The Chills at Will Podcast

Episode Nine: "All Sweet Things Float" Discussion with Writer and Inspirational Professor, Claudia MonPere McIsaac

Pete is honored to have as his first interviewee his former college professor and standout writer, Claudia MonPere McIsaac. They talk about the writer's life and literature that has inspired and moved them. They also discuss giving and receiving constructive criticism in and out of writer's workshops, writing and reading and their evolution in these trying times, finding writing inspiration, the college writing environment, and tips for creating dialogue and realism. They finish with a close read and conversation about the genesis and mechanics of Claudia's beautiful story, "All Sweet Things Float," published in 2003 by The Prairie Schooner. Pete is especially moved by the story's ending and is fortunate, as is the listener, to hear Claudia read her own words from this ending and explain their significance.

 

 

"All Things Float" can be read here: muse.jhu.edu/article/41665

Claudia MonPere McIsaac writes fiction, poetry, and memoir. Her work appears in many anthologies and literary magazines, including the Kenyon Review, New Ohio Review, The Cincinnati Review, and River Teeth. Awards include The Georgetown Review Fiction Award and a Hedgebrook residency. She’s taught at Santa Clara University for many years.

Episode Eight: Wolff, Hosseini, and Incredibly Joyful Endings

This episode deals with incredibly joyful endings that capture a “moment in time” depicted with great passion and imagery. I discuss Tobias Wolff’s short short “Powder,” about a father and son’s last trip before the parents’ divorce, and Khaled Hosseini's thrilling depiction of a carefree and innocent and redemptive bonding moment between an adoptive father and son.

Episode Seven: "O'Henry" Endings with Hemingway, Jackson, and Borges

This episode deals with “O’Henry” endings from Ernest Hemingway’s “A Day’s Wait,” Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” and Jorge Luis Borges’ “The Gospel According to Mark.” The meaning of this type of ending is explained, and the stories are explained as ones for which a second reading is such a pleasurable experience, as this second reading is so different than the first, once one is armed with knowledge of the thrilling plot twists that accompany the endings. Discussion further centers on archetypal masculinity as illustrated in Hemingway’s story, Pete’s doubly-pleasant surprise in reading Jackson’s story, and the power of Borges’ ending being built through his finely-placed literary breadcrumbs. Allusions to Marge Simpson’s love for Bart, Ethan Hawke’s involuntary reaction to betrayal in “Training Day,” and a subtle Sopranos reference help to illuminate the powerful endings, and are in no way gratuitous...right?

 

Authors Mentioned and Allusions and Songs Referenced During the Episode:

"The Gift of the Magi"

"Plot Twist" by Marc. E Bassy (Marc. E Bassy)

"The Gospel According to Mark" found in the October 23, 1971 Issue of The New Yorker

Shirley Jackson's short story “The Lottery,” first published in the June 26,1948, issue of The New Yorker 

Marge and "Little Boy Barty" (#6 on the list)

 

Episode Six: Master P! Mario Puzo! Gay Talese! Anne Lamott! Niall Williams!

Pete muses on the absolutely over-the-top video for Master P’s “Make ‘Em Say ‘Uhh,’ “ which is in line with the lavish descriptions used by the great writers featured in the episode. Pete describes his experience in that most exaggerated and operatic of Italian cities, Naples (his poem written during his 2009 trip is below), and discusses the work of the “Naples of writers”: Mario Puzo, Gay Talese, and Niall Williams. Though sometimes close to the line of “purple prose,” these writers stick to the rules outlined by the great Anne Lamott and craft thrilling prose that adheres to the “one-inch picture frame” of Lamont’s book Bird by Bird.

 

Authors Mentioned and Allusions and Songs Referenced During the Episode:

 Master P's "Make 'Em Say 'Uhh.' " (Dirty Version)

Purple Prose Description 

“Just Visiting (Napoli: July, 2009)”

Los Angeles Times Article about Mario Puzo upon his 1999 Death

The Sicilian by Mario Puzo

Gay Talese and "New Journalism"

"You Can Act Like a Man!" from The Godfather, Part I

Gay Talese's "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" from Esquire Magazine, 1966

This is Happiness by Niall Williams

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Episode Five: Blackstar, Robert Hayden, and Sherman Alexie: Understatement and Simply Beautiful, Simply Stunning

On this episode, Pete talks about minimalist and understated lyrics and prose that thrill with the images that they call to mind. He's excited to make his first foray into music lyrics with a close read of "Astronomy" (8th Light)" by Blackstar (Talib Kweli and Mos Def), with its ruminations on the effects of racism on successive generations. He explores gratitude and appreciation through the evocative lines of Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays." Lastly, a well-placed Darko Milicic/LeBron James reference helps to illuminate the deceptively simple "Indian Education" short story by Sherman Alexie, a funny and profound criticism of The United States' Native American "reeducation program."

 

Authors Mentioned and Allusions and Songs Referenced During the Episode:

Zen Buddhist Koans: https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/what-is-a-koan

Blackstar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mos_Def_%26_Talib_Kweli_Are_Black_Star

Marcus Garvey's Shipping Line (Black Star Lines): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Star_Line

Rodney King's Story about a Cleaned-Out Swimming Pool after African-Americans Swam There, and Overall Racism Associated with Pools: https://www.amazon.com/Riot-Within-Journey-Rebellion-Redemption/dp/0062194437 AND https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/sports/black-people-pools-racism.html

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Man

Robert Hayden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hayden

"Those Winter Sundays"-via Poetry Foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46461/those-winter-sundays

Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men Talking about Providing Protection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z_zgMZ14Uc

Socratic Questioning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_questioning

Sherman Alexie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Alexie

American and Canadian Policy for Native American "Reeducation": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_the_Indian,_Save_the_Man

