Episode 190 Notes and Links to Ellen Birkett Morris’ Work
On Episode 190 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Ellen Birkett Morris, and the two discuss, among other things, her early relationship with the written word and Southern gothic writers, her increased confidence in world building that led to her embracing writing as a profession, writers whose work thrills her, her upcoming award-winning novel, promoting her Lost Girls story collection during the onset of Covid, pertinent themes from her collection, such as misogyny, the innocence of youth, aging and its attendant repercussions, connections/intimacy, and death, as well as her mindset in writing emotional and wrenching pieces.
Ellen Birkett Morris is an award-winning, multi-genre writer, teacher, and editor based in Louisville, Kentucky.
Morris is the author of SURRENDER (Finishing Line Press). Her poetry has appeared in Thin Air Magazine, The Clackamas Literary Review, Juked, Alimentum, Gastronomica, 3Elements Review and Inscape, among other journals. Morris won top prize in the 2008 Binnacle Ultra-Short Edition and was a semi-finalist for the 2009 Rita Dove Poetry Prize. Her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, Antioch Review, Notre Dame Review, South Carolina Review, Sliver of Stone, Great Jones Street, Santa Fe Literary Review, and Upstreet, among other journals. She is the 2015 winner of the Bevel Summers Prize for her story “May Apples” and won the Betty Gabehart Prize for Fiction.
Morris’s plays have appeared in Mud City Journal, Monologue Bank, and Plays, The Drama Magazine for Young People. Her ten-minute play, “Lost Girls,” was a finalist for the 2008 Heideman Award given by Actors Theatre. “Lost Girls’ received a staged reading at Cincinnati’s Arnoff Center.
Her essays can be found in trade paperback books including NESTING: IT’S A CHICK THING, THE WRITING GROUP BOOK, THE GIRLS’ BOOK OF LOVE, and THE GIRLS’ BOOK OF FRIENDSHIP, in journals including Brevity blog, The Common, The Butter, The Fem and South Loop Review, and on National Public Radio.
Morris teaches creative writing at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington, Kentucky.
Buy Lost Girls
Ellen’s Website
Review of Lost Girls by Yvette Benavides for Texas Public Radio
At about 3:20, Ellen describes her relationship with the written word, including the impact of the Southern Gothic she often was read
At about 4:45, Ellen talks about initial nervousness and small successes that “catapulted [her] into writing”
At about 5:40, Ellen keys in on what improvements she made in worldbuilding and “the magic of populating” her writing
At about 7:00, Ellen highlights Bobbie Ann Mason, Barbara Kingsolver, Ernest Hemingway and Elizabeth Berg as writers who have shaped her own work, as well as how her jour; Elizabeth Strout, George Saunders, and Rebecca Makkai are cited as beloved contemporary writers
At about 8:15, Pete remarks on the book’s economy of language, and Ellen adds how her pacing propels her work and how her journalism career has aided her later writing
At about 10:55, Ellen shouts out Rebecca Kuang’s Yellowface as a must-read
At about 12:40, Pete remarks on Ellen’s fabulous variety of work and asks her about muses and how she writes in different mediums; she provides an anecdote involving her father that illustrates her philosophy
At about 13:55, Ellen talks about how workshop help from Erin Flanagan provided the catalyst for her upcoming novel
At about 15:10, Ellen shares exciting news regarding her upcoming novel winning the Donald L. Jordan Award
At about 18:05, Ellen discusses the difficulties in the promoting and release of Lost Girls in June 2020
At about 19:30, Ellen calls the book a “loosely-linked collection of stories” and its connections to “Winesberg, Ohio" by Sherwood Anderson
At about 20:40, The two discuss the title story and the real-life backstory that inspired Ellen’s desire to center women in her story collection
At about 22:00, Ellen explains how she complicates the title story
At about 24:00, The two discuss the story of “Inheritance” and Ellen discusses “sin-eating,” themes of oppression and cycles of poverty and trauma and death and the story’s resonant title
At about 28:15, Ellen calls the story’s ending the most “raw, heart wrenching” she’s written
