Episode 52 — Lysley Tenorio

Summary: Lysley Tenorio is the guest. A winner of the Whiting Writer's Award and a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, he is the author of a debut story collection called MONSTRESS, now available from Ecco. Raves Chang-Rae Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Surrender: The stories in Monstress announce the debut of an electric literary talent. Brilliantly quirky, often moving, always gorgeously told, these are tales of big-hearted misfits who yearn for their authentic selves with extraordinary passion and grace. Bravo for this fabulous American fiction! So pleased to have Lysley on the show. A terrific conversation. Topics include: Philippines, Berkeley, immigrant experience, San Diego, identity, Tagalog, paper without lines, comics, sports, the meanness of kids, foot speed, iPads, technology, Wisconsin, Phillips Exeter, studiousness, college applications, camp, sincerity, pop culture, Ramona the Pest, Shel Silverstein, self-focused fiction, empathy, ethnocentric literature, history, The Horror of the Blood Monsters, science fiction, research, Stegner fellowship, Stanford, San Francisco, diversity, urban dwelling, Roxane Gay, the valor of hardship, goals, and grading essays. Monologue topics include: Rush Limbaugh, Jonathan Franzen, misogyny, Twitter, hatred, social media, apathy, dysfunction, and anger.