Let's Deconstruct a Story

The Progress of Love from Alice Munro’s collection or her Selected Stories is available for purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.

The New Yorker Version typed by Kelly is available at kellyfordon.com for the month of April, with possible typos. After April, please purchase a subscription and support good writing at The New Yorker here.

As always, I’d love to hear any suggestions for upcoming guests and/or possible stories for review. We always appreciate ratings, reviews, or donations (see the donation button on this page). If you have any ideas, comments, or additional insights into this story, please message me on the Let’s Deconstruct a Story Facebook Page. I’d love to add additional comments to this page (below) so check back over time for more insights.

I hope you enjoy the show!

Kelly

Let’s Deconstruct a Story on Apple

Let’s Deconstruct a Story on Spotify

ARTICLES AND BOOKS REFERENCED IN THIS PODCAST

“Switchback Time” by Joan Silber
“The Long-Clock Story” by Amy Gustine
The Mookes and The Gripes thoughts on “The Progress of Love.”
Tantalizing Silences: Articulating Pain in “.The Progress of Love”

The Erotics of Restraint: Essays on Literary Form
Douglas Glover (Author

Guest, Keith Hood:

Mostly true stuff even though not true of me. A Google search reveals that someone who shares Keith Hood’s name is a Compliance Director in Hoboken, NJ, a Senior Military Advisor in Washington D.C., and Managing Director of Warner Financial Services in the UK where a different Keith Hood established a thriving photographic business. Other Keith Hoods have experience in the medical field as dentist, periodontist, plastic surgeon, and ophthalmologist. A Keith Hood MD has written numerous articles in medical journals including, “Hematomas in Aesthetic Surgery.”(Again, I’m not that Keith Hood although I’ve written lots of short stories and essays (see Publications) but I’ve never written any medical articles. I don’t even have a college degree. I have never been a male or female prostitute, an operas singer or athlete. Despite rumors to the contrary, I have never been a staff writer for Star Trek: The Next Generation (although I tried my damnedest). Countless LinkedIn profiles say of various Keith Hoods that he is “an all-around splendid person.” For more on this Keith Hood, visit his website ⁠here. ⁠

Podcast Host Kelly Fordon:

Kelly Fordon’s latest short story collection, I Have the Answer (Wayne State University Press, 2020), was chosen as a Midwest Book Award Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. Her 2016 Michigan Notable Book, Garden for the Blind (WSUP), was an INDIEFAB Finalist, a Midwest Book Award Finalist, an Eric Hoffer Finalist, and an IPPY Awards Bronze Medalist. Her first full-length poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House (Kattywompus Press, 2019), was an Eyelands International Prize Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. It was later adapted into a play by Robin Martin and published in The Kenyon Review Online. She is the author of three award-winning poetry chapbooks and has received a Best of the Net Award and Pushcart Prize nominations in three different genres. She teaches at Springfed Arts in Detroit and online.

I'm thrilled to host Cara Blue Adams today on the podcast. We talked about her stellar short story, "Vision," available from Joyland Magazine. I met Cara years ago at the Kenyon Writers Workshop (which I highly recommend by the way...) so it was great fun to reconnect on the podcast.

Cara's work was recommended by Vincent Perrone, who is a part owner of the co-op bookstore, Book Suey, in Hamtramck, MI, so he joined us for the podcast as well. See his bio below, and please consider buying from Bookshop or even directly from Book Suey to support local bookstores!

Enjoy the show and see you on April 1st!

Kelly

Cara Blue Adams is the author of the interlinked story collection You Never Get It Back (University of Iowa Press, 2021), named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and awarded the John Simmons Short Fiction Prize, judged by Brandon Taylor, who calls it “a modern classic.” The collection was shortlisted for the Mary McCarthy Prize and longlisted for the Story Prize. Over twenty-five of her stories appear in magazines like the Granta, The Kenyon Review, Epoch, American Short Fiction, and Electric Literature, and her nonfiction appears in Bookforum and The Believer.

She has received the Kenyon Review Short Fiction Prize, the Missouri Review William Peden Prize, and the Meringoff Prize in Fiction, along with a 2018 Center for Fiction Emerging Writer fellowship and selection as a Pushcart Prize Notable. She has also received support from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the VCCA, the Lighthouse Works, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Cara earned a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Smith College and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Originally from Vermont, she has lived in Boston, Tucson, Montreal, Maine, South Carolina, and Baton Rouge. She is a former coeditor of The Southern Review. Currently, she is an associate professor in the MFA program at Temple University and lives in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley.

