Words & Music: Episode 4 - Susan Neville‘s The Town of Whispering Dolls

(This is an archived episode from 10/5/2021)Words and Music on WQRT is a series of audio programs highlighting the lives and work of Indiana Writers. The series — produced by Big Car Collaborative and first heard on our FM radio station, 99.1 WQRT and streaming at wqrt.org — is made possible by a grant from Indiana Humanities.  In this episode, Indianapolis author Susan Neville discusses her most recent collection of fiction stories — The Town of Whispering Dolls — and aspects of life in Indiana that inspired her work. This 2020 collection explores with care and detail the beauty, magic, darkness, danger, and depths of love and life that may go unnoticed in what some consider our “flyover state.” Big Car executive director Jim Walker – himself a writer — talks with Neville. He produced this conversation blended with musical transitions and excerpts read by the author.  Neville, who was born in Indiana and also worked as a writing professor at Butler University, has published six nonfiction books and three short-story collections. Find more about her and her writing at susan-neville.com. This is the fourth installment of Words and Music that previously highlighted Indiana writers Adrian Matejka, Etheridge Knight, and William Gass. In addition to airing on WQRT, Words and Music can also be found on Spotify and other streaming platforms.