Shelf Life
Shelf Life is a show about books and the people who love them. In each episode, we invite a celebrated bibliophile (think Alan Cumming, John Waters, and Joyce Maynard) to select two of their favorite books, and then we chat about them, drawing connections between their lit choices and their lives and careers.
Shelf Life
Jonathan Escoffery on tough guys, the joys of ackee, and writing the books we need to see in the world
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Grand Journal
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Season 2
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Episode 10
Jonathan Escoffery navigates identity, belonging and the hollow promise of the American Dream in his mesmerizing debut If I Survive You, a book that has been long-listed for the National Book Award. Escoffery has said, “I love a compelling narrative voice—a bit of personality, a bit of humor couched in some other emotion. I love a story that teaches me something.” In this episode we find out what Escoffery has learned from the hyper masculine and often violent short stories of Denis Johnson’s acclaimed collection, Jesus’s Son, and the vignettes in the electric coming-of-age novel, We The Animals by Justin Torres. In between, insights on living through Hurricane Andrew, sleeping in his car, and the joys of ackee.