Episode 131 Notes and Links to Alice Elliott Dark’s Work
On Episode 131 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Alice Elliott Dark, and the two discuss, among other topics, Alice’s upbringing and schooling that provided much room for intellectual growth and inquiry, her poetry writing days and gradual transfer to writing prose, her electrifying short story that made all-century lists, the story’s presentation on the big screen, and the “saga” of her latest novel and its accompanying themes.
Alice Elliott Dark, author of the novels Fellowship Point and Think of England, and whose story "In the Gloaming” was chosen by John Updike for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories of The Century and made into films by HBO and Trinity Playhouse. Her non-fiction reviews and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many anthologies. She is a recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and an Associate Professor at Rutgers-Newark in the English department and the MFA program.
Alice Elliott Dark's Website
Alice’s Wikipedia Page
Buy Alice’s Books
Publisher’s Weekly Review of Fellowship Point
Kirkus Reviews Review of Fellowship Point
At about 2:00, Alice details her childhood and adolescent relationship with language and reading
At about 4:40, Alice describes a formative experience where she realized that she, too, could become a professional writer
At about 5:20, Alice describes the books and writers who she loved as a kid, including A Stone for Danny Fisher and work by Irwin Shaw
At about 9:30, Alice responds to Pete’s questions about what it was like growing up in Philadelphia and its cultures and ethos, including the Quaker influences
At about 13:35, Alice talks about her early days of writing poetry and how she read widely, particularly poetry
At about 14:30, Alice discusses how her college Asian Studies major happily upset her ideas of form
At about 17:00, Alice responds to Pete’s question about any “ ‘Eureka’ moments” that convinced her of her writing prowess, as well as how watching a lot of 1970s UK punk helped her shift to writing prose
At about 19:40, Alice gives background on the origins of her legendary short story “In the Gloaming”
At about 22:15, Alice explains the meanings of the iconic first line of the short story
At about 24:00, Alice defines “gloaming” and Pete and Alice discuss the story’s beginning as Laird perks up around twilight
At about 25:20, Alice describes how she “step[s] aside” to let her characters develop and communication between mother and son
At about 28:40, Alice talks about her writing process and the importance of “picturing” the storyline, characters, etc.
At about 29:35, Pete and Alice discuss Martin, the father in the story, and his isolation, as well as intimacy between mother and son
At about 31:30, Pete and Alice talk about Laird’s illness in terms of an AIDS diagnosis
At about 33:15, Alice and Pete compare ideas of anonymity/Everyman/Everywoman in Alice’s writing and Chekhov’s
At about 34:25, Laird’s friend’s letter is referenced as juxtaposition with Laird’s deteriorating physical condition, and comparisons between Covid and AIDS are mentioned
At about 36:20, Pete reads and compliments the second-to-last sentence of the story
At about 37:40, Alice details the processes in which her story became a film and her experiences in watching the process unfold and witnessing the final product
At about 39:20, Alice discusses Christopher Reeve’s role in making the movie
At about 40:35, Pete wonders about Alice’s experience in having the story as part of
At about 41:50, Pete and Alice discuss the critical acclaim for Fellowship Point and the “saga” of the book’s long life before being finished and published
At about 45:45, Alice details themes and aims for the book, and how some subtleties of herself came through, though the book is truly fiction
At about 46:40, Al
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