Words from this blog

Penguin classics

Penguin has got a wonderful website where you can listen to authors discussing their books, listen to stories and even see a list of the 10 classics one must read. They even have a page on poetry. Worth a visit!

Bliss, Katherine Mansfield

Katherine Mansfield is known, here in Brazil, as the writer who first inspired Clarice Lispector. Here is one of her best stories: Bliss. And here it is its podcast.

iPhone app: short stories!

I have just read this very interesting article on a new iPhone app that has been hailed as the renaissance of a neglected literary form.

The Three Princes of Serendipity

I was looking for a short story to post here and then I found something else. Following the spirit of serendipity, I looked for the Three Princes of Serendip, a tale from which the word serendipity itself was created.

Front Row: The American Authors Collection

This is such a treat: BCC Radio 4 - Front Row series. Lots of interviews with great American authors, including the great Don De Lillo and Edward Albee. Unmissable!

Chimamanda Adichie and the danger of a single story

I have just watched this talk by the Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie, and thought it was worth showing it. Thanks to the writer Adriana Lisboa for sharing this powerful lecture.

You can read a story by Chimamanda Adichie here.

Chekhov again!

Something about "The Lady With the Little Dog" I forgot to mention. Kate Winslet´s character in The Reader starts learning how to read with this story. A must-see film.

Chekhov: The Lady With The Little Dog.

Anton Chekhov was a genius. His stories are written so elegantly that it is difficult to choose just one among his many great stories. "The Lady With The Little Dog" is a masterpiece. A great text to begin my holiday readings.

There is a 1960 film based on this story that you can watch here.

Chile: Roberto Bolaño

I have just come back from Santiago, Chile. When I travel, I usually try to find out about local short story writers. This time, I already knew what I wanted: Roberto Bolaño´s books. I only read my first story by this fantastic writer about three years ago, and since then I have been longing for more of his sophisticated stories.

Here is one of his stories: Sensini.

You can read an article about Bolaño in the New York Times.

You can learn more about Roberto Bolaño here.

Writers and their websites: Road Dahl

Some writers have such well-designed web sites that it would be a pity not to publicise them as much as possible. This is the case of Road Dahl. His website is full of treats. For example, there you can listen to the man himself talking about his craft. Definitely worth a visit.

Also, you can read one of his stories "Beware of the Dog" here.

And the winner is...

The BBC Radio 4 neglected classic chosen by most people was Michael Morpugo´s choice The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico. And guess what? It is a novella, almost a short story. It seems to be such a powerful slim volume that we all ought to read it.

Enjoy the story here.

Neglected classics

I know the blog is about short story , but BBC Radio 4 will announce today the winner of "Neglected Classic" , i.e., a book that deserves to be read, or re-read, and that has been neglected over the years. Therefore, please, allow me.

Ten great authors have advocated in favour of their preferred book and the public has voted. You can listen to the podcasts in which writers such as Colm Toibin, Ruth Rendell, Joanna Trollope and Michael Morpugo talk about their favourite classics. My vote is also for Colm Toibin´s choice Esther Waters, by George Moore. I read it years ago and Mr. Toibin is absolutely right: you cannot forget Esther. The result will be on today at 4pm (GMT)

You can find most of the classics (if not all of them!) here.

Paul Theroux for the Weekend

I love Paul Theroux´s writings. Fact or fiction, I find him highly entertaining. My suggestion for the weekend is this story, The Lower River, published by The New Yorker.

You can also read Mr. Theroux´s controversial article on celebrities helping Africa.

Or watch a short video with Mr. Theroux talking about writing.

Rana Dasgupta

One of the things I like about reading is that it gives me an opportunity to dive into a totally new world. This is what I felt when I read Rana Dasgupta´s story The Flyover. His prose strikes me as fluent, cosmopolitan and unforgettable. One of those stories that remains with you long after you finished reading it.

Mr. Dasgupta´s website is very creative and worth visiting.

Also, you can read an article on The Guardian about Rana Dasgupta´s first novel, Tokyo Cancelled.

Hemingway: A Very Short Story

Hemingway´s stories are all about saying the maximum with the minimum. Also, his tales have a haunting quality about them. I still think about the first text by Hemingway I read : The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

Here is "A very Short Story", by Ernest Hemingway.

And here is a video about Hemingway´s life.

Short stories for EFL learners

Reading short stories in a language we are learning is a great way to enlarge our vocabulary. If you are learning English the number of stories available on the net is enormous.

Please, take a look at this link. Or this one for more advanced readers.

Lorrie Moore

I just love reading The New Yorker. Its Poetry and Fiction column gives me the opportunity of discovering new (to me!) short story writers. This is what happened when I came across this story by Lorrie Moore, "Childcare".

Nadine Gordimer

As today is Nelson Mandela´s birthday, here is the great Nadine Gordimer reading one of her short stories: 'The Loot', from the book "The Loot and Other Stories".

Writers on Writing

As a reader, I always find fascinating to know more about writers and their writing process. It seems I´m not alone on this one. The New York Times has published a series on the topic.

And talking about writers, the Guardian has a series called Writers´room, also very interesting.