: "The essays of Joan Didion revolutionized the popular conception of Southern California...re-imagining the place in terms of distance, dissonance, as a landscape where the standard social "narratives" don't apply.....Didion explores Los Angeles from an elemental standpoint, entertaining the paradox that Eden might contain the seeds of its own destruction, that paradise and devastation might necessarily go hand in hand. Of all the writers who have tried to make sense of the Southland, none has internalized this vision quite so deeply as Joan Didion, whose every work contains an undertone of prickly dread."
The reader is Academy Award-winning actress Linda Hunt. In addition to her Oscar for the film THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, Linda Hunt's movies include SILVERADO, DRAGONFLY, THE BOSTONIANS, POPEYE, and KINDERGARDEN COP.
Our concluding story is Thane Rosenbaum's intense tale CATTLE CAR COMPLEX. Thane Rosenbaum is the son of two Holocaust survivors who left his job at a major New York law firm to be a writer. He writes essays, articles, and reviews for THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, and THE WASHINGTON POST. His books are entitled ELIJAH VISIBLE, SECOND HAND SMOKE, and, THE GOLEMS OF GOTHAM.
Our reader is the fine actor MARK NELSON, whose Broadway credits include Tom Stoppard’s THE INVENTION OF LOVE, Chekhov's THREE SISTERS in which he was a memorable Andre, A FEW GOOD MEN, RUMORS, Neil Simon’s BILOXI BLUES, and AMADEUS. He's received many awards, including an Obie and a Drama Desk nomination for his portrayal of Albert Einstein in PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE.
TRAFFIC by Ruben Mendoza read by Joe Mantegna
LOS ANGELES NOTEBOOK by Joan Didion read by Linda Hunt
CATTLE CAR COMPLEX by Thane Rosenbaum read by Mark Nelson
About Selected Shorts
Selected Shorts features some of the finest artists of the American theater reading contemporary and classic short fiction-the most distinguished works of the early masters such as Chekhov, Maupassant, Malamud and dozens of others.
To listen to this program, and other recent programs, subscribe to the Selected Shorts podcast
Hosted by Isaiah Sheffer
Produced by
Features
Show Archive
Show Archive
Feeds
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.