Not Your Mother's Storytime

This week we bring you “Buried Treasures” by Bram Stoker. In this story a young man must raise 100 pounds to court his love. Her father will not have his daughter living in poverty. There’s a wrecked ship and a heavy iron box involved. How much more romantic can you get? The young man pursues the buried treasure on Christmas Day. I know it’s a little late for Christmas at this point. But I love this story. I believe I’ll add it to my Holiday Playlist! Enjoy!

I love a good Sci-Fi story and Mr. Dick is one of the best. He was kind enough to allow some of his writing to be in the public domain upon his death. Perhaps he did this because he always saw the bigger picture. The importance of telling stories warning about possible futures if we are not paying attention. The importance of paying attention, now more than ever. This story has it all: Space ship, Martians, truth detector and an ultimate weapon. What more would one want from a great Sci-Fi story? Enjoy!

This is a fun ghostly tale of unsettling encounters by a school inspector in the north of England. Edwards was an extremely talented woman exploring all the arts including painting and singing as well as writing. She also explored Egypt. She was known as the Godmother of Egyptology. She toured the US lecturing on Egypt and even contributed to the Encyclopedia Britanica on the subject of Egyptian Archeology. Enjoy!

I know it’s been awhile since I gave you anything new. But you must know by now, that I love a good horror story! I couldn’t resist taking the time to record this one for your Spooky Season enjoyment. Did you know that Bram Stoker stole, and married, Oscar Wilde’s girlfriend? And even though Oscar was not happy about it, they remained friends. They met at school where Bram studied Mathematics. This story is about a student of mathematics that steals away to study uninterrupted in a far away town. It is said to be one of the best English ghost stories ever. Oh, and, trigger warning… if you don’t like rats, don’t listen to this one.

Our story today is dedicated to all the authors out there. It is a delightfully fun jab at the ever tumultuous relationship between authors and reviewers. Back in her day, the only reviewers were the journalists of certain publications. Nowadays, every one is a reviewer. Which gives a review even more impact and influence. Whether good or bad. But, as you will see in this story, the politics and engineering of getting and giving reviews has not changed. Enjoy!

It’s about marriage and divorce, women and men, and the complexity or simplicity of relationships.  I love Wharton’s adept turn of phrase. She can say so much in one little sentence. For example, “It was so delicious to cry over imaginary troubles!” or  “Womanlike, she wanted to turn her disobedience into a law.” While Wharton was not considered a feminist, her sympathy with her female characters and their situations in society reveals so much insight and understanding of feminist issues. Did you know that 1/3 of her 86 short stories center on The Marriage Question? And in her stories, she exposes the consequences of abortion, illegitimacy, economic dependency, and the double standard of sexual morality. Not bad for a woman who doesn’t consider herself a feminist.

This is a re-do! This story was my 5th episode, back in 2017. I was going to just re-broadcast it, but I’ve learned so much since then. I want to do it more justice. So, here it is better than before. This story is a nod to the New Year. The New Year is often symbolized as an infant, and the passing year is depicted as an old man. Jack London gives us an exquisite example of youth vs. age. Both have advantages. Both have challenges. But who would win in a head-to-head battle? And what exactly would they be fighting for? Here’s to the New Year. Or maybe to the old year.

What was a Thanksgiving without a turkey? “It was like a great flourish of accompaniment without any song.” That’s how Ann Mary felt about it. This week we bring you two stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: “Ann Mary; Her Two Thanksgivings” and “Thankful” Thanksgiving is a holiday where no gifts are given, yet one receives so much. Even a Thanksgiving spent alone can still find one grateful. So whether you’ll be surrounded by family or friends, or alone, I hope you find something to be thankful for. 

I could not resist bringing you a new story for the spooky season. So, here is “With Intent to Steal” by Algernon Blackwood. Blackwood has a special place in my heart because he was a broadcast narrator! I also love his philosophy about horror and the human mind. He says: “My fundamental interest, I suppose, is signs and proofs of other powers that lie hidden in us all; the extension, in other words, of human faculty. I believe it possible for our consciousness to change and grow, and that with this change we may become aware of a new universe.”  My favorite type of horror story always has something to do with the Supernatural. How about you? What’s your favorite kind of horror?

