Issue 6. November 2010
Sea Escape (a central chapter)
downloadAt the November 15 Four Stories event, Lynne Griffin reads a central chapter from Sea Escape, her novel about the ties between a mother and her daughter, inspired by a collection of family letters. To hear Lynne read the first two chapters of the novel for The Drum, click here and here. (:33)
Porn Star
downloadBret Anthony Johnston starts off his reading at the November 15 Four Stories/Drum event with "Porn Star," his entry for a dictionary of dirty words. (:33)
The End of Summer
downloadBret Anthony Johnston spins a story about loss of innocence, loyalty, and betrayal from a simple prompt: one sentence from an author's correspondence. Bret's sentence? "Sex doesn't start on an eighteenth birthday at midnight." (:33)
Boy
downloadBret Anthony Johnston closes his reading at the November 15 Four Stories event by announcing he will be plagiarizing Jamaica Kincaid's famous story "Girl". Here is his short piece "Boy". (:36)
The Quickening
downloadMichelle Hoover reads from her novel The Quickening at the November 15 Four Stories event, choosing a scene that dramatizes the themes of loss and perseverance at the novel's core. (1:04)
Four Stories Introduction
downloadFaith Salie welcomes the crowd at Cambridge's Enormous Room to the November 15 Four Stories event in collaboration with The Drum, goes over the ground rules--and opines on The Great Gatsby, pageants, and catheters. (4:38)
Just To See If I Could
downloadReading at the November 15 Four Stories event, Ethan Gilsdorf begins with a boy facing a woodchuck, and leads us through a humorous and complex contemplation of the nature of play, cruelty, and kindness, in his essay "Just To See If I Could". (:31)
Veronica's Nap
downloadSharon Bially's novel Veronica's Nap opens with the high winds of summer in the south of France, twin toddlers, and the pressures of painter's block. Hear the first chapter here, and read the rest at Veronica's Nap. (:31)
Plumbing Problems
downloadAnn King's "Plumbing Problems" sets a cancer diagnosis in the world of a plumbing supply company, where the bright white of a porcelain tub, and the cramped space of a backroom toilet give us a fresh look on an all too common event. (:34)
Dogtown
downloadElyssa East’s first book, Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town, interlaces the true story of a grisly murder with the strange history of a wilderness ghost town and explores the possibility that certain landscapes wield their own unique power. She reads here from the prologue of the book, "The Prophetic Pictures." (1:04)
Drum Archives: Now Available Through Audible
While everything on The Drum is free to download or listen to on the site, our older material will eventually go into our archives, which you can find on Audible.com. Click here to see our materials on Audible--so far, our first six months' worth of audio. You can hear a brief sample of each piece on our site by clicking its play button.
