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A powerful true tale of love distorted by war, and a portrait of a complex, artistic marriage.
“They put her in a room with a wardrobe. Wardrobes and Jews. This is perhaps one of the most important symbols of our century. To live in a wardrobe. A human being, in a wardrobe, in the middle of the 20th century, in the heart of Europe.” –Hanna Krall, “The Woman from Hamburg.”
A powerful true tale of love distorted by war, and a portrait of a complex, artistic marriage.
Two very powerful and deeply emotional stories make up this program, one by Hannah Krall, a Polish woman who specialized in reportage and fiction about Polish Jews during World War II, and the other by the South African Nobel Prize winner, Nadine Gordimer.
Krall’s story, “THE WOMAN FROM HAMBURG” was originally published in The New Yorker, and was read at a Symphony Space SHORTS event entitled, “Reading the World, An Evening of Fiction in Translation.” Hannah Krall’s works have been translated into seventeen different languages, and this English version of story was created by Madeline G. Levine. In Nazi-dominated Europe, a Polish couple hides a Jewish woman, with consequences for three generations. The reader, who spoke with host Isaiah Sheffer about reading fiction and her work in film, is Hope Davis. Davis’s work in film includes roles in About Schmidt, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor and Next Stop Wonderland.
A number of books and plays and movies have appeared lately dealing with the creative lives and personal struggles of classical musicians and musical ensembles. The Nadine Gordimer story “THE FIRST SENSE” describes the delicate construct of a marriage between an internationally successful cellist and his less talented, less ambitious wife. At once a vivid account of life among serious classical music performers, and a tale of emotional trust and betrayal, it was read at the Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut, by the Broadway star Joanna Gleason.
“The Woman from Hamburg by Hanna Krall,” translated by Madeline G. Levine, read by Hope Davis
“The First Sense,” by Nadine Gordimer read by Joanna Gleason
For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space
We’re interested in your response to these programs. Please comment on this site or visit selectedshorts.org
A powerful true tale of love distorted by war, and a portrait of a complex, artistic marriage.
Two very powerful and deeply emotional stories make up this program, one by Hannah Krall, a Polish woman who specialized in reportage and fiction about Polish Jews during World War II, and the other by the South African Nobel Prize winner, Nadine Gordimer.
Krall’s story, “THE WOMAN FROM HAMBURG” was originally published in The New Yorker, and was read at a Symphony Space SHORTS event entitled, “Reading the World, An Evening of Fiction in Translation.” Hannah Krall’s works have been translated into seventeen different languages, and this English version of story was created by Madeline G. Levine. In Nazi-dominated Europe, a Polish couple hides a Jewish woman, with consequences for three generations. The reader, who spoke with host Isaiah Sheffer about reading fiction and her work in film, is Hope Davis. Davis’s work in film includes roles in About Schmidt, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor and Next Stop Wonderland.
A number of books and plays and movies have appeared lately dealing with the creative lives and personal struggles of classical musicians and musical ensembles. The Nadine Gordimer story “THE FIRST SENSE” describes the delicate construct of a marriage between an internationally successful cellist and his less talented, less ambitious wife. At once a vivid account of life among serious classical music performers, and a tale of emotional trust and betrayal, it was read at the Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut, by the Broadway star Joanna Gleason.
“The Woman from Hamburg by Hanna Krall,” translated by Madeline G. Levine, read by Hope Davis
“The First Sense,” by Nadine Gordimer read by Joanna Gleason
For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space
We’re interested in your response to these programs. Please comment on this site or visit selectedshorts.org
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.
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Comments [1]
Please inform me as to which of Nadine Gordimer's work was read as the last piece on selected shorts at approximately 10:50pm on Wed. 5/13/09. The station I listen to is WAMC.
Thanking you in advance for your response.
Sincerely,
Juliette
Dear Juliette:
The Nadine Gordimer story you heard was called "The First Sense," and was read by Joanna Gleason. Information about where the stories featured on SELECTED SHORTS are available in print can be found at our website, www.selectedshorts.org.
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