Saturday Show #84: Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway

Summary: This episode of the podcast features a performance of the short story “Cat in the Rain” by Ernest Hemingway. Also, a discussion of literary techniques follows by the Austin Writing Workshop, wherein Hemingway’s style is contrasted with that of workshop member Frank Marcopolos, as well as numerous other literary and philosophical concepts. Wine was consumed by the participants of this podcast, and therefore, that should explain some of the comments made. Perhaps.<br> 0:00 “Cat in the Rain” by Ernest Hemingway<br> 6:53 Intro to the Podcast<br> 7:41 Group discussion about “Cat in the Rain” by Ernest Hemingway, including whether Frank’s new story is a continuation of his novel “Almost Home,” the longing to have a child, concern for animals in the rain, cats as utilitarianism, plot summary, face tightening, inconguity, the maid finding the cat, symbolism, hopes for a child transferred to a cat, Hemingway’s love of cats, cat love in general, being a cat lady, rabbits, the big cats, lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, “Hills Like White Elephants,” comparing Hemingway’s style to Marcopolos’s style, definition of style, dry realism, honing the craft of style, polar opposites of the expectations of writing, lyricism, singing the prose, speaking the prose, the sound of the words, aesthetics, staccato paragraphs, David Mamet, Raymond Carver, West Wing, Aaron Sorkin, the walk-and-talk dialogue, Mamet v. Sorkin, New Yorkese, examples from the story, sentences trying to do very little, the reader’s mind to do more of the poetry, comparison to Vladimir Nabokov, baroque and flowery and decorative writing, bauhaus, Ayn Rand, Frank Lloyd Wright, artistry to plain prose, Tao Lin, porn, distracting words, Nabokov poetry, slippery salamanders, more critiques of Marcopolos’s style, sentence structure, camera angle fiction, carefully chosen details, colors, glistening, all elements of the story working together, varying reader experiences in stories, developed ability vs. innate talent, intuitive writing, thematic elements, critique of American society as opposed to Italian society, lessons in making a few small things go a long way in a story, comparison of reading eras, nothing happened or everything happened at the end, Hills Like White Elephants again, abortions, and INFINITE ENDING by Frank Marcopolos. <br> 37:07 Group discussion of the beginning of a novel by Frank Marcopolos, including comparison to Hemingway story, word choices, doors closing in expensive cars, Derridaean deconstructionism of the story, the definition of grime, getting thrown out of the story, vitality of first paragraph, more deconstructionism of the narrative, not understanding the sound of cleats on dirt, word choice, being careful about picking details, overusing irrelevant details, flibbertygibbets, wiggily wavered, having to pee, the pee detail, the equivalence of importance for certain details, trite characters, introductory writing in chapter 1, making the reader catch up, telling vs. showing early in the novel, Name of the Rose, Name of the Rose board game, the Enlightenment, the Inquisition, monasteries, foreboding towers, monks, the first chapter seeming like a first chapter, The Sportswriter by Richard Ford, the slingshot method of storytelling, Heroes, Save the Cheerleader Save the World, Atlas Shrugged, and red leather or plastic seats in the diner.<br> 1:15:10 End of Podcast<br>