On Demand
Selected Shorts
Sunday, June 21, 2009
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Postcards from the Edge
"You don’t know what it’s like to lose something forever. It will make you do anything, even lie to people you love, if you think you can reclaim even a fraction of that thing." – Ann Beattie, “What Was Mine.”
Talking with dogs; imaginary gardens, and what a father is, in three tales by eclectic authors.
The first two stories on this program are from a SELECTED SHORTS program presented at The Mount, the home of Edith Wharton in Lenox, Massachusetts in the lovely Berkshire Hills. Figuring that the weather in August might be very hot, we put together a program called “Stories for the Dog Days”. Television writer Merrill Markoe’s “A Conversation with My Dogs,” shows us an unusual glimpse of family life, so sit, stay, and listen.
The second story on this program also took place at The Mount, and was part of a program with the theme of gardens. (Wharton was almost as well known as a garden enthusiast as she was as a writer.) Daniel Gerroll reads a story by H.H. Munro, or Saki, “The Occasional Garden” about a woman who has to make special arrangements for her garden in order not to lose face. The hilarious results give new meaning to the term “one upmanship.”
Ann Beattie’s work in fiction includes the novels The Chilly Scenes of Winter and The Doctor’s House, and her short story collections include The Burning House; Park City: New and Selected Stories.; and Follies: New Stories. She has been honored by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and is a recipient of a PEN/Bernard Malamud Award for excellence in the short story form and the prestigious Rea Award for the Short Story (in 2005). Her poignant tale, “What Was Mine” (from Park City ,) calls into question what constitutes a family, and is read by regular SHORTS leading man John Shea. In this, as in many of the other stories Shea has read for us over the years, the point of view is that of a young boy just learning how the world works.
“A Conversation with My Dogs,” by Merrill Markoe, read by Patricia Kalember
“The Occasional Garden,” by Saki, read by Daniel Gerroll
“What Was Mine,” by Ann Beattie, read by John Shea
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 story on this program also took place at The Mount, and was part of a program with the theme of gardens. (Wharton was almost as well known as a garden enthusiast as she was as a writer.) Daniel Gerroll reads a story by H.H. Munro, or Saki, “The Occasional Garden” about a woman who has to make special arrangements for her garden in order not to lose face. The hilarious results give new meaning to the term “one upmanship.”
Ann Beattie’s work in fiction includes the novels The Chilly Scenes of Winter and The Doctor’s House, and her short story collections include The Burning House; Park City: New and Selected Stories.; and Follies: New Stories. She has been honored by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and is a recipient of a PEN/Bernard Malamud Award for excellence in the short story form and the prestigious Rea Award for the Short Story (in 2005). Her poignant tale, “What Was Mine” (from Park City ,) calls into question what constitutes a family, and is read by regular SHORTS leading man John Shea. In this, as in many of the other stories Shea has read for us over the years, the point of view is that of a young boy just learning how the world works.
“A Conversation with My Dogs,” by Merrill Markoe, read by Patricia Kalember
“The Occasional Garden,” by Saki, read by Daniel Gerroll
“What Was Mine,” by Ann Beattie, read by John Shea
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
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"A Conversation With My Dogs" is fantastic. I communicate with animals, so this was hilariously entertaining to me. And totally plausable.
Thank you so much for the Shorts.
"A Conversation With My Dogs" was laugh out loud funny, and masterfully read! I have always wondered why my dogs follow me. Now I know the real reason! Thanks for every show.
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