Karen Russell Reads Mavis Gallant

The New Yorker: Fiction

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

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

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 3 October 2016

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Karen Russell joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss Mavis Gallant’s “From the Fifteenth District,” from a 1978 issue of the magazine.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the New Yorker Fiction Podcast from the New Yorker magazine.
0:08.3	I'm Deborah Treesman, Fiction Editor at the New Yorker.
0:11.9	Each month we invite a writer to choose a story from the magazine's archives to read and
0:15.8	discuss.
0:17.3	This month we're going to hear from the 15th District by Mavis Galant, which was published
0:22.1	in the New Yorker in October of 1978.
0:25.9	Every year on the Sunday falling nearest the anniversary of his death, Major Trevella
0:29.9	attends Holy Communion service at St. Michaels, the church from which he was buried.
0:35.0	He stands at the back, close to the doors, waiting until all the communicans have returned
0:39.3	to their places before he approaches the altar rail.
0:43.0	His intention is to avoid a mixed queue of dead and living, the thought of which is disgusting
0:48.8	to him.
0:51.2	The story was chosen by Karen Russell, who's the author of two story collections and
0:55.5	the novel Swamp Landia.
0:57.6	She's been publishing fiction in the New Yorker since 2005.
1:01.5	Hi, Karen.
1:02.5	Hi, Deborah.
1:04.6	So Mavis Galant published more than 100 stories in the New Yorker and I know you went through
1:09.8	and reread quite a few of them.
1:11.8	What made you choose this one to read today?
1:14.6	You know, this story has been really special to me.
1:16.9	I've sort of passed it on to friends and students and I love her work and I was going to say
	...

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