“By making a certain voice, then I'm going to force myself to do new things in that story. The voice is for me, very measured and realistic and regular, regular. But it's almost like DNA. Once you do that, then you're committed to continuing to do it, which means you're committed to finding some kind of power, even in that somewhat limited mode, which is great fun.” The only thing better than reading a short story by George Saunders might just be listening to him talk about how—and why—he does it. Liberation Day is his first collection of stories since The Tenth of December, a finalist for the National Book Award, and George joins us on the show to talk about his love of the short story form, how writing A Swim in a Pond in the Rain changed his work, learning to be comfortable with uncertainty, voice as ethos, keeping his readers from of mind as he writes (and rewrites), what’s next and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff Book Recommendations from Marc and Madyson.

Featured Books (Episode)
Liberation Day by George Saunders
The Tenth of December by George Saunders
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
At Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

Featured Books (TBR Topoff)
Boys, Beasts, and Men by Sam J. Miller
The Cabinet by Kim Un-Su

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).