Purchase Cara's book at Book Suey (link above) or Book Shop or Amazon.

My co-host:

Vincent James Perrone is the author of the poetry collection, Starving Romantic (11:11 Press, 2018), the microchap, Travelogue For The Dispossessed (Ghost City Press, 2021), and a contributor to the anthology, Collected Voices in the Expanded Field (11:11 Press, 2020). His recent and forthcoming work can be found in Pithead Chapel, New Flash Fiction Review, TIMBER, Storm Cellar, and A Common Well Journal. Vincent lives in Detroit where he teaches at Wayne State University. He reads for Conduit and is a member-owner of the co-op bookstore, Book Suey.

#shortstories

#creativewriting

#joylandmag

#kenyonreview

#booksuey

We had so much fun discussing Leigh Newman's short story, "An Extravaganza in Two Acts," available here from Electric Literature. You are going to learn so much about writing historical fiction. Leigh is a hoot! The conversation moved at a clip, so I have some discussion notes for you below.

Also, check out the bonus question one of my earlier guests, award-winning author and Pulitzer-prize nominated journalist Desiree Cooper, sent to Leigh after we recorded the podcast.

We have a new Let's Deconstruct a Story Facebook page and Instagram page. I'd love to see you there. Please like or follow it if you have a chance, and feel free to post questions, comments, or suggestions for future guests.

Here's a link to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and Audible.

Next month, I'll be talking to Cara Blue Adams about her short story, "Vision," available here. You might consider buying Cara Blue Adams' book, You Never Get it Back, from Bookshop because my co-host for that podcast, Vincent Perrone, is part owner of Book Suey in Hamtramck, and all sales that roll through Bookshop next month will support his store.

Happy reading!

Kelly

PS: Do you have trouble sleeping? If so, I highly recommend Nothing Much Happens, Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups by Kathryn Nicolai. Apparently, Kathryn also lives in Michigan. I don't know her, but I'm obsessed with these bedtime stories because they are designed to put you to sleep, and her voice is very soothing, but they are also wonderful. If you are in the mood for delightful, feel-good stories, check them out here.

PSS: I have to give one television show a plug...I was listening to a podcast featuring a former classmate from Kenyon, and she suggested a Swedish show called The Restaurant. IT IS SO GOOD. It's winter here in Detroit, and bleak bleak bleak, so I figured, like me, you might want to light some candles and curl up with a good drama. This one is cutting into my reading time, which is the highest praise from me. Let me know what you think!!

Leigh Newman: Leigh Newman's collection Nobody Gets Out Alive (Scribner) was long-listed for the National Book Award for Fiction and The Story Prize. Her stories have appeared in the Paris Review, Harper’s, Best American Short Stories 2020, Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023, Tin House, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, One Story and Electric Literature, and have been awarded a Pushcart prize and an American Society of Magazine Editors’ fiction prize. Still Points North (Dial Press), her memoir about growing up in Alaska, was a finalist for the National Book Critic Circle’s John Leonard prize. In 2020, she received the Paris Review’s Terry Southern Prize for “humor, wit, and sprezzatura."

Newman's essays and book reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Bookforum, Vogue, O The Oprah Magazine, and other magazines. When not writing, she looks after her two dogs, two kids, and one cat. Goals include: goats and more chickens.

Podcast Host: Kelly Fordon’s latest short story collection, I Have the Answer (Wayne State University Press, 2020), was chosen as a Midwest Book Award Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. Her 2016 Michigan Notable Book, Garden for the Blind (WSUP), was a Michigan Notable Book, an INDIEFAB Finalist, a Midwest Book Award Finalist, an Eric Hoffer Finalist, and an IPPY Awards Bronze Medalist. Her first full-length poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House (Kattywompus Press, 2019), was an Eyelands International Prize Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. It was later adapted into a play by Robin Martin and published in The Kenyon Review Online. She is the author of three award-winning poetry chapbooks and has received a Best of the Net Award and Pushcart Prize nominations in three different genres. She teaches at Springfed Arts in Detroit.