In this story, London’s intention is to show the contrast between nature and man. This story is also one of the stories the Cohn brothers included in “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”. If you’d like to hear another short story used in the film, listen to “The Girl Who Got Rattled” by Stewart Edward White. The brothers won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). Well, when you have well written stories to start with, you can’t go wrong. I’ve chosen this story this week because, as it happens, I will be headed up to the Sierras in the next few days. When I read this story, I could feel what London says:  “The spirit of the place was the spirit of the peace of the living”. I can’t wait to get up the mountain and feel that spirit.

The Fly has been touted as the perfect short story by some. It definitely has an impact on the reader, or listener in this case. The Doves’ Nest is an interesting commentary on the issue of the company of men from the women’s perspective. This “nest” has all female servants, a widow, her female companion and her daughter. When a gentleman comes calling, the doves are all a flutter. Great fun! But with an interesting message in the undercurrent. Enjoy!

This week is NYMST’s 5th Anniversary. 5 years ago, on Halloween, was my first ever episode. Of course, I read “Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe. So for this episode, we’re doing something different. We’re breaking out of the public domain! I’ve got a new, current, author to share with you. Lee Allen, an author in Wales, writes short stories – spooky short stories. I asked if he’d let me read one for my podcast and he agreed. It’s called “The Deathly Shade of Pale.” I think you’ll enjoy it. You can find Lee Allen's linktr-ee here: LeeAllenAuthor. Enjoy! And Happy Halloween!

This is a fun one for you! Stockton is best known for his children's stories, but there are a few gems in his repertoire for adults. I love his humor and his timing. Just sit back and enjoy a light and uplifting little story from Frank Stockton.

This week we bring you “Roads of Destiny” by O. Henry. Do you believe in Destiny? Can we somehow avoid our Destiny by taking a different road? Is O. Henry a fatalist? I dare say he is. It is said that Henry collected ideas by loitering in hotel lobbies and observing and talking to people there. He relied on this technique to gain creative inspiration throughout his writing career. Maybe he met a poet and wrote his story. Enjoy!

Let me start by saying, I am a girl afraid of a dog. I was bitten severely in the face as a young child and the surprise and horror has stayed with me. I can’t look a dog in the eyes. So, I can relate to this poor little girl and the anxiety she feels when the thought of encountering this dog overwhelms her. This story is described as a children’s story. I disagree with that. I think adults can find enjoyment in this story and how it all turns out. How things change when perceived with out fear. How love can change everything, from a dog’s viciousness to a little girl’s terror to a man’s heart.

We have choices that are presented to us throughout our lives. “Doors” that appear in the form of opportunities and pathways. If one decides not to go through a door or take a certain pathway, what are the consequences? How could one ever know? Would one have been happier if a certain door was chosen? Ah. Elusive happiness. We can’t find it when looking for it. But it pops up throughout our lives, unexpectedly, IF we can conceive of it! And yet, there are “A thousand inconceivable petty worldlinesses” that prevent us from realizing our own happiness. Enjoy!

This story is a sweet look at a couple married for 5 years. It’s interesting that she writes about marriage. Ferber never married and had no children. She was known for being outspoken and having a quick wit. Once, after a man joked about how her suit made her resemble a man, she replied, "So does yours.” Although she never married, she is able to capture married life after 5 years pretty accurately in my opinion.  Enjoy!

This is the story of two women who set out on a journey of 120 miles across a prairie in Canada during a very wet September. I’m not sure what to think about this story; a couple of 20 something women take a wagon through treacherous territory, in the most unpassable conditions. I guess women weren’t as frail as we thought they were back then. Perhaps women have never been frail. Enjoy!

