Welcome to strangers from KCIW's independent producer project and storycentral.org.

My name is Lea Tau, and today you're going to hear from a true literary hero of mine.

It's one of my favorite writers, but more than that, his work has been a major inspiration for strangers,

because I would argue that no one has gone further or deeper in their desire to penetrate and portray the lives of strangers.

His name is Gay Talise, when portray the lives of strangers.

His name is Gates-A-Lise, when he sold millions of books which have been translated into many languages, but he may be best known for his essays.

The most famous piece called Frank Sinatra Has a Cold from 1966 was selected by Esquire Magazine as the best story they'd ever published in their 70-year history,

and it is widely regarded as one of the best pieces of nonfiction ever written.

Gazed on other famous profiles of other famous people, but much of his work focuses on true life stories of ordinary

people like you and me. Two weeks ago, I went to interview him at his townhouse on the

Upper East Side of Manhattan, where he's lived with his wife, Nan, for 53 years. Nan is a publisher

with her own Nan A. Talise imprint at Double Day, and she

publishes big authors like Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwen and Jennifer Egan and many more.

Together Gay and Nan are literary royalty in New York. He's 81 and she's 78, but they still write and publish and give swanky parties

and appear in magazines, always impeccably dressed, gay especially in his three-piece suits

made of expensive wool with silk handkerchiefs in the breast pockets, and he has a fondness for hats

and beautiful handmade shoes. I first met

them in 2007. I've known them socially since then. And like many people around them, I've

always wondered about the inner workings of their marriage. 53 years is a rare accomplishment

in this day and age, especially for a couple in the public

eye who got married under highly unusual circumstances in the first place, and whose

marital crises over the years have been a matter of public scrutiny. Gay is known for throwing

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