Welcome to Let's Deconstruct a Story! This month I'm talking to Jai Chakrabarti about his wonderful story, "A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness." Please find the link to the story at www.kellyfordon.com, It's best to read it before tuning into the podcast.

Next month, I'll be talking to Leigh Newman about her story, "An Extravaganza in Two Acts," also available via a link on my website. If you have any questions for Leigh, feel free to contact me, and I will pass them along.

Also, I've switched over to Let's Deconstruct a Story accounts on both Facebook and Instagram. Please follow us here:

Facebook

Instagram

#letsdeconstructastory

Cheers!

Kelly

Jai Chakrabarti:

O. Henry and Pushcart Prize winner Jai Chakrabarti is the author of the novel A Play for the End of the World (Knopf ’21), which earned him the National Jewish Book Award for debut fiction. The novel was also recognized as the Association of Jewish Libraries Honor Book, a finalist for the Rabindranath Tagore Prize, and long-listed for the PEN/Faulkner Award.

Chakrabarti is also the author of the story collection A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness (Knopf), which was included in several end-of-year lists, including The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2023. His short fiction has been published in Best American Short Stories, Ploughshares, One Story, Electric Literature, A Public Space, Conjunctions, and elsewhere and performed on Selected Shorts by Symphony Space.

Beyond fiction, Chakrabarti’s nonfiction has been widely published in journals such as The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Writer’s Digest, Berfrois, and LitHub. He was an Emerging Writer Fellow with A Public Space and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. Despite his literary pursuits, Chakrabarti is also a trained computer scientist.

Born in Kolkata, India, he currently lives in New York with his family and is a faculty member at Bennington Writing Seminars.

Your Host:

Kelly Fordon’s latest short story collection, I Have the Answer (Wayne State University Press, 2020), was chosen as a Midwest Book Award Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. Her 2016 Michigan Notable Book, Garden for the Blind (WSUP), was a Michigan Notable Book, an INDIEFAB Finalist, a Midwest Book Award Finalist, an Eric Hoffer Finalist, and an IPPY Awards Bronze Medalist. Her first full-length poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House (Kattywompus Press, 2019), was an Eyelands International Prize Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. It was later adapted into a play by Robin Martin and published in The Kenyon Review Online. She is the author of three award-winning poetry chapbooks and has received a Best of the Net Award and Pushcart Prize nominations in three different genres. She teaches at Springfed Arts in Detroit and online, where she runs a fiction podcast called “Let’s Deconstruct a Story.” http://www.kellyfordon.com

Have a wonderful holiday season. I'll be reaching out to my subscribers (here) in two weeks with some end-of-the-year recommendations and then we'll see you on January 1st for Jai Chakrabarti.

Cheers!

Kelly

P.S. You can purchase Katherine Vaz's amazing new book here on Bookshop or here on Amazon.

Upcoming Class: I'm offering a "Let's Deconstruct a Story" workshop in January. More details here.

Please read "Boar Taint" in The Kenyon Review before you listen, or our discussion won't make a lick of sense.

This episode is available on Apple, Spotify, Audible or anywhere you get your podcasts.

If you would like a transcript, please get in touch with me via the contact form on my website, www.kellyfordon.com.

Next month, I will be talking to Katherine Vaz.

See you then! Kelly

PS: Looking for a great audio engineer? Contact Elliot Bancel at elliotbancel@gmail.com.

Bio: Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of the novels Once Upon a River, a National Bestseller, and Q Road. Her critically acclaimed short fiction collections include American Salvage, which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award; Women and Other Animals, which won the AWP Prize for Short Fiction; and Mothers, Tell Your Daughters. She was a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow.

Her novel, Once Upon a River, was adapted into a full length feature film and released to international critical acclaim in 2020.

Her forthcoming novel The Waters (January 9, 2023) will be released by W.W. Norton; “with a ‘ruthless and precise eye for the details of the physical world’ (New York Times Book Review), Bonnie Jo Campbell presents an elegant antidote to the dark side of masculinity, celebrating the resilience of nature and the brutality and sweetness of rural life.”

Her story collection American Salvage, a National Book Award Finalist, was heralded by The Guardian as a top 10 rural noir novel of all time.

Please purchase Bonnie Jo Campbell's books through⁠ Bookshop⁠, if possible, or Amazon.

Please read his story, "I'm Down Here on the Floor," before you listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts.

