The Catapult

Today's episode features writing about food and writing about space, objectively the two best kinds of writing. Marian Bull reads "In the Morning Kitchen," which was originally published in Lucky Peach, and Anthony Michael Morena reads from his book, The Voyager Record: A Transmission. 

Two pieces set in New York City, with narrators trying to make sense of their present and their past—Zoe Rana Mungin reads her short story, "Never Get Married," and Lucas Mann reads from his memoir, Lord Fear, which is out in paperback now. ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Today we bring you readings from three excellent independent literary magazines: NOÖ, Synaesthesia, and Moss, with short prose from Ari Baum-Hommes, a poem from Tania Nwachukwu, and an excerpt from a short story from Corinne Manning.  ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com

On today's episode: a mother tries to reach her daughter, a woman tries to make sense of a stranger in town, and some extraordinarily exuberant love poems. Readings from Lynn Steger Strong (Hold Still), Sasha Fletcher (It Is Going To Be A Good Year), and Kaitlyn Greenidge (We Love You, Charlie Freeman). Also discussed: The Tournament of Books! ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Three readings on the moments when our bodies and lives surprise us and betray us, in ways common and seemingly supernatural. Kerry Cullen reads her short story, "Unidentifiable," A. Igoni Barrett reads from his novel, Blackass (on sale March 1) and Sara Majka reads an excerpt from her collection, Cities I've Never Lived In (on sale now). ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

This is not a Valentine's Day episode. But it is inappropriate for workplace listening, inappropriate for children, inappropriate for tender souls—wait, it's exactly right for tender souls. (Isn't all art?) Tony Tulathimutte and Belinda McKeon read from their new novels: on desire, longing, lust, shame, loneliness, family, and, yes, love. And porn.  ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Let's call this our Translation Special! Pulitzer Prize–winner Gregory Pardlo reads his essay, "On Translation," and poet/translators KT Billey and Anna Rosenwong read their translated work. ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

After some discussion of reading that can change your life, two readings about life in huge moments of change: marriage, death, love. Cara Parks reads an essay and Paul Lisicky reads the opening of his new book, The Narrow Door: A Memoir of Friendship (on sale January 19). ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

The many ages of man. And girl. And mothers. And bodies. It's all terrifying and hilarious. Helen Ellis reads a story from her collection, American Housewife, out January 12, and Michael Ian Black reads the introduction to his new book of essays, Navel Gazing: True Tales of Bodies, Mostly Mine (But Also My Mom's, Which I Know Sounds Weird), which is on sale now. ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Two Joshes for the price of a free podcast today! Josh Fruhlinger reads from his novel, The Enthusiast, and Josh Gondelman reads from his humor book, You Blew It, which he co-wrote with non-Josh Joe Berkowitz. ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Sailboats, witches, fathers, beer, red wine, tequila, and supplications to the power of Death: new nonfiction from Kea Krause and Alex Mar. Alex's book, Witches of America, is on sale now. ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Six short stories for the price of one (episode). Weird, whimsical, horrific, romantic—tiny containers make room for some of the strangest, most wonderful things. With Rahawa Haile and Lincoln Michel. ~review The Catapult in iTunes~ Note: Due to a technical error (a hard drive falling on the floor) there is no outtro music on this episode. Please keep the hard drive in your thoughts and prayers so that there may be outtro music again on future episodes. CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Today we celebrate The Oyster Review, home to great essays about great books: reviews, personal essays, celebrations, and explorations. Vivian Lee on karaoke, Myles Tanzer on subway survival, and Miranda Popkey on escape. And all of them on books. Review The Catapult in iTunes CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Two readings from two writers with brand new books: Emily Holleman reads from her new novel, Cleopatra's Shadows, and Maris Kreizman, author of Slaughterhouse: 90210, reads an essay about finding her path and her voice in NYC. And now it's time for the raffle! For a chance to win a copy of Cleopatra's Shadows, tweet a link to your favorite episode of The Catapult with the hashtag #CatapultPodcast before 11:59pm EST October 18th. (Alongside the link, feel free to say why you think that episode is great!) Review The Catapult in iTunes CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

