The Rea Award for the Short Story: A Tribute Part 2
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The second of two special programs celebrating a sustaining gift to the literary community.
“A short story has always been somewhat between a longer fiction novel and a poem…it has that delicacy which a poem can have of not a word being out of place…a novel has to have those heavy elephant legs to somehow carry you through the 300 pages. Whereas a short story can jut flit into your consciousness and be gone.”—John Updike, speaking at a tribute to the Rea Award for the Short Story.
The second of two special programs celebrating a sustaining gift to the literary community.
In 1987 the late Michael Rea and his wife Elizabeth established The Rea Award for the Short Story, to “foster a literary cause, to ennoble the form, and to give it prestige.” Given not for a single work but for contributions to the art of the short story, the Award honors one writer each year. In April 2007, a dazzling line up of past winners participated in a special evening at Symphony Space marking the Award’s 20th anniversary. This radio program, derived from that evening, features the authors John Edgar Wideman, Joy Williams, and Tobias Wolff reading from their works; in remarks from the stage, Wolff recalls how Michael Rea, as a young Marine, found in the short story “a way of connecting with some larger world than the one he was in.”
The second part of the program features the 2006 and 2007 winners of the Rea Award, John Updike and Stuart Dybek. Updike’s “The Orphaned Swimming Pool,” read by Campbell Scott, refracts a disintegrating suburban marriage through the fate of the couple’s pool; afterwards, Updike reflects on an era when writers could make a living from short stories. The jobless narrator of Stuart Dybek’s “Killing Time,” read by Philip Casnoff, finds relief from his dreary life in the paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago. In an interview following the story, Dybek discusses the work and the challenge to the arts in a commodotized world.
“The Orphaned Swimming Pool,” by John Updike, read by Campbell Scott
“Killing Time,” by Stuart Dybek, read by Philip Casnoff
and selections from works by John Edgar Wideman, Joy Williams, and Tobias Wolff, read by the authors.
A special commemorative CD of the Rea Award for the Short Story 20th anniversary celebration at Symphony Space is available for purchase at our website, selectedshorts.org.
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 www.selectedshorts.org
The second of two special programs celebrating a sustaining gift to the literary community.
In 1987 the late Michael Rea and his wife Elizabeth established The Rea Award for the Short Story, to “foster a literary cause, to ennoble the form, and to give it prestige.” Given not for a single work but for contributions to the art of the short story, the Award honors one writer each year. In April 2007, a dazzling line up of past winners participated in a special evening at Symphony Space marking the Award’s 20th anniversary. This radio program, derived from that evening, features the authors John Edgar Wideman, Joy Williams, and Tobias Wolff reading from their works; in remarks from the stage, Wolff recalls how Michael Rea, as a young Marine, found in the short story “a way of connecting with some larger world than the one he was in.”
The second part of the program features the 2006 and 2007 winners of the Rea Award, John Updike and Stuart Dybek. Updike’s “The Orphaned Swimming Pool,” read by Campbell Scott, refracts a disintegrating suburban marriage through the fate of the couple’s pool; afterwards, Updike reflects on an era when writers could make a living from short stories. The jobless narrator of Stuart Dybek’s “Killing Time,” read by Philip Casnoff, finds relief from his dreary life in the paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago. In an interview following the story, Dybek discusses the work and the challenge to the arts in a commodotized world.
“The Orphaned Swimming Pool,” by John Updike, read by Campbell Scott
“Killing Time,” by Stuart Dybek, read by Philip Casnoff
and selections from works by John Edgar Wideman, Joy Williams, and Tobias Wolff, read by the authors.
A special commemorative CD of the Rea Award for the Short Story 20th anniversary celebration at Symphony Space is available for purchase at our website, selectedshorts.org.
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 www.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.
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.