The Lonely Voice

The Lonely Voice: 'The Typewriter' by Dorothy West

Dorothy West was just 17 years old when she wrote “The Typewriter,” a quietly devastating story about dreams, family and the painful cost of disillusionment. Peter Orner

The Lonely Voice: 'Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog' by Stephanie Vaughn

Stephanie Vaughn’s “Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog,” is a sharp, tender story about family, memory and the limits of understanding we experience in childhood — and that open u

The Lonely Voice: 'The Claw' by José Emilio Pacheco

What happens when admiration turns into envy — and envy takes hold of an entire life? Yvette Benavides and Peter Orner discuss José Emilio Pacheco’s haunting short story,

The Lonely Voice: 'The Boat' by Alistair MacLeod

What does it mean to love a place — and still long to leave it? In Alistair MacLeod’s haunting short story “The Boat,” a son struggles between family, tradition and the p

The Lonely Voice: ‘Asigh’ by Mary Lavin

Peter Orner and Yvette Benavides explore the 1959 short story "Asigh" by the incomparable Mary Lavin. They examine this beautiful, poignant story about a protagonist who

The Lonely Voice: ‘The Tea Ceremony’ by Gina Berriault

In "The Tea Ceremony" by Gina Berriault, protagonist, Delia, struggles with wanting beautiful things. Her family's hardscrabble life doesn't measure up. She isn't the mos

The Lonely Voice: 'Train Dreams' by Denis Johnson

This is a special episode of "The Lonely Voice." Hosts Yvette Benavides and Peter Orner welcome guest host Alex Gordon to discuss "Train Dreams" by Denis Johnson — and th

The Lonely Voice: 'Gómez Palacio' by Roberto Bolaño

Yvette Benavides and Peter Orner discuss Roberto Bolaño' short story " Gómez Palacio." A young writer travels to a desolate northern Mexican town to interview for a teach

The Lonely Voice: 'Berries' and 'At Night' by Varlam Shalamov

Yvette Benavides and Peter Orner discuss "Berries" and other stories from Kolyma Stories by Varlam Shalamov. The author underscores the horrors of totalitarianism and the

The Lonely Voice: Four stories by Mavis Gallant

To celebrate the fiftieth episode of "The Lonely Voice" podcast, Peter Orner and Yvette Benavides discuss the four stories in the "Edouard, Juliette, Lena" story cycle —

The Lonely Voice: 'Out with the Old' by Richard Yates

Yvette Benavides and Peter Orner discuss “Out with the Old” by Richard Yates. The setting is a tuberculosis ward in a veterans' hospital on December 31,1950. Dreams have

The Lonely Voice: 'The Loudest Voice' by Grace Paley

In Grace Paley's "The Loudest Voice," a young Jewish girl from an immigrant family is chosen to narrate her school's Christmas pageant. This is an open-hearted story — ju

The Lonely Voice: 'Fun with a Stranger' by Richard Yates

Miss Snell isn’t as fun as other third grade teachers. Come the last day of school before the Christmas holiday, she holds a regular class day. There are no treats to eat

The Lonely Voice: ‘Love’ by William Maxwell

On this episode of "The Lonely Voice," Peter Orner and Yvette Benavides discuss the story “Love” by William Maxwell. A man recalls his fifth-grade teacher—a young woman w

The Lonely Voice: 'Panteón de Dolores' and 'Emergency Room Notebook, 1977' by Lucia Berlin

Peter Orner and Yvette Benavides discuss two stories by Lucia Berlin— "Panteón de Dolores" and "Emergency Room Notebook, 1977." In these stories we find family dysfunctio

The Lonely Voice: 'The Rain' and 'Elegy of Fortinbras' by Zbigniew Herbert

Nicholas Regiacorte joins Peter Orner and Yvette Benavides to discuss two poems by Zbigniew Herbert.

The Lonely Voice: 'The Death of Elsa Baskoleit' and 'Parting' by Heinrich Böll

Peter Orner and Yvette Benavides discuss two stories by the German author, Heinrich Böll who is known as a master of the short story. He wrote about World War II and post

The Lonely Voice: 'Nine Months Since Forever' & 'The Giver of Nicknames' by Rémy Ngamije

Rwandan-born Namibian author Rémy Ngamije discusses two stories from his book, Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space: A Literary Mixtape with Peter Orner and Yvette Benavi

The Lonely Voice: 'The Origin of Sadness' & 'Real Losses, Imaginary Gains' by Wright Morris

Wright Morris' characters can be odd, and they do unusual things. But there is something real and recognizable about these people and their situations. Yvette Benavides a

The Lonely Voice: 'Clara' by Roberto Bolaño

In the story “Clara” by Roberto Bolaño, a man tells the story of a woman he knew in his youth. Over three decades later, he hasn’t forgotten her. The story is riddled wit