Ne Me Quitte Pas — It’s Jacques Brel’s classic from 1959. It’s a fixture in the French cultural imagination. And it’s been covered left and right, by such singers as Nina Simone (here) and Frank Sinatra (listen). Now, Jacques, take it away. (PS You can find Brel’s video on our YouTube playlist.)
Segueing from our last post, I wanted to feature a reading given by Tobias Wolff, a master of the short story, who also happens to teach creative writing at Stanford.
In March, he released a new book, Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories. And below we have posted a clip of him reading from a piece called “The Benefit of the Doubt.” As you’ll see, Wolff knows how to give his stories a very good read. Enjoy.
(PS If you like literature in audio format, then feel free to peruse our Free Audio Book Collection. Also note that if you sign up for Audible, you can download two bestselling audio books for free. Get more info on the deal here.)
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A quick fyi: Yesterday, Stanford Continuing Studies opened up registration for its summer lineup of online writing courses. Offered in partnership with the Stanford Creative Writing Program (one of the most distinguished writing programs in the country), these online courses give beginning and advanced writers, no matter where they live, the chance to refine their craft with gifted writing instructors.
Registration opened yesterday, and some of the classes are almost full. Classes will start during the last week of June. For more information, click here, or separately check out the FAQ.
Caveat emptor: These classes are not free, and I helped set them up. So while I wholeheartedly believe in these courses, you can take my views with a grain of salt.
Summer Courses:
By the way, if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to keep the mind engaged, give some thought to Stanford Continuing Studies. Our full summer catalogue is here.
The always handy Lifehacker has pulled together resources that will teach you to play guitar, drums and piano. Some of these lessons are taught via video, others with podcasts. And if you’re looking to teach yourself music theory, then head over to Musictheory.net. They’ve got you covered.
As a quick follow up to our post earlier today, I wanted to highlight the Smithsonian Channel’s first broadcast on BlogTalkRadio, which aired tonight. Right in time for Memorial Day, the program features an involved conversation with Jan Scruggs, the founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, who conceived the idea of building the memorial in Washington. It also complements a Smithsonian Channel documentary ‘Remembering Vietnam: The Wall at 25′ (click link to see trailer). You can listen in on the conversation right below.
Here’s a little something for consumers and producers of good cultural media.
BlogTalkRadio gives anyone with a computer and telephone the ability to create their own live radio show, and then later turn the broadcast into a podcast. So far, about 82,000 shows have aired on this free service, and about 2.4 million listeners tune in each month. Among the broadcasts, you’ll find interviews with Brian DePalma, Yoko Ono, Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail), Jodi Picoult (author of 14 novels), Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia), Frank Rich (New York Times columnist), Phil Donahue (director of the new film “Body of War”), and David Mamet (famous screenwriter and playwright). Some noteworthy shows hosted by BlogTalkRadio include: the Smithsonian Channel, Mr. Media, Movie Geeks United, ZNE’s Circa Arte, BC Radio Live, The Poor Chef, and 3 Chicks on Lit.
Lastly, let me underscore something that’s probably already clear. This service seems particularly useful for anyone who wants to create a broadcast/podcast but doesn’t want to grapple with the technical side of things. For example, me. Now if I could only find the time to pull one together. Get more info on BlogTalkRadio here, and check out their “Best of” section here.
Apparently, this is “an authentic wax cylinder recording of Whitman reading from his late poem ‘America’ that appeared in 1888 …”
FirstSounds.org has gathered some of the earliest sound recordings. This clip, dating back to 1860, features someone singing the French folksong “Au Clair de la Lune” on April 9, 1860, and it “is the earliest audibly recognizable record of the human voice yet recovered.”
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