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Outcasts, social and emotional, speak out in a regional American tale and an Iranian one.

“It’s definitely not a starter home, or a golden years home. It’s a dump, is what it is, and I decide to remain in bed for the rest of the day and maybe my life. I’ll never own a home, or be a real mother. I’ll become a bed person.”--Chris Offutt, “Second Hand.”
Outcasts, social and emotional, speak out in a regional American tale and an Iranian one.


A story by a Kentucky writer and one from an author born in Iran make up this program’s far-flung offerings. Chris Offutt was born in 1962 and grew up in a town of 200 in the hills of Eastern Kentucky. Two of his books of stories are called ,em>Kentucky Straight and Out of the Wood, and many of his stories are about simple, but complicated, country lives. Offutt has taught at the University of New Mexico, the University of Montana, and at the Iowa Writers Workshop. His story “Second Hand”—with all the double meaning that implies--is from his book Luck and is read by SHORTS regular Mary Beth Hurt.

A special program at Symphony Space, presented jointly with the Asian American Writers Workshop, showcased the works of banned and dissident writers from around the world. M.T. Sharif, the author of “The Letter Writer,” was born in Iran, where the story is set, and came to the U.S. in the 1970s. He teaches Creative Non-Fiction and Expository Writing, and has been published in The Best American Short Stories. “The Letter Writer” is right up there with Kafka as a study in surreal alienation. It is read by Joe Morton, whose Broadway credits include “Art,” “Hair,” and “Raisin”, which earned him a Tony nomination. Film credits include “Stealth,” “Of Mice and Men,” “Speed,” and “Brother from Another Planet.”

“Second Hand,” by Chris Offutt, read by Mary Beth Hurt
“The Letter Writer,” by M.T. Sharif, read by Joe Morton

For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space