Extra by Yiyun Li

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Books, Arts

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2020

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Yiyun Li (1972- ) was born in Beijing, China, the daughter of a teacher and a nuclear physicist. She dreamed of studying in America, hoping to escape an oppressive political regime and an unhappy family life. But when she arrived at the University of Iowa at the age of 23, a math prodigy and burgeoning immunologist, she found herself drawn to literature, a shift that led her to drop her career as a scientist in favor of writing fiction, where she soon established herself as one of the premier writers in the world. On this episode of The History of Literature, we look at Yiyun Li's life and fiction, with a particular focus on her short story "Extra." Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. (We appreciate it!) Find out more at historyofliterature.com, jackewilson.com, or by following Jacke and Mike on Twitter at @thejackewilson and @literatureSC. Or send an email to [email protected]. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy. Since you're listening to The History of Literature, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows surrounding literature, history, and storytelling like Storybound, Micheaux Mission, and The History of Standup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglamorate Network and LIT Hub Radio.
0:07.0	Hello, I'm Jack Wilson.
0:12.0	Welcome to another special quarantine edition of The History of Literature. Okay, here we go. Welcome to the podcast. I'm Jack Wilson. It's a Thursday.
0:36.8	We're on a new kind of schedule here. The History of Literature
0:40.0	Podcast wasn't one that I planned, but I kind of like it a Monday episode like
0:45.3	normal and then a special short story Thursday episode to help you get through the
0:51.7	week we have a great story for you today,
0:53.6	a fascinating author, Yewn Lee.
0:56.7	She is, well, you know what I just heard?
0:59.6	A little anecdote that helps me make sense of a writer
1:02.1	like Yewn Lee, I'll have Nabokov and Samuel Beckett
1:06.5	and all kinds of other literary analyses, but this one is from the world of entertainment. But before I get there, let me just say that we are in the quarantine all over the world.
1:18.0	Once again, I don't want to burden you with coronavirus news.
1:22.0	We're not the best source for that. We are, what we're
1:26.6	hoping to be is a brief moment, an hour or so when you can set the news aside
1:32.0	so you can take care of yourself and together we can dream
1:36.0	of better days to come. Remember some with fondness, look forward to some with eager anticipation. I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and sound.
1:46.5	Keep your wits about you. Follow the advice of the experts and we will hope and pray for the best.
1:53.0	Now, the world of entertainment, my boys and I have finished Breaking Bad,
1:58.0	and we've moved on to better call Saul,
2:00.0	which is a nice follow-up from Breaking Bad, kind of like moving from King Lear to Oscar Wilde,
2:06.6	not as intense, but good in its own way and a welcome change.
	...

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