Skip to main content

The Drum

Issue 15. August 2011

JENNIFER HAIGH Bent

download

Jennifer Haigh's short story "Bent" takes place in Cape Cod's Provincetown (02657), where Kip's family has vacationed every summer he can remember, renting the same house by the shore. He's always brought along his neighborhood friend Fanelli, but this year, he's added his college buddy Jean-Luc, a Frenchman whose exoticism and way with girls Kip envies. "Bent" portrays the subtle dance of allegiance and rivalry between these young men, as it studies Kip's first true experience of regret. (26:08)

about the author

medium

ROLAND MERULLO excerpts from In Revere, In Those Days

download

The opening to Roland Merullo's 2003 novel In Revere, In Those Days sets us squarely down in Revere (02151), and in the mind of a narrator for whom the city of his childhood is more than geographical location. For Anthony Benedetto, Revere is a place outside time, a world full of blue-collar families dreaming for something bigger. He looks back on the "ordinary heroism of the household, the factory, and the street" and reflects on those who are able to transcend the bitterness and hardship of their lives. (22:29)

about the author

large

ASKOLD MELNYCZUK excerpt from Excerpts from SMEDLEY's Secret Guide to World Literature

download

Fifteen years old and educated beyond his years, beset by the chaos of his family and a possibly pregnant girlfriend, Jonathan Levy Wainscoting IV narrates Askold Melnyczuk's novel-in-progress Excerpts from SMEDLEY's Secret Guide to World Literature. Woven through with literary, philosophical, and cultural references, Jonathan's narrative muses on his parents' and his friends' complicated lives on the eve of his forced summer's-long departure from his Cambridge home. Excerpts from SMEDLEY's Secret Guide to World Literature first appeared in the June 2011 issue of The Drum, and represents 02139 for our Zip-Code Stories project in collaboration with WBUR. Send us your story about 02139! (20:41)

large

DAPHNE KALOTAY Sunshine Cleaners

download

Daphne Kalotay's "Sunshine Cleaners" takes place in a laundromat in Brookline (02446), where cultures tumble together in misunderstanding and miscommunication. Sergei ponders the mysteries of America in everything from simple signs to interactions between men and women, while the Tall Girl struggles to make herself understood as her transactions in coins and language repeatedly fail. All the same, the tiny world of the laundromat offers a sweet and surprising payoff. (32:28)

about the author

large

Zip-Code Stories

The Drum Literary Magazine and WBUR's Radio Boston are joining forces to bring you Zip-Code Stories, where listeners share their own stories about the neighborhoods that make Greater Boston unique. Zip-Code Stories invites WBUR's listeners to do the talking. Each month, we'll name four zipcodes and we'll invite listeners to submit their own stories about those zipcodes. You'll be able to upload your audio straight onto Broadcastr, and the best pieces will be included in The Drum's Broadcastr playlist. Each month, we'll be featuring one story on Radio Boston. Zip-Code Stories launched on Monday, August 8 2011 with a Daphne Kalotay's "Sunshine Cleaners," set in Brookline's 02246. Subsequent zip-code featured authors include Askold Melnyczuk (02139), Roland Merullo (02151), and Jennifer Haigh (02657). For information on how to submit to Zip-Code Stories, click here.


theme: comedy

theme: crisis

theme: relationships

theme: family

genre: essay

novel excerpt

short fiction

poetry

under 10 min

under 20 min

under 30 min

under 40 min
ADVERTISE WITH THE DRUM
«
»