It’s Turkey Week! So, I thought a story about food would be good. But this story is about the lack of food. It is said the plot in “Love of Life” was found in the real-life events in Alaska that London read about in a newspaper. One where a gold hunter with a badly sprained ankle barely made it to a populated area. Another where a gold miner got lost and almost died. The facts about food hoarding and mania about food that haunts a person who experiences extreme hunger, London found in Lieutenant Greeley’s book about his polar expedition. But the will to live… that part was all London. Happy Thanksgiving, listeners!

It is, after all, Halloween! This story was requested by a listener and since we’ve just finished Winesburg, Ohio the timing was perfect for a dark horrifying story. And who better to bring us such a story, than H.P. Lovecraft. It is said Lovecraft was inspired by the nightmares he had as a child. He was truly haunted by the dark underworld of evil and decadence. Enjoy!

Anderson has saved his best for last. I think you’ll find the final scene in Winesburg very touching. I hope you’ve enjoyed our journey to a little midwestern town in Ohio!

Not the most cheerful topics. I’ve received feedback from a few of my listeners that these stories are very grim. Yes, I guess they can seem that way. To that, I quote @sparksofher (Khatija Khan) “Today, when we sugar coat fictions so pink that the black reality hurts like pointed straw in our heels...” Can it be, that modern fiction is so “pink” that when we hear stories too close to reality, it makes us truly uncomfortable? That raw reality is painful? If that’s the case, it only deepens my conviction to put these stories out there. My goal has always been to rattle you, enlighten you, touch you; To pierce your armor and open your heart. If these stories do that. I’m glad.

We are getting to know these characters well, wouldn’t you say? There are a total of over 100 characters named in the book, some appearing only once and some recurring several times. Let’s crunch some numbers:  According to literary scholar Forrest L. Ingram, "George Willard recurs in all but six stories; 33 characters each appear in more than one story (some of them five and six times). Ninety-one characters appear only once in the cycle (ten of these are central protagonists in their stories)." Ok, enough math. Within the stories, characters figure in anecdotes that cover a relatively large time period; much of the action takes place during George's teenage years, but there are also episodes that go back several generations (like "Godliness"), approximately twenty years  like "Hands", and anywhere in between. The climactic scenes of two stories, "The Strength of God" and "The Teacher", are actually juxtaposed over the course of one stormy January evening. As Malcolm Cowley writes in his introduction to the 1960 Viking edition, Anderson's "...instinct was to present everything together, as in a dream." Enjoy!

In “Loneliness; concerning Enoch Robinson” some scholars have noted the apparent parallels between author and character, since Anderson also left his hometown, married, had children, and worked in advertising to support his family. What Enoch does with charcoal and paintbrush, Anderson did with pen and typewriter.Yet, biographer Kim Townsend contends, the more obvious inspiration for Enoch is Anderson’s brother Earl, who moved to Chicago with grand hopes but settled for a dead-end job as a restaurant cashier. “To Anderson,” writes Townsend, “his brother always symbolized the sensitive, lonely, vulnerable people of America.” In 1913 Earl disappeared altogether, and Anderson had no idea where his brother was when he wrote “Loneliness,” which may explain why the story is “one of the most moving of the Winesburg, Ohio tales.” Enjoy!

Did you know, Anderson was self-educated and rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and Elyria, Ohio. He worked for a marketing company that marketed egg incubators. One of the manufacturers he marketed, produced a large batch of defective incubators. Soon, letters addressed to Anderson (who personally guaranteed all products sold) began to arrive from customers both desperate and angry. I’m wondering if some of those letters came from Petalumans. The strain from months of answering hundreds of these letters while continuing his demanding schedule at work and home led to a nervous breakdown in the summer of 1907 and eventually his departure from the company. In 1912, Anderson had another nervous breakdown that led him to abandon his business and family to become a writer. Lucky for us. Enjoy!

