This week on the Sewanee Review Podcast, Danielle Evans sits down with editor Adam Ross to discuss characterological framework, the coincidence of unintentional motif, and the underpinnings of a successful short story. Evans meditates on these attributes with an eye for detail, highlighting the “smallest trace of possibility” that intricate narrative affords. Moving beyond simple conventions of theory and practice, their conversation illustrates how personal strife permeates the conception, production, and makeup of a story. Rather than separate the artist from their art, Evans suggests one must reconcile with the writer they were when both beginning and ending a story. In doing so, she draws a delicate line between a writer’s agency and their characters’ own, noting an inclination to keep her characters vulnerable and “at the mercy of the world.”
Danielle Evans is an editor-at-large for the Sewanee Review, known for her short story collections Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self and The Office of Historical Corrections. Her work has amassed recognition and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Book Foundation, the New Literary Project, PEN America, and elsewhere.
The Sewanee Review Podcast is recorded in the Ralston Listening Room at the University of the South. This episode is produced by Luke Gair and edited by ProPodcast Solutions with music by Annie Bowers. Don’t miss any of our conversations with some of today’s best writers. Subscribe to the Sewanee Review Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.