Reading, Short And Deep #412 – The Everglade Ghost by Benjamin Harrison

Reading, Short And Deep

Reading, Short And Deep #412

Eric S. Rabkin and Jesse Willis discuss The Everglade Ghost by Benjamin Harrison

Here’s a link to a PDF of the story.

The Everglade Ghost was first published in Short Stories, April 1899

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The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce

SFFaudio Online Audio

I could be wrong but I bet The Boarded Window is the second most popular Ambrose Bierce short story assigned in American schools (with the first being An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge).

The Boarded Window is super short (less than 2,000 words), leaves out the usual controversial themes Bierce went for, and is a good ghost story too.

LibriVoxThe Boarded Window
By Ambrose Bierce; Read by Joseph Langley
1 |MP3| – Approx. 13 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: January 28, 2009
First published in the San Francisco Examiner, July 14, 1889.

Here’s a “Special English” adaptation. Designed for ESL students this version is read at a slower pace, with a simplified vocabulary.

Voice Of AmericaThe Boarded Window
Adapted by Lawan Davis from the story by Ambrose Bierce; Read by Shep O’Neal
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Voice Of America
Published: 2009
“A man in the deep woods deals with the death of his wife.”

Here’s a |PDF|.

And finally here’s an 1978 video adaptation for the International Instructional Television Cooperative:

Posted by Jesse Willis

WYSO: Dangerous Women – a dramatization of the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the American suffragette movement

SFFaudio Online Audio

Jerry Kenney of WYSO (Yellow Springs, Ohio) contacted me back in Novmeber 2010. He wanted me to check out their latest radio drama, a historical biography piece entitled Dangerous Women. He described it like this:

“[Dangerous Women is] the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the early suffragettes [in the United States]. While not technically sci-fi or fantasy, it is the ‘Spirit’ of Stanton who drives the play forward. I also see that you list “history” among your listening pleasures. We are a public radio station in Yellow Springs, Ohio and produced the play with a local theatre group. This is our third project and I’d be interested in any feed back you might have. We aired the program locally last week and have had a good response from listeners. Links to our other historical dramas can be found there as well. Again, any feedback you have would be most welcome.”

And here’s my feedback:

Dangerous Women‘s sweeping rendering is both an informative summary of the reasons for women’s suffrage and the story of how the laws regarding it came to be. I can’t imagine that the U.S. congress and senate would ever approve such an amendment today – let alone a three-fourths of fifty states!

The script is uniformly excellent, being both a well organized historical lesson and compelling biography. The production, likewise, is seamless and solid. Much of the acting feels rather stiff, but none of it actually undermines the production. As to the history itself, I was surprised by the many parallels between the Canadian and British suffrage movements, with which I was already familiar. Perhaps women’s suffrage, the world over, can only be like this – opposed by men (and some women), something gradually achieved – and not the end point of making gender equality.

If you’re interested in historical drama, Dangerous Women is a great place to start!

WYSODangerous Women
By Kay Reimers; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 1 Hour [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: WYSO
Broadcast: October 21, 2010
This original work by Yellow Springs playwright Kay Reimers, concerns the beginning and end of the nearly century long struggle to give women the right to vote. The play begins in 1920, during a special election held by the Tennessee state legislature to ratify the 19th amendment. In the tense hours leading up to the vote, as Reimers tells the story, the spirit of the first suffragette, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, reflects on the events of her life and struggle, which led to the first formal demand for women’s suffrage in 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York. Giving women the right to vote was considered a threat to the established order and women were considered “dangerous” even to suggest it.

Cast:
Miriam Eckenrode as Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Howard Shook as Henry Stanton
Doug Hinkley as Judge Cady
Marcia Nowak as Susan B. Anthony
Troy Lindsey
Jason Sine
Gary Reimers
Sarah Strong
Flo Lorenz
Elizabeth Lutz
Rob Campbell

Crew:
Directed by Dan Davis
Produced by Jerry Kenney

Podcast feed: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wyso/.jukebox?action=viewPodcast&podcastId=19850

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

A 1975 interview with Leigh Brackett

SFFaudio Online Audio

I’ve updated our LEIGH BRACKETT page to include a few new finds – including this cool 1975 interview…

TonyMaklin.NetA 1975 Interview With Leigh Brackett
Interviewer Tony Macklin
1 |MP3| – Approx. 70 Minutes [INTERVIEW]
Provider: TonyMacklin.net
Posted: June 2009
“My interview with author Leigh Brackett took place in Kinsman, Ohio. I drove with my young daughter on a hot, humid, blazing July 1975 day to Leigh’s rural farm house. She was a gracious hostess and introduced us to her husband, fellow science fiction author Edward [sic] Hamilton. A lot of heady imagination was born in that rural locale. I vividly remember Leigh’s making us lemonade to help cool us — it was pure sugar. My teeth still cringe when I think of it. On the way home we stopped in the woods by a lake and took a refreshing dip in the warm water. The whole trip was like a trip to an alien world, where we were welcomed by a fairy godmother.”

Posted by Jesse Willis