Darko Milicic and LeBron James-Different Paths for Two from 2003 Draft: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/darko-milicic-responds-dwyane-wade-carmelo-anthony-joking/lgfojggksbzd1jfx2365jfu2o

 

Episode Four: "Understatement and Simply Beautiful, Simply Stunning" (Garcia Marquez, Wiesel, Deborah Thomas)

On this episode, the second of three on understatement and its power, death is a theme of the three texts discussed. The first text, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Someone's Been Disarranging these Roses" short story is a beautiful story of friendship and loyalty and those left behind by tragedy. A muted sense of magical realism in the story includes the ghost of a child who died many decades ago in a freak accident as the narrator. Pete also tells the story of Garcia Marquez's magic in writing his Novel Prize winning "One Hundred Years of Solitude." The idea of a person being the sum of his/her experiences and living as that person on a daily basis brings up an allusion to Sandra Cisneros' lovely "Eleven."

Pete recounts the pendulum of emotions felt in teaching Elie Wiesel's Holocaust memoir, Night, for ten years. He focuses on an excerpt in which the absolute doldrums of human dignity is reached, and the atrocities Elie has had to see at the young age of sixteen.

The third text is from Deborah Thomas, a talented writer who worked magic with "There's No Point in Getting Sentimental about It." Pete relays the story of the serendipity of finding out about this story. He then talks about how the story's subtlety grows emotion and empathy and profundity, and he references Delmore Schwartz's "In Dreams Become Responsibilities," with its idea of seeing past experiences, happy and tragic, on a sort of internal film strip.

Authors Mentioned and Allusions Made and Songs Played during Episode:

"Schindler's List-Violin": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWrt0m-cOkU

Gabriel García Márquez: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Garc%C3%ADa_M%C3%A1rquez

Article about Garcia Marquez's Process in Writing One Hundred Years of Solitude: https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/12/gabriel-garcia-marquez-one-hundred-years-of-solitude-history

Dance of Life • Relaxing Celtic Music for Relaxation & Meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiqlZZddZEo&t=4896s

Elie Wiesel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elie_Wiesel

Sandra Cisneros' Story, "Eleven": https://www.sps186.org/downloads/basic/777685/Eleven%20.pdf

"There's No Point in getting Sentimental about It," by Deborah Thomas: http://www.paumanokreview.com/4.4/thomas.html

Delmore Schwartz Story, "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities": 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Dreams_Begin_Responsibilities

 

Episode Three: Understatement and Simply Beautiful, Simply Stunning Writing (Hemingway, Frost, Rulfo)

This episode focuses on the thrill-inducing writing that is produced, paradoxically, by understated and straightforward writing. What a pleasure to explore Ernest Hemingway's "Old Man at the Bridge," Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," and Juan Rulfo's "No Oyes Ladrar los Perros." Pete shouts out his former college professor Francisco Jimenez, the great writer of among others, Breaking Through/Cajas de Carton, reads some of Rulfo's original Spanish, drops another Godfather reference (!), and details the awesome and possibly apocryphal story of Hemingway spinning the most-famous six-word short story of all-time.

This episode will be followed by Part Two later this week.

 

Authors Mentioned and Episode Allusions and Songs:

311, "Amber" Instrumental: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXX2w8I1G6U

Michael Corleone Gets Hit by the "Thunderbolt": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0iXfa2unYY

Ernest Hemingway-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway

Hemingway's Famous Six-Word Story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_worn

Robert Frost: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost

Francisco Jimenez: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Jim%C3%A9nez_(writer)

Juan Rulfo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Rulfo

 

 

 

 

The Chills at Will Podcast Episode Two: Origin Story (Tobias Wolff’s ”Bullet in the Brain”)

This episode focuses on the (very) short and (very) profound story, "Bullet in the Brain," by Tobias Wolff. The ending of the story is the inspiration for the origin of the podcast, and the impetus for the title specifically. There is examination of the story's focus on memory and nostalgia and innocence and the text and analysis is coupled with the beautiful "Bookends" by Simon and Garfunkel.

 

Authors Mentioned and Allusions and Songs During the Episode:

Tobias Wolff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Wolff

Prologue and Plot Spoiler for Romeo and Juliet: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/quiz/openinglinesquiz/openinganswer3.html

"Bookends" by Simon and Garfunkel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCdNqQN4BCU

The Chills at Will Podcast Trailer, Complete with the Most Beautiful Song in the World's History

The Chills at Will Podcast is a discussion of the visceral beauty of literature. The trailer sets up the subject matter and format of the podcast and name-checks some brilliant writers and texts that have given Pete and family and many others the visceral chills that bring us back to the page again and again. The episode also features the most beautiful song known to humankind, in the history of humankind.

Authors Mentioned and Allusions and Songs During the Episode:

S.E. Hinton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._E._Hinton

Joe Pesci's "Shinebox" Rant in Goodfellas: Uhh, I'll let you find it if you'd like-uh, yeah, quite explicit

Maya Angelou: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou

Mario Puzo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Puzo

Khaled Hosseini: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_Hosseini

Elie Wiesel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elie_Wiesel

Lorenzo Carcaterra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Carcaterra

Jess Walter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_Walter

David Foster Wallace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace

Tobias Wolff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Wolff

Jamaica Kincaid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica_Kincaid

Junot Diaz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junot_D%C3%ADaz

Sherman Alexie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Alexie

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Garc%C3%ADa_M%C3%A1rquez

Antonya Nelson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonya_Nelson

Tillie Olsen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillie_Olsen

Ernest Hemingway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway

Cavalleria Rusticana (Intermezzo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDAkIlZyWfw