Flannery O'Connor

Last week, NPR show Bookworm featured Brad Gooch, who's written a biography on Flannery O'Connor, apparently the first major work on her life. The show provided many details of her life I hadn't known. and includes audio of a witty talk she delivered before a reading.

There's plenty of work by Flannery O'Connor I've yet to read (she's one of many authors on my list). However, I still remember that years ago, on a whim, I re-read her short story "Everything That Rises Must Converge." (There's currently a copy on the web here, although I'd recommend saving a copy and removing the bolding.) It was stunning, just exceptional work. I went back to reading a collection of short stories by another author (who shall remain nameless), but had to put the book aside after a few stories, because compared to O'Connor, they just seemed far too tame and less artful.

In any case, I found the interview fascinating, and if you're a fan of O'Connor's work, do check it out.