"When he reached the river, the morphine had taken him to a new world. It was no longer a war, he was not shot, and not alone, and not leaking to death through the feet."
–Tim O’Brien, “July ‘69’
A transcendent story plumbs the horrors of Vietnam.
This program is devoted to the reading of Tim O’Brien’s story, JULY ’69, one of several powerful stories on the subject of the war in Vietnam that we have featured on SELECTED SHORTS. Tim O’Brien’s JULY ‘69, published by Houghton Mifflin in 2002, includes the story you’re about to hear. O’Brien won the National Book Award for his novel Going After Cacciato, and received the Chicago Tribune Heartland Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Critics Circle Award for The Things They Carried, a collection of interrelated short stories. His other books are Tomcat in Love, In the Lake of the Woods, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Northern Lights and The Nuclear Age.
The mesmerizing read is William Hurt, whose theatre credits have won him a Tony Award nomination and an Obie Award. In film, he won an Academy Award for his role in Kiss of the Spider Woman, and received Oscar nominations for his appearances in Broadcast News and Children of a Lesser God. His other films include Smoke, The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, Sunshine, and The Village. He is the recipient of the first Spencer Tracy Award.
In addition to the story, this program features an interview with author Tim O’Brien, who discussions the way in which his combat experiences have defined his writing life, and what he hopes to achieve—and find—in each story.
JULY ’69, read by William Hurt
–Tim O’Brien, “July ‘69’
A transcendent story plumbs the horrors of Vietnam.
This program is devoted to the reading of Tim O’Brien’s story, JULY ’69, one of several powerful stories on the subject of the war in Vietnam that we have featured on SELECTED SHORTS. Tim O’Brien’s JULY ‘69, published by Houghton Mifflin in 2002, includes the story you’re about to hear. O’Brien won the National Book Award for his novel Going After Cacciato, and received the Chicago Tribune Heartland Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Critics Circle Award for The Things They Carried, a collection of interrelated short stories. His other books are Tomcat in Love, In the Lake of the Woods, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Northern Lights and The Nuclear Age.
The mesmerizing read is William Hurt, whose theatre credits have won him a Tony Award nomination and an Obie Award. In film, he won an Academy Award for his role in Kiss of the Spider Woman, and received Oscar nominations for his appearances in Broadcast News and Children of a Lesser God. His other films include Smoke, The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, Sunshine, and The Village. He is the recipient of the first Spencer Tracy Award.
In addition to the story, this program features an interview with author Tim O’Brien, who discussions the way in which his combat experiences have defined his writing life, and what he hopes to achieve—and find—in each story.
JULY ’69, read by William Hurt
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
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