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As host Isaiah Sheffer says, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” James Thurber’s whimsical tale of a hen-pecked husband who escapes into the adventurous recesses of his mind, has become an American icon, bequeathing out our culture such tag lines as “We’re going through,” and “Pocket-ta, pocket-ta, peep.” Thurber, a long time contributor to “The New Yorker,” is the author of hundreds of sly cartoons and The Years with Ross, and The Thirteen Clocks as well as several collections of short stories. Reader Dick Cavett has been the urbane host of several talk shows.

A Thurber masterpiece is followed by a masterpiece in the making, Roy Blount Jr.’s “Things in the Wrong Hands,” a SHORTS fan-favorite that has listeners stopping reader Isaiah Sheffer in the street to quote such lines as “Puree your mama!.”

SELECTED SHORTS’ growing touring program included a special evening at Steepletop, the home of poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose prodigal career was in part launched by her epic poem “Renascence,” here read by SHORTS regular Barbara Feldon.

The final work on this eclectic program is “The Voter,” a sharp tale of politics and conscience from the Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, whose works include Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, and The Anthills of Savanah. A former professor and broadcaster, Achebe’s works deal with the effects of colonialism on African society. Reader Arthur French has had a long and varied career in film and televison, including appearances on Law and Order.

“The Secret of Walter Mitty by James Thurber,” read by Dick Cavett
“Things in the Wrong Hands,” by Roy Blount, Jr., read by Isaiah Sheffer
“Renascence,” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, read by Barbara Feldon
“The Voter,” by Chinua Achebe, read by Arthur French.

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