WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Today’s selection Small Marvels, a novel in stories, by Scott Russell Sanders, was written over many years. As Sanders realized they were a book he began to interlace them into a suite of stories. Small Marvels feels a bit like folklore, a bit like legend, a bit like a family tale told around a campfire or over dinner.
In a recent conversation with Shana Ritter, Sanders said that the interconnected stories remind him of the human capacity for good. As he was working on essays addressing difficult topics, he would take a break and visit fictional “Limestone, Indiana,” where a sense of wonder resides along with the reappearing characters such as Gordon, who has much in common with his father, and Mabel who somewhat resembles his mother. Both possess “hand skills,” a radical competence – the ability to fix or make about anything,
While his fiction is driven by character, his essays are driven by questions –puzzling over something such as trying to understand why some memories haunt and others don’t. Sanders told Speaking of Stories, “What I seek is to share an insight into a larger reality, the shapes and dimensions of human life.”
About the Author
Scott Russel Sanders, long time Bloomington resident is professor emeritus and an award-winning writer of over twenty books stories, novels, children’s books and works of personal nonfiction, including Staying Put, Writing from the Center, Hunting for Hope, and A Private History of Awe.
MUSIC
Vassar Clements
“Sentimental Journey”
“Back Home in Indiana”
CREDITS
Narrator: Scott Russell Sanders
Producer & Host: Robert Shull
Audio Engineer and Music Director: Doug Storm
Literary Consultant: Shana Ritter
Musical Theme: “Firetime” by The Keithe Lowrie Duet
Executive Producer: Josh Brewer