At about 28:55, The story “Religion” is discussed, including its emphasis on intimacy and social groups, and Ellen underlines the story’s humor
At about 30:30, The two talk about “Harvest” and themes of vitality and ageism and misogyny
At about 33:20, Pete fanboys over the story “The Afterlife” and the two discuss the grief and complicated mourning that takes place
At about 35:20, Ellen discusses advice received about complicating characters to create more compelling work
At about 37:10, Pete asks Ellen how emotionally-taxing this story was for her
At about 38:55, Pete compares the story to Alice Elliott Dark’s “In the Gloaming"
At about 39:40, The two discuss “fresh starts” as a theme and “After the Fall” and its connections to the Biblical story, its telling opening line, and its “metaphorical weight”
At about 42:05, The two discuss human connection as a throughline in the collection
At about 44:00, Tony, a repeated character, is highlighted, along with ideas of connections and unrequited love
At about 46:10, Through discussing “Neverland,” the two discuss its pertinent themes of connection and childhood traumas after Pete reads a story excerpt
At about 47:35, Ellen talks about the juxtaposition of youth and aging and complicity fits in the story
At about 48:55, Pete cites the innocence of youth as successfully-rendered by Ellen, including in the story “Kodachrome”
At about 51:45, Ellen responds to Pete’s question about how she ordered the story collection-she cites Lee Martin’s advice
At about 53:55, Ellen gives out publishing info for his work, including Carmichael’s in Louisville; she also gives contact info/social media
Episode 74 with Memoirist and Journalist and Dogged Pursuer of the Truth, Jean Guerrero, Author of Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, and Crux: A Cross-Border Memoir
Episode 73 with Roberto Lovato: Lightshiner and Truthteller-The Brilliant Excavator of Past Travesties and Author of the Incredible Memoir, Unforgetting
Episode 72 with Precise and Impassioned Poet, Creative, Radio Host, Teacher, and Founder of Southern Collective Experience, Clifford Brooks
Episode 71 with Music and Book Reviewer Extraordinaire and Author of the Dynamic, Educational, and Deeply-Researched Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded
Episode 70 with The "Master Craftsman with Astonishing Depth," and "Writer of the World," John Domini, the Author of 2021's The Archeology of a Good Ragù
Episode 69 with Observant Veteran Sportswriter Based in Tokyo and Author of the Well-Researched and Engrossing Going 15 Rounds with Jerry Izenberg, Ed Odeven
Episode 68 with The Hilarious, Profound, and Talented Writer of the Standout Debut Short Story Collection, Give My Love to the Savages, Chris Stuck
Episode 67 with Keen Observer, Fearless Fighter for Justice, and Food and Culture Writer, Esther Tseng
Episode 66 with Deep-Thinker, Aesthete, and Passionate Poet and Podcaster, Gabrielle Bates
Episode 65, with Natalie Lima, Master Essayist and Chronicler of the Universal and the Personal
Episode 64 with Director, Producer, Writer and Passionate, Award-Winning Storyteller for ESPN's 30 for 30 and E60, Martin Khodabakhshian
Episode 63 with Detail-Oriented, Master Storyteller about Sports and Beyond, and Author of Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between, Eric Nusbaum
Episode 62 with Poet, Activist, Actor and Powerful Performer, Donté Clark, Inspiration for Romeo is Bleeding
Episode 61 with Humor Writer for The Onion, Mad Magazine, and More: Funnyman, Dave Croatto
Episode 60 with the Immensely Cerebral and Passionate Poet Andrew Liu, Creator of California Metaphysics
Episode 59 with The Standout Crime Fiction Writer and Creator of Countless Compelling Characters, Tod Goldberg
Episode 58 with The Talented Writer and Comic Genius (and also WWE's Dr. Shelby!) Mike Aspinwall
Episode 57, with the Brilliant, Reflective, and Thoughtful Writer and Craftswoman of White Dancing Elephants: Chaya Bhuvaneswar
Episode 56 with Tireless Journalist, Raconteur, Voracious Reader, and Man of California and Orange County, Gustavo Arellano
Episode 55 with Scott Ellsworth, Writer of Moving, Impeccably-Researched Historical Novels like The Secret Game, Death in a Promised Land, and May 18th's The Ground Breaking
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
A Tale of Two Cities
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends