Andrew O’Hagan Reads Donald Antrim

The New Yorker: Fiction

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Yorker, Wnyc, Literature, Books, New, Fiction, Arts

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2023

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Andrew O’Hagan joins Deborah Treisman to discuss “An Actor Prepares,” by Donald Antrim, which was published in The New Yorker in 1999. O’Hagan is the author of six novels, including “The Illuminations” and “Mayflies,” which was published in 2020 and won the Los Angeles Times Christopher Isherwood Prize.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is The New Yorker Fiction Podcast from The New Yorker Magazine.
0:08.3	I'm Debra Treesman, Fiction Editor at The New Yorker.
0:11.5	Each month we invite a writer to choose a story from the magazine's archives to read
0:15.0	and discuss.
0:16.6	This month we're going to hear an actor prepares by Donald Antrim, which was published in
0:20.8	The New Yorker in June of 1999.
0:23.8	Possibly, I should say, probably.
0:26.1	It was risky of me to attempt simulated sex with undergraduates.
0:30.6	What do you think, gang?
0:32.0	Is this something you feel you can comfortably do in front of an audience?
0:36.3	The story was chosen by Andrew O'Hagen, who's the author of six novels, including The Illuminations
0:41.3	and Mayflies, which was published in 2020 and won the Los Angeles Times Christopher Isherwood
0:46.2	Prize.
0:47.7	Hi, Andrew.
0:49.7	Hi, Debra.
0:50.7	Welcome.
0:51.7	Good to be here.
0:52.7	So you consider several stories by Donald Antrim before settling on an actor prepares,
0:57.9	but you were quite sure that you wanted to read one of his stories, and why is that?
1:02.6	I think Donald Antrim is one of the most interesting American writers currently working.
1:07.1	I've been following him from story to story and from novel to novel, and also enjoyed
1:11.7	his nonfiction work, and he just seems to me to have a kind of Chikovian precision about
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WNYC Studios and The New Yorker, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.