My Favorite "Selected Shorts" Moment

There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck…

It was a late night during the winter in San Jose in 2001. As was my custom in those days, on Saturday night I’d often be at my desk working, reading, coding, or gaming. I’d let KQED play all night long from Prairie Home Companion until BBC World Service came on at 11:00 pm.

But when I heard John Shea start with D.H. Lawrence’s “Rocking Horse Winner,” I stopped everything just to listen to his bewitching narration. I, of course, knew of the reputation of Lawrence’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover, but I didn’t know of Lawrence’s output as a short story author.

But as Shea read the final, miserable coda of the story, I thought to myself: “This is quite possible the pinnacle of the short story form.” As the last word hung in the air and the applause thundered – and host Isiah Sheffer ended the spell by drawing us into schedules and what was coming next week, I knew that I would never forget this radio broadcast. And I never have.

If you have $2.99 to give to Symphony Space, the studio where “Selected Shorts” is performed, you can own this story, too.

Alternative format, video (1976):

It’s “Malabar”