Ethan Canin is the author of two short story collections (Emperor of the Air & The Palace Thief) and a number of novels including his latest, A Doubter’s Almanac. On today's show, Ethan discusses one of his favorite lines in literature (4:30), the state of contemporary fiction (14:30), and why he believes America has yet to learn how to teach English (23:00). Plus, Ethan reflects on the influence of Raymond Carver on writers of his generation (28:00), the types of characters he tends to consider in his work (31:00), and why he’s trying to do "the difficult thing." (41:00)A Doubter’s Almanac is available now by clicking here.
 
Topics mentioned:


A Doubter’s Almanac by Ethan Canin
Emperor of the Air by Ethan Canin
Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama
The Palace Thief by Ethan Canin
“A Silver Dish” by Saul Bellow
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
Tenth of December by George Saunders
City of Thieves by David Benioff
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Cathedral by Raymond Carver
The Collected Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever
America, America by Ethan Canin
For Kings and Planets by Ethan Canin
“When Einstein Was Wrong” by Jonah Bromwich
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies
“Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff
Memoir from Antproof Case by Mark Helprin
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

People mentioned:

Ethan Canin
Barack Obama
Joe Fassler
Harold Bloom
David Foster Wallace
Mark Leyner
Scott Fitzgerald
Raymond Carver
Tess Gallagher
Gordon Lish
Michael Chabon
Alice Munro
Shakespeare
Danielle Steel
Elwood Reid
Martin Amis
Philip Roth
William Kennedy

 
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