It’s “Winesburg, Ohio” again this week. The next 3 stories are “Respectability” “The Thinker” and “Tandy”. Some believe that Anderson took stories and characters from Clyde, Ohio, where he lived from 8-19 years old. He says "the hint for almost every character was taken from my fellow lodgers in a large rooming house..." These lodgers were the "...young musicians, young writers, painters, actors..." and others that lived in proximity to Anderson on the North Side of Chicago and to whom he referred as "The Little Children of the Arts". The truth probably lies somewhere in between.  Enjoy!

This week we bring you the next 3 stories from “Winesburg, Ohio” – Godliness Part IV, A Man of Ideas, and Adventure. We continue wading further into the many characters of the town. In these 3 stories I feel the innocence of the characters, sometimes sad and tragic, sometimes fanciful and fun. I hope you are enjoying this series as much as I am!

This week we bring you the next two stories from “Winesburg, Ohio” by Sherwood Anderson: “Godliness, A Tale in Four Parts” Part II, also concerning Jess Bentley and Part III: Surrender, concerning Louise Bentley. In these two stories we get to know Jesse a little more and we learn about his daughter, Louise. Louise is a bit of a tragic figure. She never really had a chance – with no mother and a father who wanted a son. I love how Anderson places her into a global vision of women of the time. The latter half of the 1800s saw the Women’s Right’s movement gaining traction, but political rights and human rights are very different things. Enjoy!

This week we continue our journey to Winesburg, Ohio with the next 3 stories in the book: “The Philosopher”, “Nobody Knows” and “Godliness, A Tale in Four Parts, Part 1”. It is said “the stories of Winesburg, Ohio can be challenging. They have a rambling, episodic quality. There is less focus on plot and more exploration of human nature and the problems of these characters.” As we get further into the book, we meet more and more of the characters who live in Winesburg. Anderson gives us such a brutal look at life at the end of the 1800s. And yet, it seems things never really change. Do they.

This week we are embarking on a journey through “Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life” By Sherwood Anderson. I will read 3 or 4 stories each week. There are 22 stories in all, so this will be over several weeks. Each of the stories shares a specific character's past and present struggle to overcome the loneliness and isolation that seem to permeate the town. Stylistically, because of its emphasis on the psychological insights of characters over plot, and plainspoken prose, Winesburg, Ohio is known as one of the earliest works of Modernist literature.   It is typically placed "...midway between the novel proper and the mere collection of stories," known as the short story cycle. Aside from its structural unity, the common setting, characters, symbolism and "consistency of mood” are all additional qualities that tie the stories together despite their initial publication as separate tales. We’ll start at the beginning… “The Book of the Grotesque”, “Hands”, “Paper Pills” and “Mother”. Enjoy!

In my mind, Lawrence can write relationships like no one can. His characters are so well defined and the interactions they have are so real to life. Perhaps it’s because he lived his life “free from the shackles of civilization.” As one of his friends said, “…he did nothing that he did not really want to do, and all that he most wanted to do he did. He went all over the world, he owned a ranch, he lived in the most beautiful corners of Europe, and met whom he wanted to meet and told them that they were wrong and he was right. He painted and made things, and sang, and rode. He wrote something like three dozen books, of which even the worst page dances with life that could be mistaken for no other man's.” Enjoy!

White was a keen observer of the beauties of nature and human nature yet could render them in a plain-spoken style. He wrote Westerns, camping journals, and outdoor adventure fiction that incorporated historical details about the California gold rush, fur trading, and pioneers who passed through or settled in rugged country. He was most known for his Daniel Boone stories. Our first story, “The Girl Who Got Rattled,” was the inspiration for one of the episodes in the Coen Brother’s 2018 movie entitled “The Battle of Buster Scruggs.” Enjoy!

Anderson was considered a “writer’s writer”. His style was Naturalism. Anderson invites the reader into his process as a writer, in which he unfolds the meticulously developed characters' views of the world. He influenced writes such as Willa Cather, Henry James and William Faulkner. Anderson and Ernest Hemingway became great friends until Hemingway felt the need to sabotage the relationship. He wrote a parody of Anderson’s one and only best-selling novel which Anderson took as a great insult.  Enjoy!

