Sunday on the Podcast with George Saunders
Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Higher Ground
4.8 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 2 January 2022
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As we begin the new year, we turn to writer George Saunders. He first joined us upon the release of his latest book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. He’s recently launched a new newsletter called "Story Club", available on Substack.
This week we’re revisiting our talk with Saunders, discussing the power of Chekhov and Tobias Wolff (8:52), regarding literature as a “fondness for life” (12:30), his summer with Steinbeck (15:00), deconstructing the (male) mythology of Hemingway (26:45), and how starting a young family changed his course (35:00).
On the back-half, we talk craft and process (39:00), his conversations with the late David Foster Wallace (42:15), and his aim to entertain any kind of reader (44:39). To close: George reads an excerpt from his New Yorker short story, “Love Letter” (49:02).
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Pushkin |
| 0:09.0 | Hey, this is Sam. |
| 0:10.0 | If you enjoy our interviews with writers and artists on Talk Easy, then I'd recommend checking |
| 0:14.8 | out the podcast Missing Pages. Hosted by acclaimed literary critic and author Beth Ann Patrick, |
| 0:21.5 | Missing Pages investigates the biggest hot button topics in the book world today |
| 0:26.4 | with the help of special guests like New York Times Best-Selling author Jody Pekle |
| 0:31.3 | and publisher weeklies Jim Miliet. |
| 0:33.8 | Produced by the people at the Podglamaret, |
| 0:36.1 | Missing Pages explores everything from the insta frame of Colleen Hoover |
| 0:40.3 | to the rise of book bands across America to the lucrative culture of non-fiction ghost writing. |
| 0:46.0 | As both the Washington Post and the Guardian praise, |
| 0:49.0 | missing pages is a must listen. |
| 0:52.0 | So if you'd like to check it out, you can follow missing pages on |
| 0:55.0 | Apple Podcast or wherever you like to listen. This is talk easy. I'm Sam for go so welcome to the show. This week after the holidays we're returning to our episode with author George Saunders. |
| 1:35.0 | He's one of my favorite American writers working today. You're likely familiar with |
| 1:40.4 | some of his work including the 10th of December, Lincoln in the Barto, and most recently a swim in the pond in the rain. |
| 1:48.6 | This is one of my favorite episodes from the past 12 months and one of those conversations that I plan to carry |
| 1:56.2 | with me into 2022. We talk about empathy, masculinity, Ernest Hemingway, and how art can be a moral, ethical tool for self-examination. |
| 2:08.0 | Picking up where his new book left off, Saunders recently launched a sub-stack called Story Club. |
| 2:15.0 | It's essentially a virtual writing course that includes two weekly pieces written by Saunders, |
| 2:21.0 | guided readings, writing exercises, and a whole lot more. |
| 2:25.6 | If you ever wanted George Saunders as your teacher, I definitely know I have. |
... |
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