How Correspondence Provides A Window Into The Past, Present, & Future Of Literature

We start with Daniel Mendelsohn who began, at age 15, writing letters to novelist Mary Renault.

 

The letters, recounted in a recent New Yorker essay, spanned years and half a continent and form a stately gavotte about gay identity, the Graeco Roman world and the writer's life.

 

Then onto to Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel, who constructed a novel by each creating a character and writing chapters, emailed to the other, from his perspective. 

 

Last, we glimpse into the future with Jeff Gomez, author of a novel constructed for the iPad, which allows the reader to correspond with author and characters.

 

Past present and future, on today's show.

 

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