As some of my readers already know, I seized upon the idea
of becoming a writer based on an experience I had when I was given the assignment
to write a short story. Upon its completion, that story was read aloud to an
audience, and when that audience responded with unsolicited positive feedback
("I liked your story!"), I determined I would spend my life writing
stories. My decision was helped along, I will confess, by my fourth grade
teacher, Mrs. Walton, who had given the writing assignment and who had read my
story to my classmates. Still, the experience was profound and life changing. I
mean, here I am, fifty years later, still writing and publishing stories of one
sort or another.
What I gained from that event was the experience of having
an audience become so wrapped up in a story (in this case, a story about a boy
who builds a robot) that they are utterly swept away by it. Ok, it may be a
stretch to characterize a passel of nine-year-olds as being "swept
away" by anything other than a cupcake party or the last day of school,
but they truly were attentive. They laughed in all the right places and were
surprised by the plot twists. Mind you, I was nine. The adulation afterward at
recess ("Your story was good!") went straight to my head.
Because of that event (and because I am an avid reader of
fiction... and a lit major), I have known all my life that a story well told
can be powerful indeed. And it is this very power that has been unleashed with
the production of "Serial," a new podcast produced by radio station
WBEZ in Chicago (which also produces This American Life, a popular weekly radio
show on NPR). This is how the podcast is described on its website,
www.serialpodcast.org:
Serial is a podcast from the
creators of This American Life, and is hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial tells one
story—a true story—over the course of an entire season. Each season, we'll
follow a plot and characters wherever they take us. And we won't know what
happens at the end until we get there, not long before you get there with us.
Each week we bring you the next chapter in the story....
The first season of Serial (which I had greatly anticipated,
having been a fan of This American Life for many years) involves a murder that was
committed fifteen years ago; a teenage girl was allegedly killed by her former
boyfriend. He is now serving time in prison for that crime. But aspects of the
prosecution's assertions do not ring true to Koenig as she embarks upon her own
exhaustive discovery of the facts surrounding the case, and so with each
episode of Season One, we are made privy to the investigation step by step.
Knowing that this is not fiction, that a young man's fate hangs in the balance
as Koenig attempts to determine if he has been unjustly accused makes this
story all the more compelling.
I've been listening to each episode on my iPod as I ride my
bike to work. I heard the first episode Monday and honestly, I don't even remember
the ride in, I was so riveted by the story. It's only a couple of miles from my
house to the campus where I teach, but it's uphill every bit of the way. Having
"Serial" to keep my mind off pushing those pedals has been a godsend.
As a reader, I'm a big fan of radio stories, as they challenge
us to construct images from words and also to learn to listen attentively.
Koenig's friendly, down-to-earth narration coupled with her pointed but never
demanding interview skills contribute greatly to the success of this podcast as
a whole. I hope it continues with a strong Season Two. I haven't even finished
Season One yet, but I'm already looking forward to the next story.
If you're interested in listening to the podcast, you can
download it for free from iTunes, or simply go to the website, www.serialpodcast.org
(or click on my link) and listen on your computer.
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