Episode 132 with Morgan Talty, Writer of Believable, Relatable, and Subtly Powerful Prose, and Critically-Acclaimed Author of the Debut Collection, Night of the Living Rez, a Tour De Force

Episode 132 Notes and Links to Morgan Talty’s Work 

 

    On Episode 132 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Morgan Talty, and the two discuss, among other topics, the “surreal” feeling of seeing his publication play out with such critical acclaim, his early relationship with languages and storytelling, formative experiences and authors and texts that have informed his writing, themes and throughlines in his debut story collection, and the seeds and background of the story collection and his future projects.

    Morgan Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. Morgan teaches courses in both English and Native American Studies, and he is on the faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in creative writing. His highly-anticipated short story collection, Night of the Living Rez, is forthcoming from Tin House Books, on July 5.

Morgan Talty's Website

 

Buy Night of the Living Rez

 

“The Gambler” for Narrative Magazine

 

 

 

At about 1:20, Morgan discusses his mindset as he was in the week before publication of his short story collection, as well as events coming up promoting the book and how it feels to see his book become a reality

 

At about 3:40, Morgan discusses his early relationships with reading, language, and storytelling

 

At about 5:45, Morgan explains his rationale for writing out Penobscot words phonetically and how the language lives within him

 

At about 8:00, Morgan responds to Pete’s questions about Wabanaki and their connection to internal and external groups

 

At about 9:00, Pete wonders about any moments that turned Morgan into a writer as well as what works-Harry Potter, Sherman Alexie’s work-influenced his own; Morgan cites Toni Jensen, Tommy Orange, Terese Marie Mailhot, Chelsea Hicks, and Brandon Hobson, among others, as “establishing a broader spectrum of voices"

 

At about 11:15, Morgan cites the importance of Jack Kerouac and On the Road in his life and writing life

 

At about 13:00, Pete presents a cliched reading list that came right after college

 

At about 14:10, Morgan expands on ideas of “representation”

 

At about 17:15, Pete and Morgan fanboy about Tommy Orange’s There There; Morgan cites it as a “turning point”

 

At about 19:05, Morgan talks about ideas of “gatekeepers” and “the white gaze” in conjunction with publishing goals and mores; he cites JJ Amaworo Wilson anecdote that is emblematic of ideas of tropes and stereotypes in publishing 

 

At about 21:20, Pete references the finishing scene of Morgan’s title story and Morgan expands on ideas of “performance”

 

At about 22:00, Morgan discusses Karen Russell, Richard Van Camp, and many others as examples of writers who thrill him 

 

At about 23:15, Morgan describes moments of discovery and affirmation through the years that solidified his career choice

 

At about 24:50, Morgan details 

 

At about 26:20, Morgan shouts out local bookstores-Briar Patch in Maine, Birch Bark Books in Minnesota, and King’s English are some examples-where his books can be bought

 

At about 27:15, Morgan discusses seeds for the short story collection, Night of the Living Rez, and how he “stumbled into” big and unifying ideas for the collection through the character of David 

 

At about 31:15, Pete quotes from a short story and connects the quote to the story collection as a whole

 

At about 32:45, The two discuss themes of inaction 

 

At about 34:45, the two discuss themes of trauma and grief and the connections to addiction and legacy

 

At about 36:35, Morgan speaks to ideas of intergenerational trauma and how he writes so well about these ideas without “sensationalizing” 

 

At about 38:00, The two discuss themes of normalcy and Pete asks Morgan about finding balance in the collection

 

At about 40:40, Pete compliments the humor from the collection and asks for the full joke of a portion that was presented in the book 

 

At about 41:35, Ideas of role reversal and maturity and responsibility are discussed  

 

At about 44:00, Pete and Morgan talk about the Mikumwess/Pukwudjies background and connect ideas of building tension as seen in the title story

 

At about 48:15, Morgan discusses future projects, including a “dark David Sedaris” project- he mentions “The Gambler” from Narrative Magazine as a taste of this style

 

At about 50:00, Morgan gives his social media/contact information

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The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

    Please tune in for Episode 133 with Nick Buccola, a writer, lecturer, and teacher who specializes in the area of American political thought. He is author of The Fire Is upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America, as well as a fellow Santa Clara University alum 

The episode will air on July 14.