Hello and welcome to Episode #12! For the first time on our podcast, we are discussing fiction! Today, we will talk about a short story, “Prufrock” by Terry Dubow. We were nervous about discussing this longer format, but super excited to try it out.
Hello and welcome to Episode #12 of PBQ’s Slush Pile! For the first time on our podcast, we are discussing fiction! Today, we will talk about a short story, “Prufrock” by Terry Dubow. We were nervous about discussing this longer format, but super excited to try it out.
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Dubow has been writing fiction for twenty years or so—it’s his secret identity without exciting parts. No super powers. No spy stories. No second family in Idaho.
In addition to writing 250 words a day, he works at an independent school in Cleveland and does his best to help his two daughters and his one lovely wife stay happy, healthy and fed. A story collection was a finalist for the Autumn House Fiction Prize in 2011. Currently, he’s working on his third novel. We want more, and after reading this story, we have a feeling you will, too. Read another story, “Wyoming” in Witness.
We advised our listeners to go read Prufrock first, but of course, we can’t know that they did--it’s all an experiment, right? We dove right in: raccoons and a cat and teenagers and mother-in-laws, oh my!!!
This story packs so much into thirteen pages; we laughed at moments, and while we may not have cried, we winced at all the right parts. This story made us think about fatherhood, T.S. Eliot, incapacitation, indecision, and whether we should be paid by the hour. Once again, Tim schooled us on the real habits of the wildlife of North America, and we could have discussed the story for another hour.
We had some dissension about how the piece ends and even more about what happened to Prufrock; please read, listen to this show, and cast your vote!
Marion suggested that we might provide a synopsis of the story at the beginning of episodes that discuss fiction, which sparked a discussion of recap podcasts and the ways we consume longform media. With such an overwhelming amount of media coming at us in so many ways---how do you consume? You can let us know on our Facebook event page and our twitter @PaintedBrideQ. Don't forget to subscribe and rate us on our iTunes page!
As always, thank you for listening, and read on!
Present at the Editorial Table:
Kathleen Volk Miller
Marion Wrenn
Tim Fitts
Denise Guerin
Alexa Josaphouitch
Caitlin McLaughlin
Production Engineer:
Joe Zang
PBQ Box Score: 1:1
Marie Manilla Watchers
Episode 125: Voyeurs Apply Within
Episode 124: Pinpricks of Process
Episode 123: The Catholic Episode
Episode 122: Concrete Poetry & Champagne
Episode 121: The Tie Breakers Episode
Episode 120: On Seeing & Being Seen
Episode 119: Line Breaks & The Iambic Lilt
Episode 118: Making Words New
Episode 27: Suicides and Skeleton Jazz (REISSUE)
Episode 19: The Dinosaur-Robot Episode (REISSUE)
PBQ Summer Teaser Episode
Episode 117: This Episode Smells Delicious
Episode 116: Finding Flow
Episode 115: We’re Obsessed
Episode 114: The Swirl
Episode 113: The Call of the Wild
Episode 112: Letting Go of Meaning
Episode 111: What Lingers
Episode 110: The Logic of Heartbreak (or Caveats Rock)
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