My apologies to StorySouth. I forgot to mention where the story was published during the podcast, but this is actually the second story in a row from StorySouth. Check out Jason Ockert's story "The Peoplemachines" from the September 1st episode as well.

Also, here's a link to The Atlantic Monthly story George mentioned called "Show and Tell." I think the paywall might be down now (?), but I subscribe to that magazine, so someone needs to let me know.

*Warning: There is some profanity on this episode, folks.

See you next month when I'll be talking to Bonnie Jo Campbell about her story, "Boar Taint," from The Kenyon Review.

Cheers,

Kelly

Bio: George Singleton has published eight collections of stories, two novels, and a book of writing advice. Over 200 of his stories have appeared in magazines such as the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Playboy, the Georgia Review, the Southern Review, the Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, a Guggenheim fellowship, the Hillsdale Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers, and the Corrington Award for Literary Excellence. He lives in Spartanburg, SC, where he holds the John C. Cobb Chair in Humanities at Wofford College. Please find his books on Bookshop or Amazon.

Information about the podcast host, Kelly Fordon, as well as podcast updates and donation opportunities (we would be so grateful!) can all be found here.

We are so grateful to sound engineer Elliot Bancel for his work on this episode. If you need help with your podcast, please find his contact information here.

Thanks also to LDAS-featured writer, Robin Martin, for sending me the story many years ago.

For the first time with this podcast, in the interest of fostering our community of writers, I sent the story to all of my previous guests. LDAS-featured writers, Desiree Cooper and Renee Simms weighed in with a couple of really compelling questions for Chad. You can check out my interviews. with Desiree and Renee here as well.

Also, I'm grateful to Renee for mentioning the story, Recitatif by Toni Morrison, which I had not read, and the stunning New Yorker essay about the story by Zadie Smith.

Salamander Magazine has kindly removed the paywall for "The Kelley Street Disappearances." Please find it here.

Thanks so much to the managing editor, Katie Sticca, for helping us keep this podcast accessible.

**Salamander runs a fiction contest every year that runs from May 1 - June 1, with results announced by early September. Anyone interested can find more information on the website salamandermag.org.

Please check out the Let's Deconstruct a Story podcast on Spotify, Apple, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts after you read the story, and if you have a chance to rate the show, I would really appreciate it.

See you on October 1st, when we'll be talking about "I'm Down Here on the Floor" in StorySouth by George Singleton. Thanks to Dan Wickett of Dzanc Books for suggesting George's work.

On November 1st, Bonnie Jo Campbell visits to talk about her short story, "Boar Taint" in The Kenyon Review.

Chad has just finished editing this wonderful anthology. Check it out here.

Bio: Chad B. Anderson has published fiction in Salamander Review, Black Warrior Review, Nimrod International Journal, The Best American Short Stories 2017, Clockhouse, and Burrow Press Review, and he has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has had residencies at the Ledig House International Writers’ Colony, the Jack Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida, and the Carolyn Moore Writers House in Portland, Oregon. He has served as an acting managing editor for Callaloo: Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters and a guest editor for Burrow Press Review and is currently an associate fiction editor for Orison Books. He edited and penned the introduction for an anthology of art, poetry, and prose titled What's Mine of Wilderness?, published by Burrow Press in 2023. Born and raised in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, he earned his B.A. in American Studies and English from University of Virginia and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Indiana University, where he served as fiction editor for Indiana Review. He currently lives in Michigan.

If you would like to donate the show (and even earmark it for transcription services), you can make a donation here.

Thank you so much! Kelly.

I'm happy to welcome Jason Ockert to show! We discussed his story, "The Peoplemachines" in StorySouth Spring 2023. It blew me away! Who reminds me of a modern-day ⁠Agathocles⁠??...hmmmm....I can't imagine.

Please read the story (available below) before listening to our discussion. Thank you SO MUCH to storySouth for publishing this thought-provoking dystopian story. It will stay with me.

Thanks also to Dan Wickett of ⁠Dzanc Books⁠ for recommending Jason's work.

⁠The Peoplemachines by Jason Ockert ⁠

Afterward, look for the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to ⁠Elliot Bancel⁠, audio engineer extraordinaire for his meticulous work.

***

In other news...

Coming up in the near future: Interviews with Chad B. Anderson and George Singleton.

Also, I was thrilled to visit the podcast ⁠Homespun Haints⁠, where I tried hard but didn't even make it through half of my Irish ghost stories. Saving a few for a later date! Becky and Diana are so fun--if you have any ghost stories, you should definitely contact them ⁠here⁠.

One last thing I wanted to mention, Susan Perabo (a past guest and extraordinary writer) is featured on Symphony Space here. This story is not to be missed.

Cheers,

Kelly

PSS: Looking for ways to support LDAS? Send us a one-time or recurring donation. We (meaning me...it's just me) would ⁠really appreciate it! ⁠

Bio: Jason Ockert is the author of the novel Wasp Box and three collections of short stories: Shadowselves, Neighbors of Nothing, and Rabbit Punches. His fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Granta, Oxford American, One Story, and McSweeney's. He teaches at Coastal Carolina University.

You can purchase Jason's books here on my ⁠Bookshop⁠.

Your Host: Kelly Fordon's latest short story collection I Have the Answer (Wayne State University Press, 2020) was chosen as a Midwest Book Award Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. Her 2016 Michigan Notable Book, Garden for the Blind, (WSUP), was an INDIEFAB Finalist, a Midwest Book Award Finalist, Eric Hoffer Finalist, and an IPPY Awards Bronze Medalist. Her first full-length poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House, (Kattywompus Press, 2019) was an Eyelands International Prize Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist and was adapted into a play, written by Robin Martin, which was published in The Kenyon Review Online. www.kellyfordon.com Find her books here on Bookshop, Amazon, or Audible.

They have also offered readers/listeners of LDAS 10% off a subscription to The Sewanee Review with the code: SISTER. I am definitely going to take advantage of the offer, and hope you will too. We are so grateful to them!

Before listening to our discussion, please read the story "Ugly Sister" here at The Sewanee Review.

And then enjoy our discussion below on Spotify, Apple, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the coming months, I will be talking with Caroline Kim, George Singleton, Jason Ockerts, and Bonnie Jo Campbell, so make sure to sign up for the newsletter here if you would like to be notified about upcoming episodes. I'm always looking for new writers, so if you have any suggestions, or a book coming out, you can reach me at kfordon450@gmail.com.

Thanks so much!

Kelly

PS:

The audiobook edition of my short story collection I Have the Answer is out on Audible. I was thrilled to read four of the stories and the other nine are narrated by incredible voice actors. You can access the audiobook at the link above, but I also have a few free promo codes left. Feel free to email me if you are interested. Thanks!

1969 is available at The New Orleans Review

and

Through the Hole is available at PenDust Radio.

To get the most out of this podcast you should read or listen to the story first, as we will be discussing them in-depth i.e. there will be spoilers!

Many thanks to Elliot Bancel for his help editing this episode.

Enjoy!

Kelly

Bio: Robin Luce Martin's honors for stories and novel excerpts include the Tennessee Williams Festival Story First Prize, San Francisco PEN John Keats Soul Awakening Story Competitions, Old Scores won the 2019 Novel Manuscript and Lizardmaid 2020 Eyelands International 3Rock prize. Out Like a Lion was short-listed for the Dundee International Prize and the Del Sol First Novel Prize. In 2015 she co-founded the NY author reading series, https://yeahyouwriteevents.com/

For more information on this podcast, please visit www.kellyfordon.com. Many thanks to Elliot Bancel for his help editing this episode.

I’m grateful to the Grosse Pointe Public Library for allowing me to use their recording studio for these next few episodes. It was fantastic; however, there was a little learning curve…I apologize for a couple of staticky moments during this podcast. Luckily, it only happened when I was talking! Julie sounds fantastic–and that’s all that matters…but I will add that I am producing this podcast with no money for editing, unfortunately. Please feel free to donate if you like it, and would appreciate some better editing (as I would!). The donation button is featured in the right-hand column on my blog page.

Before you listen, please read Julie’s story “The Ending” here.

Also, please read her blog spot here.

We will be discussing both!

This coming year I will be alternating podcasts with Q and A’s. The next Q and A will feature Michigan short story writer Kevin Fitton on February 15th.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Kelly

Julie Ann Stewart earned an MFA from Spalding University and has published stories in Good River Journal, Litro Magazine, PoemMemoirStory, and Punch Drunk Press. In Sophie Speaks (http://julieandsophiespeak.blogspot.com/ ), Stewart explores the challenge of balancing creative and family life as she recopies Anna Karenina by hand, as Sophia Tolstoy did for her husband. Now that their seven kids have flown the coop, she and her husband migrate between Indiana and Michigan.

