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The Strange Recital

The Strange Recital is an audio anthology of short fiction. It is not genre-specific and delights in perceptions of reality that warp and fold in unexpected ways. The literary works we showcase might be odd, humorous, or surreal.... They might remind you of Borges, Nabokov, Kafka, Pynchon. Or none of the above.
 
Each podcast episode features one writer and runs about 25 minutes. It includes a story reading – the Recital – a brief musical interlude, and an author interview with a twist – the Post Recital. Subscribe to get a new episode twice a month. It's free.

Dec 19, 2021

"Henry mashed his cigarette into a tinfoil ashtray. It was full of tar-stinking butts. He crumpled the ashtray closed and, squirming against the passenger door, stuffed the smoldering lump into his jeans like a carcinogenic pocket warmer."

Three guys drive into the mountains. Then they dig a hole. Why would a young man...


Nov 14, 2021

"The trouble started when he went for a walk. Or perhaps it had started earlier with the cup of coffee he drank just before going out. It wasn’t so much the coffee as the milk, but that had not seemed important at the time."

 
A chilly walk in the woods... an unusual stranger... has something gone wrong with time, or...


Oct 10, 2021

"Howling and half-naked in his torn and bloody clothing Fargo is a desperate man and dangerous to himself and others. He ricochets around his kitchen, heaving furniture into the street."

 
What does a man do when he reaches the very limit of himself? Can there ever be a way back? New York City or the world, livin' ain't...


Sep 12, 2021

"Isobel Harper wakes to the dream. The images come back in her waking hours like still frames of cinema noir, the camera shots collapsing and superimposing upon each other: A girl’s silent scream caught in the glare of a street light. A man’s fist poised at a door."

 
A child's mind captures snapshots of trauma....


Aug 16, 2021

"I’m dreaming, was my first thought. My body had risen weightless into the air, helped by the movements I’d made, like swimming; the cold night air blew chill on my cheeks and ruffled my hair."

Is it a story about poverty and brutality, or about magic and wonder? Wartime Athens gets a unique treatment in this...