This week we bring you “Big Two-Hearted River” Parts I & II by Ernest Hemingway. The story explores the healing and regenerative powers of nature. In this past year, more people went camping, or hiking, than any other year. We all have been seeking the healing powers of nature during this trying time. When this story was published, critics praised Hemingway's sparse writing. He used his Iceberg Theory of writing; a modernist approach to prose in which the underlying meaning is hinted at, rather than explicitly stated. "Big Two-Hearted River" is almost exclusively descriptive and intentionally devoid of plot. Enjoy!

Wiggin is most known for her novel “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” – standard reading for girls of my generation. She was a dedicated educator; she and her sister created a training school for kindergarten teachers in the 1880s. Although she devoted so much of her adult life to the welfare of children, she had no children herself. This story is about the creation of a rag rug, a old tradition of making rugs from fabric saved from life events, such as wedding dresses and christening gowns. Our second story by Katherine Mansfield was a special request from one of our listeners, and it is a very special, sweet story. Enjoy!

HC Bunner was part of the “Local Color” movement in writing. Around 1870 writers began to offer delightful vignettes of various sections of American People. Bunner wrote about real life New Yorkers. In time, practically every corner of the country had been portrayed in “Local Color” fiction. The avowed aim of some of these writers, was to realistically portray the lives of various sections and thus to promote understanding and create a united nation. Something we are still reaching for to this day, apparently. Enjoy!

For our last story honoring #BlackHistoryMonth we bring you “The Brothers” by Louisa May Alcott. I learned another term this week. Contraband. Well, I know this word, but I didn’t know it was used in this way: Contraband was a term commonly used in the United States military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces. In August 1861, the Union Army (and the United States Congress) determined that the US would no longer return escaped slaves who went to Union lines and classified them as "contraband of war” or captured enemy property.

This week we bring you two more stories in honor of #BlackHistoryMonth Kate Chopin is not African American. But I feel this particular story is appropriate here, because this week we reflect on “mixed-race”, as is Chesnutt. Charles W. Chesnutt was born of parents who were free persons-of-color and his grandfather was a slave owner. He was considered a “quadroon” - 25% black. A “mulatto” was understood to be 50% black. Assigning terminology to describe a “degree of blackness”. Thankfully, we have moved passed this. Haven’t we? Chesnutt had a wealth of personal experience to write about the complexities of mixed-race social status in the South.

This week we continue our tribute to Black History Month. Paul Dunbar was the husband of last week’s author Alice Dunbar Nelson until he died is 1906 of TB.  Born to former slaves in Dayton, Ohio, where he was boyhood friends with the Wright Brothers, Paul Laurence Dunbar is best remembered for lines from Sympathy that became the title of Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Frederick Douglass called him “the most promising young colored man in America”. However, he became one of the first African-American writers to establish an international reputation. Much of his work is written in “dialect” which brought a mix of criticism and praise.  Some said his use of dialect fostered stereotypes of blacks as comical or pathetic. Others said “he was the first to rise to a height from which he could take a perspective view of his own race. He was the first to see objectively its humor, its superstitions, its short-comings; the first to feel sympathetically its heart-wounds, its yearnings, its aspirations, and to voice them all in a purely literary form." So. Is it stereotypical, or sympathetic? I will read these stories. You be the judge.

It's February, and all month long, we bring you African American authors in honor of Black History month. Our first author is Alice Dunbar Nelson, born Alice Ruth Moore. Moore was the daughter of an African American seamstress and former slave, and a white seaman. Her parents were middle-class people of color and part of the traditional multiracial Creole community in New Orleans. She recalls the isolation felt as a child, and the sensation of not belonging to or being accepted by either race. Both black and white individuals rejected her for being "too white."  Much of Dunbar-Nelson's writing was rejected because she wrote about the color line, oppression, and themes of racism. Few mainstream publications would publish her writing because it was not marketable. She was able to publish her writing, however, when the themes of racism and oppression were more subtle. I hope you enjoy these 4 short stories by Alice Dunbar Nelson.