Purchase Water and Blood from Dzanc here or on Bookshop here or Amazon here.

Please read "Mother's Day" before listening to our discussion. It's available in his new book, Liberation Day, or in The New Yorker, or for free as a New Yorker Fiction Audio Selection.

Check out this wonderful article (one of many!) about this new collection: The sweet humanity

Next month I'll be talking to Toni Ann Johnson author of Light Skin Gone to Waste about a story from her Flannery O'Connor Award-winning collection.

Thanks for tuning in, everyone.

Kelly

PS: We had some technical difficulties. At one point you might hear some garbage trucks in the background, at another point we got cut off mid-sentence (talking about the hot hands) and had to continue that conversation near the end of the recording, but I managed to edit out most of it, and then I handed it over to podcast engineer, Andrew Mason, at Upwork who managed to clean up the rest. Thanks, Andrew!

Check out https://kellyfordon.com/lets-deconstruct-a-story/ for more episodes, more info about your host, and for the free transcript of this episode (transcribed for free by Deciphr).

#georgesaunders

#penguinrandomhouse

      Please find a link to the story at www.kellyfordon.com

"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author. This week I am talking to Jacob M. Appel about his story "The Frying Finn" first published in Agni and available here. Please read the story first before listening to our discussion. Learn more about Jacob M. Appel on my blog here. 

"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author. This week I am talking to Selena Anderson about her Oxford American and later, Best American Short Story, "Godmother Tea!" Please read the story on my website and then enjoy the podcast! 

All best,

Kelly

Bio: Selena Anderson is a writer from Texas. Her stories have appeared in Fence, BOMB, Conjunctions, The Baffler, Oxford American, and The Best American Short Stories 2020. She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, The Henfield/TransAtlantic Prize, and The Texas Emerging Star Award. She is working on a novel.

Kelly Fordon

In this episode, Lydia Conklin and Lillian Li will be discussing the story "Sunny Talks" first published in One Story in January 2022. This conversation was recorded live at Pages Bookshop in Detroit on June 24, 2022.

This episode is part of a series of "Let's Deconstruct a Story" podcasts offered in collaboration with the Grosse Pointe Public Library in Michigan. The GPPL has committed to purchasing ten books by each author this season to give to their patrons! If you are a short story writer who has tried to make money in this game then you know what a big deal their support is to us! My hope is that other libraries will follow the GPPL's lead and be inspired to buy books by these talented short story writers. I will be contacting many libraries this year to suggest this programming. Please feel free to do the same if you enjoy this podcast.

This podcast is also supported by Pages Bookshop in Detroit, and we would be extremely grateful if you purchased the book online through Pages here. Local bookstores won't survive without help from customers like you! 

Lydia Conklin is an Assistant Professor of Fiction at Vanderbilt University. Previously they were the Helen Zell Visiting Professor in Fiction at the University of Michigan. They’ve received a Stegner Fellowship in Fiction at Stanford University, a Rona Jaffe Writer’s Award, three Pushcart Prizes, a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, a Creative & Performing Arts Fulbright to Poland, work-study and tuition scholarships from Bread Loaf, and fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, Djerassi, Hedgebrook, the James Merrill House, the Vermont Studio Center, VCCA, Millay, Jentel, Lighthouse Works, Brush Creek, the Santa Fe Art Institute, Caldera, the Sitka Center, and Harvard University, among others. They were the 2015-2017 Creative Writing Fellow in fiction at Emory University. Their fiction has appeared in Tin House, American Short Fiction, The Southern Review, The Gettysburg Review, and elsewhere, and is forthcoming from The Paris Review. They have drawn graphic fiction for Lenny Letter, Drunken Boat, and the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago and cartoons for The New Yorker and Narrative Magazine. Their story collection, Rainbow Rainbow, will be published in June 2022 by Catapult in the US and Scribner in the UK.

Lillian Li is the author of the novel Number One Chinese Restaurant, which was an NPR Best Book of 2018, and longlisted for the Women’s Prize and the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Her work has been published in the New York Times, Granta, One Story, Bon Appetit, Travel & Leisure, The Guardian, and Jezebel. Originally from the D.C. metro area, she lives in Ann Arbor.

