On this episode of Arts & Letters, we speak with author William Lychack about his novel, Cargill Falls published by Braddock Avenue Books. Though not a memoir, Lychack takes inspiration from his life for this piece of fiction.
In the story, an adult William returns to small town Cargill Falls to give a eulogy for his childhood friend Brownie who has committed suicide. But upon returning home, can William, aka Billie, aka Mouse, come to grips with and put to rest one of his own "worst" days from the past?
Lychack writes:
"We once found a gun in the woods--true story--me and Brownie, two of us walking home from school one day, twelve years old, and there on the ground in the leaves was a pistol."
William Lychack’s work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, The Best Small Fictions, The American Scholar, Story Magazine, Ploughshares, Conjunctions, Psychology Today, and on public radio’s This American Life.
He is the author of seven books, including Cargill Falls, The Architect of Flowers, and The Wasp Eater, and his awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Sherwood Anderson Award, a Christopher Isherwood Award, and an Independent Publishers’ Book Prize.
A former judo instructor and Mister Softee Ice Cream Man, among other things he has worked as an editor at New England Review and Guideposts Magazine, and has taught at the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, Phillips Academy, Connecticut College, Lesley University, and the University of Pittsburgh.
We are pleased to feature the soundscapes and melodies of Brian Nahlen, singer songwriter, guitarist, and producer, in this episode.
Nahlen, a native Arkansan, started playing guitar 35 years ago and has released three albums, Better Than I Thought It Could Be (the title track was featured in an Arkansas Parks and Tourism commercial), Cicada Moon and hiding behind blue skies. All of these are available on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and other streaming services.
Nahlen is known for his live performances and his social activism. He often is asked to play benefit shows, which in 2018 alone helped radio station KABF, Puerto Ricans in Arkansas (Nahlen coordinated this), The Van, RAICES (Reuniting Immigrant Families), the Buffalo River and Animal Village.
Many thanks as well to composer and musician Joseph Fuller for the original medley.
Thanks to actors Jackson Nahlen and Mateo Sewald. And a special thank you to audio genius Christopher Hickey for mixing and mastering the episode.
Generous funding for Arts & Letters Radio is provided by Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and from listeners like you.
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Executive Producer and Host: J. Bradley Minnick
Senior Producer: Mary Ellen Kubit
Sound Effects: Christopher Hickey
Episode Mix and Mastering: Christopher Hickey
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