From two great storytellers, two great essays, about love, teaching, New York City, and the things we do to lose ourselves or find ourselves. Tim Manley reads "Wearing My Heart on My Hand," and Molly McCloy reads "Eating East Elmhurst." Review The Catapult in iTunes CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

Poet Robin Beth Schaer reads from her collection, Shipbreaking, and playwright Sarah Ruhl reads essays from her book, 100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theater.  CatapultPodcast.com // @CatapultPodcast // The Trebuchet

The first in a sporadic series of readings collected from early in our archives: three poetry readings from the first year of The Catapult. With: mermaids, aliens, new geometries, neurological disorders, remarkable women, rejection, porn, eating meat, and the color of the stars. **Also note: Our website is now CatapultPodcast.com, and our twitter is now @CatapultPodcast. Everything will redirect, but for new followers and/or talking to us on twitter.**

What's the mythology driving your world? From family stories to fairy tales, classic movies to Food Network stars—on this episode, Adrienne Celt reads from her novel, The Daughters, and Jason Diamond reads his essay, "Bleach." CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Both of today's readings come from novels that take their characters to foreign places: in Rebecca Dinerstein's The Sunlit Night, it's arctic Norway, and in Edan Lepucki's California, it's the wilderness of a world falling apart. The Sunlight Night is in bookstores now, and California is newly out in paperback. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

On this episode, we bring you two different versions of lost and found: Jaya Saxena reads her essay, "Looking the Part," about trying to find a clear identity, and Molly McArdle reads from her novel in progress, Geography, with an excerpt about a boy lost on a city bus, and what he finds in the aftermath. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Jessamyn Hope reads from her novel, Safekeeping, and Alexis Coe reads from her nonfiction book, Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis. Plus: What do you read when you're writing? Sometimes (blasphemy!) do you need to read nothing at all? CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Today's readings come from books that might be the perfect summer reading: engrossing, devourable novels that, even if they're not fluffy feel-goods, feel amazing to read. Emily Schultz reads from The Blondes and Jami Attenberg reads from Saint Mazie. Both books are on sale now. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Part two of The Catapult's live show at HiFi in April, with new readings from Jaime Green (hi) and Mira Jacob (The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing). CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Recorded live at HiFi, Isaac Oliver and Morgan Parker read new work as part of the Catapult-curated edition of the HiFi Reading Series. Morgan's book, Other People's Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night, is out now. Isaac's book, Intimacy Idiot, comes out June 2nd. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Discussed: cats, fame, feminist spiritual preparation for marriage, independent bookstores, small towns, sudden disappearance, and a coming storm. Elisabeth Donnelly reads her essay, "How to Befriend a Cat," and Catie Disabato reads from her novel, The Ghost Network, out May 5 from Melville House. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Readings from two novels, about love and love gone awry, about the small things that add up to love and the things that try and fail to mimic love's shape. Anna North reads from The Life and Death of Sophie Stark (out May 19) and Will Chancellor reads from A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall, in bookstores now. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

On this episode, two pieces about the ways war can impact our lives across great distance—in time or space—and the ways conflict can change and challenge who we are. Jessica Pearce Rotondi reads from her book-in-progress, What We Inherit, and Saïd Sayrafiezadeh reads his essay, "War and Duane Reade." CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

We've got readings from two new novels for you today: Lance Rubin reads from Denton Little's Deathdate (April 14th), about a world where everyone knows in advance the day they're going to die, and Kathleen Alcott reads from Infinite Home (August 4th), which is about how the eclectic tenants of a Brooklyn brownstone come together in the face of threats to their home. ALSO: NYC locals, on April 1st we're curating the HiFi Reading Series. Featuring past Catapult readers Mira Jacob, Morgan Parker, and Isaac Oliver, and, both hosting and reading, too, Jaime. April 1, 8pm, HiFi Bar. More info here: HiFi + The Catapult. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

