Mason Out Loud

On this episode of the Fall for the Book Podcast, Pamela N. Harris, author of the debut YA novel When You Look Like Us sits down to talk about defying stereotypes, writing your own experiences, the power of representation in books, and of course, Leonardo DiCaprio.

For our fourth episode of Globally Lit, a podcast of international literature and translation, we interview Intan Paramaditha, who wrote the foreword to Budi Darma's short story collection, People from Bloomington. In the second portion of the episode, writer and translator Lily Meyer converses with Darma's English translator, Tiffany Tsao, about her work on People from Bloomington. At the end, Aliza Cohen from The Potter's House in Washington, DC, provides a review of Anne Carson's translations of the ancient Greek poet Sappho. To learn more about us, please visit the Cheuse Center at https://cheusecenter.gmu.edu/ and Books Across Borders at https://www.booksacrossborders.com/ Please purchase the books discussed in this episode through the Bookshop links below. People from Bloomington: https://bookshop.org/a/19120/9780143136606 If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho: https://bookshop.org/a/19120/9780375724510

Janice Northerns discusses her childhood in arid West Texas, changing life and land, and coming back to writing later in life. This episode of the Fall for the Book podcast features her work in the debut collection Some Electric Hum.

Revising poems and restoring life. Poet Phil Goldstein discusses his debut book of poetry, HtBaBaS, a narrative of surviving childhood sexual abuse, the art of revision, and how a careful and conscientious inquiry of one's memories can help us learn to revise and restore our lives.

Brandie June, author of the YA fantasy novel Gold Spun, chats about her fairy tale retelling of “Rumpelstiltskin,” which gives the princess more agency, playwriting, doing aerial arts, and more, all on this episode of the Fall for the Book Podcast. Purchase her book here: https://bookshop.org/lists/fall-for-the-book-podcast

Claudia Kalb, author of Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers talks about the role of memory and luck, and the "rage to master" their skills that make each of the 13 profiled geniuses -- including Pablo Picasso, Yo-Yo Ma, and Julia Child-- so incredible.

For our third episode of Globally Lit, a podcast of international literature and translation, we interview Danish writer Mathilde Walter Clark, who discusses her latest novel, Lone Star. In the second portion of the episode, Clark's translator, K.E. Semmel, converses with writer and translator Misha Hoekstra about his work on Lone Star. At the end, Anna Thorn gives a roundup of 2021's most exciting literature in English translation. To learn more about us, please visit the Cheuse Center at cheusecenter.gmu.edu and Books Across Borders at booksacrossborders.com. Please purchase all the books discussed today through the Bookshop links below. Lone Star: https://bookshop.org/a/19120/9781646050635 Winter in Sokcho: https://bookshop.org/a/19120/9781948830416 When We Cease to Understand the World: https://bookshop.org/a/19120/9781681375663 Peach Blossom Paradise: https://bookshop.org/a/19120/9781681374703 Migratory Birds: https://bookshop.org/a/19120/9781945492525 Waiting for the Waters to Rise: https://books

Jim Peterson takes readers on a surreal journey in his short story collection The Sadness of Whirlwinds. In this first episode of the 2022 season of The Fall for the Book Podcast, he discusses how each tale dabbles or drips with magical realism and why it's important for the reader to ask questions.

Ethel Rohan discusses the importance of "uncomfortable" stories, how memories can shape a character's future, and the power of small moments, all on this episode of The Fall for the Book Podcast. Rohan is the author of In Case of Contact, which won the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize.

Two writers discuss power, position, and moving forward: M.M. Bailey in her flash piece “Smaller,” and Yermiyahu Ahron Taub in his poem “The Light at the Beginning of the Tunnel.” Bailey and Taub are two of the hundred writers from DC, Maryland, and Virginia featured in This is What America Looks Like – the first anthology from The Washington Writers’ Publishing House in 25 years. The book showcases work that represents this landmark historical moment of a social justice movement in the midst of a global pandemic. Editor Caroline Bock drops by to discuss the importance of these works.

Richard Washer, resident playwright at The Rose Theatre Company discusses his new play, Dubliners in Exile after actors perform a scene. In the play, James Joyce wakes up disoriented from a deep sleep to a timeless world at once strange and yet familiar where he knows something important needs to get done quickly, but he can’t remember what it is. As he searches for clues, an ever-changing procession of circumstances and characters distract and confuse him. Will he remember in time?

Jesse DeLong and Beth Gilstrap infuse every word of their poetry and prose with atmospheric tension, using nature to explore what it means to be human. DeLong’s poetry collection The Amateur Scientists Notebook uses scientific tables, field guides and more to draw the natural world together with philosophy, memory, and family. Gilstrap’s Deadheading and Other Stories intertwines her Southern Gothic narratives with nature — whether the characters are eating it or healing through it.

Mason Creative Writing presents 12 diverse writers each year in its Visiting Writers Series where they are joined by a host to talk about craft, content, and the art of creative writing. In this episode, fiction faculty member Helon Habila talks with Tope Folarin, author of A Particular Kind of Black Man.

Heather Young discusses her novel, The Distant Dead, set in the high desert hills. Called “electrifying, ambitious, and crushingly beautiful,” by Kirkus Reviews, Young’s novel is a taught literary thriller which tackles the opioid epidemic, poverty, and deeply buried secrets.

Two writers examine pressing issues of identity, legacy, and historical memory in their work. Poet Sandra Beasley writes through the lens of Washington D.C. and Virginia’s history to examine race, politics, disability advocacy and more in her collection Made to Explode: Poems. Chris Stuck’s debut short story collection Give My Love to the Savages tackles the taboo with grit, humor, and gripping language that propels readers through his work.

On our second episode of Globally Lit, a podcast of international literature and translation, we will celebrate April's National Poetry month by welcoming the great Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish, who will discuss his latest collection of poems Exhausted on the Cross. Then, Najwan's translator, Kareem James Abu-Zeid, will be in conversation with writer and translator Vivek Narayanan. And finally, Gwen Hunter and Scott Abel of Solid State Books in Washington, DC, give two great recommendations of recently translated literature to check out. Please purchase all the books discussed today through Solid State Books at https://bookshop.org/shop/solidstate. To learn more about us, please visit the Cheuse Center at cheusecenter.gmu.edu and Books Across Borders at booksacrossborders.com. You can learn more about our translators and writers today by visiting najwandarwish.com and kareemjamesabuzeid.com.

Ride the rails and guard the infamous Sing Sing prison with Ted Conover, author of six books, most recently Immersion: A Writer’s Guide to Going Deep. Conover sits down with Tim Denevi in this edition of the Creative Writing Program's Visiting Writers series. Find out more at https://creativewriting.gmu.edu/

Celebrate Children's Book Week with Megan Wagner Lloyd, author of Allergic, and Paper Mice, and Nadine Poper, author of Porcupette and Moppet talk the art and craft of writing kids' books, and the little known facts of the children's book publishing world!

Tania James, author of The Tusk That Did The Damage sits down with Karen Russell, author of Sleep Donation and Swamplandia! to discuss writing toward ambiguity, crazy stories, and more in this edition of the Creative Writing Program's Visiting Writers series.

Arthur Sze sat down with Kara Oakleaf and Suzy Rigdon to discuss revisiting fifty years' worth of poetry in his latest collection, The Glass Constellation, finding freedom within structure, and the importance of poetry in daily life.