This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit michaelscottmoore.substack.com

Mo Ogronik is a documentary and feature filmmaker who teaches at NYU, and her first novel GULF is a stark and laconically written story of five women whose lives intertwine in the Middle East, from as far away as the Philippines but centered near the Arabian Gulf. We talk about class differences in the that part of the world, human trafficking, some differences between writing and filmmaking, and a great deal about craft in fiction, especially the difficulties of plotting a multi-voiced novel.

Resources:

Gulf, by Mo Ogrodnik

Mo’s bio at NYU’s Tisch School

“The Ghost of Reem Island,” an essay by Mo at The Paris Review, on the story that gave rise to the novel

radio free mike is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.