Following up last week’s post on audio theatre podcasts, here are a few of the poetry and fiction podcasts I’ve been gorging myself on lately — most of which are associated with print and/or online publications for speculative fiction and poetry.
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Uncanny Magazine
Uncanny Magazine is an bimonthly online Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine that published gorgeous fiction and poetry, as well as essays and interviews. What I love about the Uncanny podcast is the unique format, which incorporates a reading of a short story and a poem from the current issue, followed up by an author interview (most often the author of the short story that was just read). As such, each episode tends to be about an hour in length. Uncanny provides a powerful collection of emotionally moving and beautifully written work, which is read by fantastic narrators.
A Small Selection of Favorite Stories and Poems (so far):
- “Pockets†by Amal El-Mohtar (story), as read by the author – Podcast Episode 4
- “Planet Lion†by Catherynne M. Valente (story), as read by Heath Miller – Podcast Episode 4A
- “Apologies for breaking the glass slipper†by Isabel Yap (poem), as read by Amal El-Mohtar – Podcast Episode 4B
- “Wooden Feathers†by Ursula Vernon (story), as read by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone – Podcast Episode 7A
- “Lotus Face and the Fox†by Nghi Vo (story), as read by Erika Ensign, and “tended, tangled, and veined†by Kayla Whaley, as read by Amal El-Mohtar — Podcast Episode 8A
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Lightspeed Magazine
Lightspeed Magazine is a monthly publication, providing a wide ranging array of science fiction and fantasy fiction, as well as essays and interviews. Each podcast features an individual story. The narrators are all phenomenal, making it easy to just melt into the story while listening. Most of my (current) all-time favorite stories have been discovered on this podcast.
A Small Selection of Favorite Stories (so far):
- “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn, as read by Gabrielle de Cuir
- “Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream” by Maria Dahvana Headley, as read by Gabrielle de Cuir
- “The Book Making Habits of Select Species” by Ken Liu, as read by Stefan Rudnicki
- “Given the Advantage of the Blade” by Genevieve Valentine, as read by Gabrielle de Cuir
- “Love is the Plan and the Plan is Death” by James Tiptree, Jr., as read by Stefan Rudnicki
- “Her Husband’s Hands” by Adam-Troy Castro, as read by Kathe Mazur
- “Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World” by Caroline M. Yoachim, as read by Karyn O’Bryant
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PodCastle
PodCastle is unique here in that it is solely an audio journal, providing well-produced audio versions of fantasy stories, most of which have been previously published in other publications. At the end of each episode, feedback is provided for stories that have previously appeared on PodCastle. Since, PodCastle is subscription based, only a selection of the most recent stories are available for free.
A Small Selection of Favorite Stories (so far):
- “The Truth About Owls” by Amal El-Mohtar, as read by the author
- “Ogres of East Africa” by Sofia Samatar, as read by by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali and Troy L. Wiggins
- “The Fox Bride” by Mari Ness, as read by Rish Outfield
- “The Lady’s Maid” by Carlea Holl-Jensen, as read by Kim Lakin-Smith
- “Harlequin Moon” by Jennifer Hykes, as read by Laurice White
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Nightmare Magazine
Nightmare Magazine is a sister publication to Lightspeed, and often features many of the same set of fantastic narrators. The stories in this podcast are darker, slipping into more horror and dark fantasy, tales to unsettle and creep you out.
A Small Selection of Favorite Stories (so far):
- “Spores” by Seanan McGuire, as read by Kate Baker
- “Fishwife” by Carrie Vaghn, as read by Susan Hanfield
- “Returned” by Kat Howard, as read by Gabrielle de Cuir
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The New Yorker: Poetry
In each episode of The New Yorker’s Poetry podcast, a poet is asked to read a poem that has been published in The New Yorker and then to read one of their own poems. Together with the host Paul Muldoon, the poet discusses the poems and why they are compelling. These discussions tend to be more intellectual and academic, which is sometimes more than I can fully focus on when I’m listening on the road home. However, there are some interesting discussions of craft and how the language in certain poems can create an emotionally moving experience in the reader.
I believe there’s also a New Yorker fiction podcast, but I haven’t got to that one yet.
Episodes I Particularly Liked:
- Ellen Bass’ reading and discussion of Adam Zagajewski’s “Try to Praise the Mutilated World,†as well as her own poem “Reincarnationâ€
- Meghan O’Rourke’s reading and discussion of John Ashbery’s “Tapestry,†as well as her own poem “Apartment Livingâ€
- Ada Limón’s reading and discussion of Jennifer L. Knox’s “Pimp My Ride,” as well as her own poem “State Birdâ€
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Another two podcasts that I’ve started listening to are Strange Horizons and Apex Magazine, both of which feature great stories and narrators. Although, I’ve found them to not have quite as good of a sound quality and in some cases to be a little more glitchy.
Next week I’ll finish up this little series of posts with my favorite Filmmaking and Screenwriting podcasts.