From family to frontiers, the familiar and foreign, today's episode brings you sisters and snow-covered glaciers and plains: Jazmine Hughes reads an essay called "Sisters, Ranked," and Jynne Dilling Martin reads poems from her new book, We Mammals in Hospitable Times, inspired by her time in Antarctica.  CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet  

On this episode, Madeline Felix reads from the smart, big-hearted book she is writing, Ways to Get Lost, about teaching in Vietnam, and Tobias Carroll reads two short pieces that exist in the overlaps of quotidian and surreal, comical and mournful. Two notes on the opening: I realize that wanting nice clogs & $90 t-shirts is not a particularly nichey expression of consumer desire. I'm not even sure I want clogs. They seem heavy.  When I said “self-effacing,” I meant “self-deprecating.” Because self-deprecation is, at its heart, the opposite of the shying-away-from-attention that's part of self-effacement. Okay, glad we got that out of the way. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Today the podcast goes Left Behind, but instead of awful evangelical propaganda, we're bringing you two variations on ~*pseudocide*~ with faked deaths, fantasized escapes, and specious raptures. Elizabeth Greenwood reads from her forthcoming book, Playing Dead: The Art and Folly of Pseudocide, and Katie Coyle reads the opening of her novel, Vivian Apple at the End of the World. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Do you need to go somewhere new in order to find yourself? If you go somewhere new, can you even help learning more about who you are and what you want? This episode brings you two writers exploring these questions in very different ways: Kyle Chayka's essay, "Art Youth," explores expat and hipster culture in Beijing, and Helene Wecker's reading from her novel, The Golem and the Jinni, shows a lost, lonely Golem in 1899 New York trying to understand herself and her new world. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads // The Trebuchet

Happy new year! What are your positive resolutions? What do you want more of in your life? Did you answer "more of the Catapult live show"? Well then boy are you in luck! Here is part two of The Catapult Live, with Nicole Steinberg and Gabriel Roth. Nicole reads poems inspired by Lucky Magazine and internet thinkpiece titles, and Gabriel reads footnotes and a several-years-old restaurant review. This little blurb does none of it justice.  ALSO: sign up for our new weekly newsletter, The Trebuchet.  Happy 2015! CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads

On this episode we bring you part 1 of our live show, recorded November 3rd, 2014, at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in New York City. For part 1, we have Kevin Nguyen reading an essay about names, culture, and the internet, and Alan Hanson reads an amazing new set of poems. Plus: What is the best emoji? (And is the singular of "emoji" "emojo"? Can it be?) CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads

Time works in strange ways in both pieces on this episode. Shelly Oria reads a short story from her new collection, New York 1, Tel Aviv 0, about measuring love, distance, and loss, and Bijan Stephen reads an essay that tells the story of one night in fragments, but decades and centuries are tangled up in those moments. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads  

Today we've got two nonfiction pieces that show the power of sharing experience through writing and reading. Meaghan O'Connell (Longreads, The Billfold) reads from her honest, funny, and generous recounting of her son's birth, and Miranda K. Pennington (The Toast, The American Scholar) shares a glimpse of how her life has been changed by decades of reading and re-reading the Brontës. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads

On today's episode, the perils and thrills of being a woman or girl navigating a world full of men's bodies. But maybe not quite how you expect. Elisabeth Geier reads an essay about art, music, love, and penises, and Marie-Helene Bertino reads a short story about a woman caught in a sort of deluge of the past. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads

The Pleiades, love poems, lava tubes, and porn. Rome and dark-sky mountaintops. An essay, "We Never Looked at the Stars," from Ben Lillie and poems by Dorothea Lasky from her new book, Rome.  Also announcing The Catapult: LIVE, 11/3 at Housing Works Bookstore in NYC. (And to be distributed by podcast thereafter.) More info here. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads  

Today we've got readings from two amazing short stories: Alice Sola Kim reads from "Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying" and Dolan Morgan reads from "Infestation." Alice's story appears in the new issue of Tin House (#61) and the anthology, Monstrous Affections. Dolan's story is in his new collection, That's When the Knives Come Down.  You could call this episode "Ghosts and Goats," but that's so dumb that I hid it here at the bottom. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads

