The Paris Review

A special bonus episode, recorded live at On Air Fest on March 8, 2020 (just before social distancing sent everyone home), featuring a crowded room of lovely human beings enjoying an immersive live performance of The Paris Review Podcast. The show opens with excerpts of Toni Morrison’s 1993 Art of Fiction Interview, scored live by some of the musicians that created the score for Seasons 1 and 2. Then Vijay Seshadri reads his poem “Ailanthus”; Quincy Tyler Bernstine reads “A Story for Your Daughters, A Story for Your Sons” by Rebecca Makkai; finally, Emily Wells provides live scoring for Bill Callahan’s rendition of Adrienne Rich’s poem “The Tree.” “The Tree” excerpted from Collected Poems: 1950-2012 © 2016 by the Adrienne Rich Literary Trust. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. // The musicians providing the live scoring are Curtis Breweron guitar, Sam Ospovat on drums, and Mike Brown on bass. // Our theme song is composed by David Cieri.

The final episode of Season 2. The incomparable Charlotte Rampling reenacts Simone de Beauvoir’s classic 1965 Paris Review interview; Danez Smith reads their poem “my bitch!”; Sarah Manguso shares her lyric essay “Oceans,” about moving to California, cancer, and writing oceanically; actor Griffin Dunne reads Henry Green’s story “Arcady; or a Night Out.”; and we close with a recording of the late WS Merwin reading his poem “Night Singing.”

Singer/songwriter Bill Callahan reads “Laguna Blues,” a poem by former U.S. poet laureate Charles Wright; J.M. Holmes reads his Pushcart Prize–winning story “What’s Wrong with You? What’s Wrong with Me?”; seminal dramatist Tennessee Williams describes his daily rituals in an archival interview; and comedian Jenny Slate channels Anne Sexton in her reading of the poet’s “Admonitions to a Special Person.”

Salman Rushdie reads an apologetic letter written by Dylan Thomas to his editor; poet Sharon Olds identifies “The Solution” to America’s problems; Alexandra Kleeman reads her haunting story “Fairy Tale”; and singer/songwriter Devendra Banhart reads the little-known legend of “The Woe Shirt,” as written by Paulé Bártón.“Mea Culpa” © The Dylan Thomas Trust. www.discoverdylanthomas.com.

Actor Quincy Tyler Bernstine revisits one of the most unsettling scandals of the nineties with her reading of Lucille Clifton’s poem “lorena”; Jason Alexander brings Philip Roth’s early story “The Conversion of the Jews” to vivid life; and poet Brenda Shaughnessy contemplates “All Possible Pain.”Lucille Clifton, “lorena” from The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton. Copyright © 1996 by Lucille Clifton. Used with permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., boaeditions.org.

Legendary novelist and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison explains why beauty is absolutely necessary in an interview from the magazine’s archives; Molly Ringwald channels adolescent grief in her reading of “Guests,” a story by Mary Terrier; and poet Alex Dimitrov reads his poem “Impermanence.”

The celebrated podcast from the legendary literary magazine returns! Join us for new audio adventures through The Paris Review's fiction, poetry, interviews, archival recordings, and sonic imaginings with the likes of Simone de Beauvoir , Tennessee Williams, and today's leading writers. Featuring readings and writings from Charlotte Rampling, Jason Alexander, Jenny Slate, Devendra Banhart, Danez Smith, Sharon Olds, Lucille Clifton, Molly Ringwald, Salman Rushdie, and more! Check out this trailer for a preview of the upcoming season, and subscribe now to hear the first episode on October 23rd. More info at www.theparisreview.org/podcast

Before Philip Roth was an American icon, he published one of his first short stories in The Paris Review in 1958. In 2010 he received the Hadada, our award for lifetime achievement. Here is his acceptance speech.

The final episode of Season 1. Jamaica Kincaid in conversation and reading her short story WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING LATELY; James Salter’s story BANGKOK read by Dick Cavett; Sadie Stein encounters a literary specter on the 1 Train; Frederick Seidel reads his poem THE END OF SUMMER; and Caitlin Youngquist reads Robert Bly’s CHORAL STANZA NUMBER ONE, which appeared in the very first issue of The Paris Review, in the Spring of 1953.

