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(robertnelson/flickr)
"I think Lincoln’s face created the 20th century."
—Allan Gurganus, "The Ramada Inn at Shiloh."
War stories, personal and historical, reflect the difficult present in one country, and the conflicted past in another.
There’s a military aspect to both of the two stories that make up this program, one about a draft lottery in Southeast Asia and one about revisiting an American Civil War battleground.
The first story, “Draft Day,” is by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, who was born in Chicago, and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. His first collection of short fiction is called SIGHTSEEING, and was published by Grove Press. “Draft Day” is a gripping narrative about one young man’s encounter with military conscription, but also a portrayal of pervasive corruption and malaise in a society, and its effect on families and friendships. This story first appeared in ONE STORY Magazine.
Our reader is the distinguished American actor and singer B.D. Wong, a multiple award winner for his Broadway performance in M. Butterfly. Television audiences know him for his recurring role on LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT.
Our next writer Allan Gurganus, is perhaps best known as the author of the novel THE OLDEST LIVING CONFEDERATE WIDOW TELLS ALL. The story we’ll hear, from Granta, is called “The Ramada Inn at Shiloh”, and deals with a young American’s quest to find meaning in a visit to the Civil War battleground that once was the scene of a bloody encounter and is now, ironically, cluttered with tourist motels. The story is read by a frequent SHORTS cast member, Ted Marcoux, whose many television credits include roles on 24, Law and Order, and The West Wing..
Draft Day by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, read by B.D. Wong The Ramada Inn at Shiloh by Allan Gurganus, read by Ted Marcoux.
For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space
—Allan Gurganus, "The Ramada Inn at Shiloh."
War stories, personal and historical, reflect the difficult present in one country, and the conflicted past in another.
There’s a military aspect to both of the two stories that make up this program, one about a draft lottery in Southeast Asia and one about revisiting an American Civil War battleground.
The first story, “Draft Day,” is by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, who was born in Chicago, and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. His first collection of short fiction is called SIGHTSEEING, and was published by Grove Press. “Draft Day” is a gripping narrative about one young man’s encounter with military conscription, but also a portrayal of pervasive corruption and malaise in a society, and its effect on families and friendships. This story first appeared in ONE STORY Magazine.
Our reader is the distinguished American actor and singer B.D. Wong, a multiple award winner for his Broadway performance in M. Butterfly. Television audiences know him for his recurring role on LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT.
Our next writer Allan Gurganus, is perhaps best known as the author of the novel THE OLDEST LIVING CONFEDERATE WIDOW TELLS ALL. The story we’ll hear, from Granta, is called “The Ramada Inn at Shiloh”, and deals with a young American’s quest to find meaning in a visit to the Civil War battleground that once was the scene of a bloody encounter and is now, ironically, cluttered with tourist motels. The story is read by a frequent SHORTS cast member, Ted Marcoux, whose many television credits include roles on 24, Law and Order, and The West Wing..
Draft Day by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, read by B.D. Wong The Ramada Inn at Shiloh by Allan Gurganus, read by Ted Marcoux.
For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space
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
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Comments [2]
This is probably too late, but I, too, enjoyed "The Ramada Inn at Shiloh". I found the story at http://www.allangurganus.com/essay.php?doc=essay1&title=GRANTA+35 unfortunately not the performance on Selected Shorts.
Dear listener:
Unfortunately, copyright restrictions prevent us from streaming or archiving these programs, but they are available for a limited time as podcasts on iTunes, audible.com; and at npr.org. In addition, some individual stories have been made available on cassettes or CD anthologies; please see our website, www.selectedshorts.org. for information about these and whether Gurganus' story was included in any CD package.
Hello,
Does anyone know how I can get a copy of a "Selected Shorts" reading from April 22, 2007? The story is entitled, "The Ramada Inn at Shiloh," by Allan Gurganus, and was read by Ted Marcoux, as part of a program entitled, "War Stories." (Unfortunately, none of the podcasting sites with which I'm familiar offer programs from this long ago!)
Thanks for your time, and happy listening!
Kimberly
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