The host of this podcast is Kelly Fordon and you can find out more about her at www.kellyfordon.com.

"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author. For this episode, please read "Goodbye" by Maurine Ogbaa, first published in Agni. 

**Please note we will be talking about suicide on this episode.**

This summer I am posting two episodes with writers who have not yet published their first short story collections. This podcast is dedicated to the work of Maurine Ogbaa and on August 15th I will be posting a conversation with Selena Anderson about her short story "Godmother Tea," which was chosen for the Best American Short Stories anthology in 2020.  I'm thrilled to highlight the work of these two new voices!

"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is offered in collaboration with the Grosse Pointe Public Library in Michigan. The GPPL has committed to purchasing ten books by each author this season to give to their patrons. If you are a short story writer who has tried to make money in this game then you know what a big deal their support is for us! My hope is that other libraries will follow the GPPL's lead and be inspired to buy books by these talented short story writers. I will be contacting many libraries this year to suggest this programming. Please feel free to do the same if you enjoy this podcast.

This podcast is also supported by Pages Bookshop in Detroit, and we would be extremely grateful if you purchased any of the books featured here through Pages. Local bookstores won't survive without help from customers like you!

"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is available on six platforms. Please listen to the podcast on your preferred platform or on Anchor or Spotify below.

I hope you enjoy this episode. 

Next up on the podcast is Lydia Conklin on August 1st.

Kelly

Maurine Ogbaa is a writer-scholar. Her current project is a short fiction collection which broadly examines intimacy, reconciliation, maturation, and intraracial diversity through stories about Nigerian Americans in Houston, Texas. Stories from this collection have been published in Callaloo, AGNI, and Prairie Schooner, which awarded her the 2020 Glenna Luschei Award. An alumna of the Tin House Summer Workshops, Rivendell Writer’s Colony, and the Pan-African Literary Forum (Ghana), she will be a writer-in-residence at Jentel Arts Residency in summer 2022. Previously, Maurine earned an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Houston. Currently, she teaches graduate and undergraduate prose workshops and literature seminars at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Kelly Fordon’s latest short story collection  I Have the Answer (Wayne State University Press, 2020) was chosen as a Midwest Book Award Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. Her 2016 Michigan Notable Book, Garden for the Blind, (WSUP), was an INDIEFAB Finalist, a Midwest Book Award Finalist, Eric Hoffer Finalist, and an IPPY Awards Bronze Medalist. Her first full-length poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House, (Kattywompus Press, 2019) was an Eyelands International Prize Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist and was adapted into a play, written by Robin Martin, which was published in The Kenyon Review Online.  She is the author of three award-winning poetry chapbooks and has received a Best of the Net Award and Pushcart Prize nominations in three different genres. She teaches at Springfed Arts and The InsideOut Literary Arts Project in Detroit, as well as online, where she also runs a podcast. www.kellyfordon.com

For this episode please read or listen to the audio recording of "Shape-Ups at Delilah's" in The New Yorker before listening to our discussion.

This is part of a series of "Let's Deconstruct a Story" podcasts offered in collaboration with the Grosse Pointe Public Library in Michigan. The GPPL has committed to purchasing ten books by each author this season to give to their patrons! If you are a short story writer who has tried to make money in this game then you know what a big deal their support is for us! My hope is that other libraries will follow the GPPL's lead and be inspired to buy books by these talented short story writers. I will be contacting many libraries this year to suggest this programming. Please feel free to do the same if you enjoy this podcast.

This podcast is also supported by Pages Bookshop in Detroit, and we would be extremely grateful if you purchased the book online through Pages here. Local bookstores won't survive without help from customers like you!

Rion Amilcar Scott is the author of the story collection, The World Doesn’t Require You (Norton/Liveright, August 2019), a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and winner of the 2020 Towson Prize for Literature. His debut story collection, Insurrections (University Press of Kentucky, 2016), was awarded the 2017 PEN/Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction and the 2017 Hillsdale Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. His work has been published in places such as The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, Crab Orchard Review, Best Small Fictions 2020 and The Rumpus, among others. His story, “Shape-ups at Delilah’s” was published in Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020. He was raised in Silver Spring, Maryland and earned an MFA from George Mason University where he won the Mary Roberts Rinehart award, a Completion Fellowship and an Alumni Exemplar Award. He has received fellowships from Bread Loaf Writing Conference, Kimbilio and the Colgate Writing Conference as well as a 2019 Maryland Individual Artist Award. Presently he teaches Creative Writing at the University of Maryland.