On this episode, we've got stories of children trying to make sense of the world... and adults trying to do the same. Figuring out the unspoken rules, trying to get the answers they want, a little lost, a little hopeful, a little strange. Julia Pierpont reads her short story, "Times For Us Alone," and Gabriel Roth reads from his novel, The Unknowns. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads

Two stories of love and leaving home: Rebecca Worby reads an essay about falling in love with red rock country and the confusion of romance in a beloved place, and Justin Taylor reads a short story about leaving the city in love and continuing to leave and be left. You may direct all correspondance, including angry letters about ungenerous assessments of beloved Joan Didion essays, to letters@catapultreads.com. CatapultReads.com // @CatapultReads  

From mermaids to the Midwest, we've got something for everyone today: poems from Matthea Harvey and fiction from Emily Gould. Also some musings on cat ownership and writing and how they're maybe the same thing, plus some ambient construction sounds from recording at Emily's apartment. Apologies for the buzzsaw; enjoy the rest. Find more work by Matthea and Emily at CatapultReads.com, and follow us on twitter: @catapultreads. 

Today's episode features work from the new issue of Apogee Journal. (Today's episode also features the sound of several low-flying jets on their way to land at LaGuardia Airport.) Apogee publishes art and writing that engage with issues of identity politics, and today's readers, Morgan Parker (reading poems) and Stacy Parker Le Melle (with an essay), show just how gorgeous, compelling, funny, smart, thoughtful, and intriguing that work can be. For more info: CatapultReads.com and ApogeeJournal.org.

Poetry and fiction for you, on rare neurological diseases, following Phish, the Next Great American Novelist that never was, lost love, found accents, and indescribable mystical experiences. Plus advice for writers, literary secrets, and a new Catapult feature: long-distance Q&A. Send your questions for this week's or any past readers to letters@catapultreads.com. We'll have answers for you on the next episode.

Two nonfiction readings today—Matt Gallagher reads an essay about getting back in uniform, in New York City instead of Iraq, and Leigh Stein shares an excerpt from her memoir-in-progress about grieving in the internet age, in this selection touching on rings, relics, and run-ins with the cops.

Our run of fortuitously themed episodes is OVER, unless you'll take for this episode's theme "really lovely readers." Because they are. Both writers on this episode have the kinds of voices I could just listen to forever. But the similarities mostly end there. Mira Jacob reads the opening of her novel, The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing. Filip Noterdaeme reads from his book, The Autobiography of Daniel J. Isengart. Info on the writers & links to more of their work at CatapultReads.com. 

This episode brings you two excerpts from two fantastic new books: Jen Doll reading the opening of her book, Save the Date: The Occasional Mortifications of a Serial Wedding Guest (out now) and Catherine Lacey with an excerpt from her novel, Nobody is Ever Missing (out July 8th). On weddings and marriage with audio cameos from a helicopter, an ice cream truck, and who knows what else! Corrections to the audio: The Last Five Years is about a bad *marriage,* not a bad wedding; Catherine's book comes out July 8th, not July 9th.

An essay, poems, and a short story. Discussed: sisters, best friends, feminist poetry, Belle & Sebastian, California, meteor showers, shacks in the woods, DSM IV 300.6, John Green, tumblr, teens, and the impossibility of knowing another person's experience of the world but the importance of always trying.

A serendipitously themed episode, with an essay from Meghan Flaherty and a short story from Matthew Rossi.

Meehan Crist and Miles Klee read this week. Meehan's short pieces blur essay and poetry; Miles' short story blurs discomfort and hilarity.

Today's pieces come together on the topic of trying to be the person you want to be, dancing around the line between finding yourself and trying too hard. Rosie Schaap reads an excerpt from her book, Drinking With Men, and Isaac Oliver gets us cozy with "How To Build a Gay Fire In 30 Easy Steps."