Doggerel Diaries: Ben & Matthew's Literature Program
Ben and Matthew are American writers from Sharkey, KY and Albuquerque, NM, respectively, who live in Germany and talk about fiction, the writing and publishing process, and art and culture in general. Sometimes they get overly excited (in a positive sense), sometimes they are on the attack. Though, hopefully, they are more often than not insightful.
Episodes
In this episode, Ben and Matthew look at Paul Yoon's "Valley of the Moon," then give you music and reading recommendations.
In this installment of the program, Ben and Matthew discuss Maeve Barry's "Girabella," winner of Sewanee Review's 2024 fiction prize, and conclude with music and reading recommendations.
In this episode, Ben and Matthew analyze Gothataone Moeng's "Small Wonders," an "aftermath" short story that takes up the themes of mourning, ceremony and banality following a tragic death, and in the second segment provide you with some reading and listening tips.
On the latest episode of the program, Ben and Matthew unpack Garth Greenwell's "Harbor," looking into that pregnant moment when things are about to happen but we're not quite there yet, and provide some reading and music recommendations for right now.
In this episode, Ben and Matthew take a look back at 2024, presenting an inaugural group of winners with the prestigious Lawrence-Patrick award, while looking ahead to what 2025 has in store and getting robot-censored.
Franz Kafka's "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk" is a concentrated story that explores capitalism, Marxism, an artist's role in society and more. On this episode, Ben and Matthew jump into that heady mix with both feet, mix up dates (sorry, history!) and talk new publications and podcasting from Albuquerque.
Morgan Talty's "Burn," which you can read for free right here, packs a lot of punch into just over 1,200 words. Ben and Matthew try to emulate the story's concentrated sting with an equally succinct podcast, going into place, belongingness, friendship and the truth behind frozen hair.
In this episode, Matthew explains what it was like attending two writing conferences this summer, Community of Writers and Bread Loaf, and Ben talks about a summer of writing on the road. Plus, a quick preview of what's awaiting you on the Dogg this fall.
In this episode, Ben and Matthew get into Geetha Iyer's short story "Continental Drift," speculative fiction, getting the reader "to question the [allegorical] element [brought] into question" and what the summer has in store.
This time Ben and Matthew speak with MM De Voe. Among other things, she is a writer of fiction and nonfiction and the founder of Pen Parentis, a nonprofit devoted to keeping the creative flame burning for writer parents. She and the guys discuss the pitfalls of pigeonholing, why writing gets no respect, the absurdity of being and of course her creative output as well as the outreach she does for writers.
After a long time off, Matthew surprises Ben with the topic of top-three short stories. Each then list their favorite three short stories, and are taken adrift to other places, like pocket universes.
Ben and Matthew speak with writer Shannon Sanders. Shannon is the author of Company, a short story collection that came out in October of last year. Apart from her new book, the conversation hits on the writing process, character connections and literary worlds in collections and the dynamics of being a host and being a guest. Plus, at the end Matthew and Ben pick their favorite stories in the collection.
After hibernating all January and most of February, Ben and Matthew return with winter reading recommendations and writing resolutions for the new year.
In this episode, Ben and Matthew each list five small literary magazines that they're reading right now.
What makes a good collection of short stories? If it's a connection, what is that connection and how does it bind the individual pieces? Should they even be connected at all though? Ben and Matthew take apart the great short story collection in this Halloween episode, ending, or maybe arriving, at an experimental jumping-off point. This one may need a second round ...
Last fall, Martha Anne Toll published the novel Three Muses, which won the Petrichor Prize and was a finalist in the Gotham Book Prize; you can also read her reviews on NPR, The Washington Post and many other outlets. This fall, we the opportunity to speak to her about her novels, her short stories, how she wrote them, how some writers lean toward novels, others toward short stories, and a lot more.
Whether you think they're fun, supportive retreats perfect for honing your craft or just naked careerism, awkwardness and the commoditization of art , writing conferences are a fundament of modern writing. We discuss how to get in, why they help and also why they hurt and go into a few personal experiences. Plus, writing gripes, what we're listening to and Ben's mad at his home state of Kentucky.
Ben and Matthew select 10 characters from stories covered on the podcast, then take turns picking them in a character draft. Whose team has more literary clout? Which one would win on a basketball court? Below are the characters, although not in the order they were drafted.
- Enid from Alice Munro’s “Love of a Good Woman”
- Billie in Dantiel Moniz’s “Necessary Bodies”
- Narrator in Roberto Bolano’s “Sensini”
- Eric from Jamel Brinkley’s “E...
Writing's always about that next big project. This time Ben and Matthew ask each other about what they're working on next. In the process, they discuss what ties literary worlds together, encounter Trojan horses and ask if narrators are always wiser than their portrayals of their younger selves?
In this episode, Matthew comes with a surprise topic: favorite travel books. He and Ben then discuss their favorite travel books, what it's like coming home when living abroad and how valuable Orwell's rules of writing are.
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