Find him on twitter and instagram: @ReeAmilcarScott

Kelly Fordon is the host of this podcast and you can find out more about her at www.kellyfordon.com. 

Purchase "Lost Girls" from Bookshop or Amazon. Thanks!

Before you listen to our discussion, first please read "Cities I've Never Lived In" here.

Thanks,

Kelly

Bio:

When she was young, Sara Majka's family moved along the New England coast, living in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and small towns in Maine. She received graduate degrees from Umass-Amherst and Bennington College and was awarded a fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Her first book, Cities I've Never Lived In, was published by Graywolf Press / A Public Space in 2016. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island where she teaches writing at RISD.

Sara Majka's book can be purchased here on Bookshop and here on Amazon as well as directly from the publisher, Graywolf Press.

Let's Deconstruct a Story host, Kelly Fordon’s latest short story collection  I Have the Answer (Wayne State University Press, 2020) was chosen as a Midwest Book Award Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist. Her 2016 Michigan Notable Book, Garden for the Blind, (WSUP), was an INDIEFAB Finalist, a Midwest Book Award Finalist, Eric Hoffer Finalist, and an IPPY Awards Bronze Medalist. She lives in Detroit. www.kellyfordon.com

His new book is dedicated to another legend in the Michigan poetry world, Joy Gaines-Friedler! They will be reading together on April 17th at 7pm on zoom through the Royal Oak Library. Register here.

Kelly

Seven Kitchens Press.

Laura Van Prooyen’s collections of poetry are Frances of the Wider Field (Lily Poetry Review Books 2021), Our House Was on Fire, nominated by Philip Levine, awarded the McGovern Prize (Ashland Poetry Press 2015), and Inkblot and Altar (Pecan Grove Press 2006). She is also co-author, with Gretchen Bernabei, of Text Structures from Poetry—a book of writing lessons for grades 4-12 (Corwin Literacy 2020).

Laura has over 20 years experience teaching poetry and writing in a variety of academic settings including: Dominican University, Henry Ford Academy: The Alameda School for Art + Design, Chicago Public Schools, Del Valle High School, and University of Illinois at Chicago. She also facilitated therapeutic writing sessions for soldiers with PTSD in an Intensive Outpatient Program for three years at Brook Army Medical Center.

Having been raised in a tight-knit Dutch community just outside of Chicago, Van Prooyen now lives in San Antonio, TX. She earned a B.A. at Purdue University, an M.A. at The University of Illinois at Chicago, and an M.F.A. in Poetry at Warren Wilson College. Laura serves as the Managing Editor of The Cortland Review and teaches in the Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA Program at Miami University in Ohio. She is launching Next Page Press, with the first title to be released late 2021.https://lauravanprooyen.com/

Host, Kelly Fordon, latest book is a short story collection called I Have the Answer (Wayne State University Press, 2020). Her novel-in-stories, Garden for the Blind, (WSUP, 2015) is a 2016 Michigan Notable Book, a 2016 Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Finalist, a Midwest Book Award Finalist, Eric Hoffer Finalist, and an IPPY Awards Bronze Medalist in the short story category. Her first full-length poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House, (Kattywompus Press, 2019) was chosen as an Eyelands International Prize Finalist and an Eric Hoffer Finalist for poetry and was adapted into a play by Robin Martin, which was produced in Michigan in 2019, and published in The Kenyon Review Online.  She is also the author of three poetry chapbooks. On the Street Where We Live won the 2012 Standing Rock Chapbook Award and the latest one, The Witness, won the 2016 Eric Hoffer Award for the Chapbook and was shortlisted for the Grand Prize. Her work has been published widely in literary journals and has received a Best of the Net Award, as well as Pushcart Prize nominations in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She teaches at Springfed Arts and The InsideOut Literary Arts Project in Detroit, as well as online, where she also runs a monthly poetry and fiction blog. www.kellyfordon.com

1. Please read the story, “A Landing called Compromise” here at The Saturday Evening Post.
2. Listen as we “deconstruct” the story below.
3. Afterward, please purchase the book at Bookshop!