Norris was a native of San Francisco. I enjoy reading her stories; She always references places I am very familiar with, living in the Bay Area myself. Norris started her writing career in the newspaper industry and eventually, became the highest paid women writer of her time. Enjoy!

This week we bring you “Adjustment Team” by Philip K. Dick.  Dick is a modern writer, however, upon his death in 1982 he released a handful of his stories to the public domain. Thank you, Mr. Dick!  Dick reflected: "In my writing I even question the universe; I wonder out loud if it is real, and I wonder out loud if all of us are real." And this story explores exactly that. Enjoy!

This week we bring you “God’s Fool” by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Over the decades (centuries, really!) the evolution of terminology for the intellectually challenged in our society has been interesting to say the least, ranging from cruel to compassionate. Every generation has taken a step or two towards accepting, even cherishing these wholly innocent, completely loving individuals. I know of which I speak. My son is severely autistic. Rinehart wrote this story in 1919 using the terminology of her generation which to us may seem cruel and insensitive. “Fool”, “Dummy”, but she writes about this special young man with such sweet compassion… I hope, as you listen, you will be able to get past the labels and hear the story.

Harte moved to California in 1853 and spent part of his life in a mining camp near Humboldt Bay (the current town of Arcata), a setting which provided material for some of his works. Although he was an American author and poet, who worked in a number of different professional capacities including miner, teacher, messenger and journalist, he was appointed as United States Consul in Krefeld, Germany and then to Glasgow in 1880. He spent thirty years in Europe, moving to London in 1885. Harte's literary output improved while he was in Europe and helped to revive his popularity. Enjoy!

The following story was published on December 25, 1983, in the Eureka Times-Standard newspaper—where the author, Karen Luttrell-Langdon, was a reporter. She has been my dear friend for almost 20 years. I am honored to read her story. Despite the original newsprint now being yellowed with age, the spirit of the story remains unchanged. Only minor edits have been made to aid the transition from written text to spoken word.

This week is my 100th EPISODE!  And it is a special one. I’ve gathered a collection of Christmas Classics for your holiday enjoyment: “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry, “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Anderson, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Moore as well as stories by Tolsoy, SAKI and more! Some you may know, some you may not. But they are all sweet, bittersweet, fun and touching stories. KPCA, the local radio station that hosts my show, is airing special broadcasts to be played while touring the Christmas lights around my home town. This is my contribution. I hope you enjoy them. Merry Christmas!

This week we bring you two Christmas stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. “The Christmas Ghost” and “The Christmas Masquerade”.  She wrote several stories about Christmas. It was hard to choose which ones to read for you. Might have to add an extra episode for the season. Staying safe and cozy in your homes this year might be difficult. I hope these charming stories will make it a little easier.  Enjoy!

This story is a lovely tribute to 'old maids'. Page was a lawyer and writer from one of the foremost plantation families of Virginia that lost most of its wealth and prominence after the American Civil War. Page studied and practiced law, but became disillusioned with the Southern legal system and gave up his practice. In his writing, Page popularized the Southern tradition of the plantation genre, as well as vivid portrayals of Confederate soldiers' experiences during the Civil War. Enjoy!

Glaspell co-founded the first modern American theater company, the Provincetown Players, and was a Pulitzer prize-winning playwright, actress, novelist, and journalist. Though her theater company was a critical success, it didn’t earn enough to pay the bills and Glaspell continued to write and sell her short stories to make ends meet. She is most known for famous play, “Trifles”, adapted from her short story “A Jury of Her Peers”. Glaspell won the Pulitzer Prize for her play, “Alison’s House”.  I hope you enjoy “From A to Z” by Susan Glaspell.

Here's something light and fun after the dark October mood. FSF was born in St. Paul and raised in an Irish middle class family. He was named after his famous second cousin, Francis Scott Key, who penned The Star Spangled Banner. Fitzgerald was considered one of the best authors of the twentieth century, a leading voice for the "Lost Generation" of the 20s and the Jazz Age. Enjoy!