PenDust Radio

FICTION | FRANCIS DUFFY

In this beautifully told story, Francis Duffy’s main character reflects on a boyhood steeped in dogma, patriarchy, and racism. His alcoholic father is often absent, and his admiration is for his “lioness” of a mother who never missed work, and put three kids through parochial schools. Before welfare, Ms. Magazine, and #MeToo.

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MEMOIR | RANDY SPENCER

In the 1990s, there was astronomical research that showed that Washington County, Maine was second only to area 51 in Nevada for UFO sightings in the U.S. This story about mysterious phenomena in the night skies of Grand Lake Stream, Maine is from master fishing guide and award-winning author Randy Spencer, excerpted from his new memoir, "Written on Water: Characters and Mysteries from Maine's Back of Beyond."

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JERRY VIS

In the 1950s, Jerry Vis had an uneventful, blue-collar, stickball-in-the-street childhood in Paterson, N.J. That is, until his father, who had been no more than a vaporous, bring-home-the-bacon presence, nearly killed himself with alcohol and suddenly got religion.

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AMY FERGUSON

This humorous story is about all of the masks we wear to fit in with people whose masks look a little bit shinier than ours under the library lights at a PTA meeting in the affluent neighborhood of Encino, California. And it’s a story about how, deep down, we are all insecure middle-schoolers. This is a fictionalized version of true events.

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ANDREA THORNTON BOLDEN

Recently in America, issues of race have dominated the news. This short, powerful essay is a reflection on all of the small adjustments and considerations Black people make to keep themselves alive — what author Andrea Thornton Bolden calls “correcting for whiteness.”

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VIRGINIA EVANS

Virginia Evans wrote the first draft of her novel in 61 days. Seven days a week, she was at her desk with coffee by 5:00 am. She wrote 98,000 words while working three part-time jobs, with two children at home under age four. Then she defied the odds and managed to secure a literary agent. All of that turned out to be the easy part.

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DEYA BHATTACHARYA

Adrian’s Affinity is a lush and lyrical story about a sensitive and intelligent boy with a special affinity — he can attract birds. It's not a power, because he can't control it. And it's not an ability he wants, as it makes others — even his own mother — suspicious of him. Both a bittersweet coming-of-age tale and a haunting mystery, we're reminded that we are all shaped by beautiful and mysterious forces as we struggle to fit in and understand ourselves. This story is dramatized.

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ROBERT SACHS

This touching story brings us into the life of William, a young boy who must deal with some unexpected circumstances after WWII. After being evicted from their home, his family finds a new place to live in a resort community on Lake Michigan. There, William makes a special new friend and faces some dramatic events.

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MARTHA CLARKSON

Marjorie signs up for a writing retreat and finds herself an outcast amidst a gaggle of young, eager authors. But one evening, over a few drinks with the group, she has an unexpected “fifteen minutes of fame” in the micro spotlight of the writing workshop. As she shares a secret talent with the group, she flashes back to an encounter she once had with Truman Capote.

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ROBERTO LOIEDERMAN

As a young man, Roberto Loiederman read Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer," and George Orwell's "Down and Out in Paris and London," which inspired a dream: to be broke in Paris one day. In his 70s, as a tourist in Paris, a sudden event gives him the chance to live out his youthful dream. Temporarily, anyway. This is a story about how we are all pretenders, to one degree or another.

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