Shotguns, peacocks, golf, acid. Editor Terry McDonell recounts his 1984 visit, along with George Plimpton, to Hunter S. Thompson's home in Colorado, including never-before-heard archival tape; a poem by Pablo Neruda, translated by Alastair Reid and read by Antonio Gueudinot; and actor Paul Heesang Miller reads WILLIAM WEI, a short story by Amie Barrodale. "Emerging" from EXTRAVAGARIA by Pablo Neruda, translated by Alastair Reid. Translation copyright © 1974 by Alastair Reid. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

David Sedaris reads Frank O'Hara; Mary-Louis Parker reads Joy Williams; Dakota Johnson reads Roberto Bolaño; John Ashbery is scored by musician Steve Gunn; and The Paris Review's Southern Editor John Jeremiah Sullivan sings Robert Johnson. "A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island" from THE COLLECTED POEMS OF FRANK O'HARA by Frank O'Hara, copyright © 1971 by Maureen Granville-Smith, Administratrix of the Estate of Frank O'Hara, copyright renewed 1999 by Maureen O'Hara Granville-Smith and Donald Allen. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. “Soonest Mended” from The Double Dream of Spring by John Ashbery. Copyright © 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966 by John Ashbery. Used by permission of Georges Borchardt, Inc., on behalf of the author. All rights reserved.

A frat boy encounters the divine in Benjamin Nugent's story GOD, performed by Jesse Eisenberg; Rowan Ricardo Phillips examines the difference between heaven and paradise in his poem KINGDOM COME; and Kristin Dombek sends us a LETTER FROM WILLIAMSBURG.

Stockard Channing and Anna Sale recreate the Review's 1956 interview with Dorothy Parker; writer Idra Novey talks about the taste of the letter "H"; Helga Davis reads Alexia Arthurs short story BAD BEHAVIOR; acclaimed playwright John Guare shares former Review editor Blair Fuller's true story AN EVENING WITH JD SALINGER; and Jeff Gleaves, the Review's Digital Director, recites Elena Wilkinson's poem AFTER THE LOSS OF A LIMB.

Denise Levertov's poem SOUND OF THE AXE, read by actor Glynis Bell; Eudora Welty tells George Plimpton about the time Henry Miller visited her in Jackson, Mississippi, and recounts the mysterious tale of Thelma; Ottessa Moshfegh reads her story A DARK AND WINDING ROAD. This episode is sponsored by Audible. Go to audible.com/PARIS for a 30-trial and free first audiobook.

Eudora Welty recalls the time her mother saved Dickens; David Sedaris ponders the unsettled dead in his essay LETTER FROM EMERALD ISLE; Nadja Spiegelman reads Sharon Olds's poem THE BEETLE; and Peter Ho Davies's short story THE ENDS tells a tale of Nazis, gallows, and basketball.

Acclaimed poet Eileen Myles reads SWEET HEART; two-time Tony nominee Alison Fraser lends her voice to Lucia Berlin's story B.F. AND ME; author Caleb Crain encounters the angel of death; and Brian Cullman shares a story about the time Van Morrison bought him a drink.

Marc Maron reads THE WORM IN PHILLY, a story by Sam Lipsyte; Robert Pattinson reads a poem by James Wright; George Plimpton recalls a boxing match in Hemingway's dining room; and Sadie Stein shares a true story about missed connections.

LeVar Burton recreates the Review's Art of Fiction interview with James Baldwin; Morgan Parker reads her poem HOTTENTOT VENUS; Dakota Johnson reads a poem by Dorothea Lasky; and Lorin Stein reads WHY DON'T YOU DANCE, a classic story by Raymond Carver. “Soonest Mended” from The Double Dream of Spring by John Ashbery. Copyright © 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966 by John Ashbery. Used by permission of Georges Borchardt, Inc., on behalf of the author. All rights reserved.

A visit to Jack Kerouac’s house ends with the story of Buddha; Hailey Gates reads a poem by Erica Ehrenberg about love and moving on; and MY WIFE, IN CONVERSE, Shelly Oria’s tale of marriage, poetry, and cooking class, as performed by Donnetta Lavinia Grays.

Poet and downtown icon Eileen Myles reading a poem by James Schuyler; archival tape of Maya Angelou interviewed by George Plimpton, the founding editor of the Review; the legendary actor and writer Wallace Shawn reading Denis Johnson’s famous story “Car-Crash While Hitchhiking”; and a true story by Sadie Stein, read by herself, about doing the twist alone on a Tuesday night.