Alphabet audio Soup

This week, instead of a story, I’m sharing with you a note that I wrote on my phone almost two years ago, right after my first meeting with survivors of the October 7 attacks. Back then, the war seemed like something that would be over in a few weeks. And now it feels as if the more time goes by, the hazier the signs of life around us grow. They’re still there, but having experienced over 700 days of captivity, starvation, displacement and death, we notice them less and less.Now close your eyes and

My mother died six years and one day ago, on the day before Rosh Hashana Eve. The rabbi who conducted her funeral explained that my mom had chosen a very special day on which to rid herself of this world’s vanities: the death of one who departs on this particular day is known as a “death of the righteous,” and according to Jewish law, there is no obligation to sit shiva for them.My mother was the most amazing, stirring person I’ve ever met: she was clever, original, and fearless. Erudite, beautiful,

Sophia and I talk about my latest story collection, ”Autocorrect”, and about art in general. Can we describe the world around us when it keeps changing so fast? And even if we can’t, do we have anything better to do than keep trying? That’s what happens when you throw two confused but very assertive people into one Zoom call.Literary bonus - a link to me reading my very first story ,“Pipes”, and the story “Mesopotamian Hell” from “Autocorrect” which we mentioned in our talk:Mesopotamian

I wrote my first short-story collection, Pipes, during my compulsory military service, and it was a lot more than just a book to me. My reality at the time felt arbitrary, harsh, and not always understandable. The stories I wrote were a sort of safe space, where I could regulate my breath and find a deeper understanding of what I yearned for and what I was afraid of.In the thirty-three years since Pipes came out, I’ve published six more books for adults, all of which occupied a significant space in

One of the highlights of this strange and unsettling year, for me, was the premiere of A Brief History of Us, an animated short film that has been screened at four international festivals so far. The film is based on my short story, “Evolution of a Breakup,” which appeared in my collection, Fly Already.My artistic partner in the film, the gifted animator Ofra Kobliner, as well as the devoted film producers, Mateusz Michalak and Hamutal Gur, invested three years of hard work to make sure we completed

For me, a good story is one that manages to surprise me while I’m writing it, taking me to unexpected places. “A World Without Selfie Sticks,” which first appeared a year ago in McSweeney’s, is definitely one such story. When I sat down to write it, I was sure it was about relationships, but only when I got to the end did I realize it was about something else entirely. For HamutalIn retrospect, I shouldn't have yelled at Not-Debbie. Debbie herself always said that yelling doesn't solve anything. But

“Pipes” is the first story I ever wrote. It was written during my compulsory military service, in an almost involuntary way. I was doing guard duty on my base, and at the end of a very long shift, there was the story. When I read it on the page, it seemed like a piece of advice from my unconscious, telling me how to emotionally survive the army for the next three years. Later, I realized it was more general advice: how to emotionally survive my life. And although it was written thirty-five years

As a professional slacker who likes to sit and people-watch, there are almost a dozen benches in Tel Aviv that I used to regularly visit every week. I wrote this piece while sitting on my favorite one.Starting next month, the “Alphabet Audio Soup” column will be available only to paid subscribers. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit etgarkeret.substack.com/subscribe