On Demand
Selected Shorts
Sunday, February 01, 2009
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Two Wild Guys
”John Stregg opened his front door wide and there was Gleason, his girlfriend Jade’s little brother. The boy stood, frail and skinny, in the snow with a sad look on his face and a gun in his hand.”—Louise Erdrich, “Gleason”
Two tales that profile impulsive men at crucial moments in their lives.
Two stories written by American women about really wild guys are the focus of this program. The first, Louise Erdrich’s story “Gleason,” may remind listeners of the Coen Brothers movie “Fargo,” though without the gore. Its faux murder plot leads to mayhem and complications in a similar vein. Louise Erdrich is the author of twelve novels, including THE ANTELOPE WIFE, LOVE MEDICINE, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and her most recent collection THE RED CONVERTIBLE. She is a member of the Native American Chippewa Tribe and much of her work explores the western plains of North Dakota, and the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, where she grew up. “Gleason” was part of a program of mystery fiction SELECTED SHORTS presented with The Getty Center in Los Angeles. The reader is Robert Sean Leonard, whose many credits include a Tony Award for “The Invention of Love” and a featured role on the television series “House.”
Our second tale, also read on one of our annual visits to The Getty is by Maile Meloy, recently named one of Granta magazine’s “Best Young Novelists.” She is the author of the story collection HALF IN LOVE and the novels LIARS AND SAINTS and A FAMILY DAUGHTER. In “Red,” a disillusioned WWII soldier, waiting to ship out, picks up a girl and finds a moment of connection. “Red” is read by the veteran television and stage actor Keith Szarabajka.
“Gleason,” by Louise Erdrich, read by Robert Sean Leonard “Red” by Maile Meloy, read by Keith Szarabajka
For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space For information about the 2009 Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize contest, go to http://www.symphonyspace.org/shorts/writing_contest
Our second tale, also read on one of our annual visits to The Getty is by Maile Meloy, recently named one of Granta magazine’s “Best Young Novelists.” She is the author of the story collection HALF IN LOVE and the novels LIARS AND SAINTS and A FAMILY DAUGHTER. In “Red,” a disillusioned WWII soldier, waiting to ship out, picks up a girl and finds a moment of connection. “Red” is read by the veteran television and stage actor Keith Szarabajka.
“Gleason,” by Louise Erdrich, read by Robert Sean Leonard “Red” by Maile Meloy, read by Keith Szarabajka
For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space For information about the 2009 Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize contest, go to http://www.symphonyspace.org/shorts/writing_contest
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