19 February 2007

Selected Shorts: The Other Woman

Well, I didn't get much time to sit down and listen to 90.5 but i did turn it on as I was getting ready to do some errands. I happened to tune in on a story session and was greatly amused to hear the telling of 'The Other Woman" by Sherwood Anderson. Not only was interesting to listen to a soothing yet dramatic voice (an actor named keir-something) while trying to run around and concentrate on things like finding my keys, but it also was a good pick of a short story too.

After hearing this story, and before starting this blog, i decided to try to find it and read it for myself. There's something about listening to a story being told that is completely different then having read it yourself. You get a different tone and visualization, and it seems you comprehend both more about certain details and less about others (overall plot line vs. details like setting). I believe it is because when hearing someone speak we are already so used to picking out the important things we just let the rest fall into place, and later on we'll remember the 'heroic tale' they told you, yet sometimes forget who it was, or when it was told.

I don't usually listen to books being read, but i have heard it before. Everytime i hear a story being read though, i can't help but think about Orson Welles radio adaption of The War of the Worlds and the panic that was caused by it. I can imagine how realistic it must have seemed, and how influential it must have been to the development of what we hear on the radio today.

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