Episode 132 Notes and Links to Morgan Talty’s Work
On Episode 132 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Morgan Talty, and the two discuss, among other topics, the “surreal” feeling of seeing his publication play out with such critical acclaim, his early relationship with languages and storytelling, formative experiences and authors and texts that have informed his writing, themes and throughlines in his debut story collection, and the seeds and background of the story collection and his future projects.
Morgan Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. Morgan teaches courses in both English and Native American Studies, and he is on the faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in creative writing. His highly-anticipated short story collection, Night of the Living Rez, is forthcoming from Tin House Books, on July 5.
Morgan Talty's Website
Buy Night of the Living Rez
“The Gambler” for Narrative Magazine
At about 1:20, Morgan discusses his mindset as he was in the week before publication of his short story collection, as well as events coming up promoting the book and how it feels to see his book become a reality
At about 3:40, Morgan discusses his early relationships with reading, language, and storytelling
At about 5:45, Morgan explains his rationale for writing out Penobscot words phonetically and how the language lives within him
At about 8:00, Morgan responds to Pete’s questions about Wabanaki and their connection to internal and external groups
At about 9:00, Pete wonders about any moments that turned Morgan into a writer as well as what works-Harry Potter, Sherman Alexie’s work-influenced his own; Morgan cites Toni Jensen, Tommy Orange, Terese Marie Mailhot, Chelsea Hicks, and Brandon Hobson, among others, as “establishing a broader spectrum of voices"
At about 11:15, Morgan cites the importance of Jack Kerouac and On the Road in his life and writing life
At about 13:00, Pete presents a cliched reading list that came right after college
At about 14:10, Morgan expands on ideas of “representation”
At about 17:15, Pete and Morgan fanboy about Tommy Orange’s There There; Morgan cites it as a “turning point”
At about 19:05, Morgan talks about ideas of “gatekeepers” and “the white gaze” in conjunction with publishing goals and mores; he cites JJ Amaworo Wilson anecdote that is emblematic of ideas of tropes and stereotypes in publishing
At about 21:20, Pete references the finishing scene of Morgan’s title story and Morgan expands on ideas of “performance”
At about 22:00, Morgan discusses Karen Russell, Richard Van Camp, and many others as examples of writers who thrill him
At about 23:15, Morgan describes moments of discovery and affirmation through the years that solidified his career choice
At about 24:50, Morgan details
At about 26:20, Morgan shouts out local bookstores-Briar Patch in Maine, Birch Bark Books in Minnesota, and King’s English are some examples-where his books can be bought
At about 27:15, Morgan discusses seeds for the short story collection, Night of the Living Rez, and how he “stumbled into” big and unifying ideas for the collection through the character of David
At about 31:15, Pete quotes from a short story and connects the quote to the story collection as a whole
At about 32:45, The two discuss themes of inaction
At about 34:45, the two discuss themes of trauma and grief and the connections to addiction and legacy
At about 36:35, Morgan speaks to ideas of intergenerational trauma and how he writes so well about these ideas without “sensationalizing”
At about 38:00, The two discuss themes of normalcy and Pete asks Morgan about finding balance in the collection
At about 40:40, Pete compliments the humor from the collection and asks for the full joke of a portion that was presented in the book
At about 41:35, Ideas of role reversal and maturity and responsibility are discussed
At about 44:00, Pete a
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