A new podcast does a fine job of introducing novels that are centered around the arts by interviewing their authors
Cram's first interview is with Laura Morelli whose novel The Giant revolves around the making of Michelangelo's David
When she was little, Carol M Cram, flushed with a little bit of envy, watched her older brother unbox his first clarinet. It is one of her earliest memories. Though she didn't become a musician, her brother grew up to be a celebrated jazz composer. Yet, the arts have continued to inspire her life and work, as an award-winning Canadian novelist.
Cram founded the platform Art in Fiction which showcases over 1,000 novels that are inspired by the arts. And last month, she started a podcast by the same name. It's got eight episodes so far and barring the first which is an introductory one, the rest are detailed interviews with authors spanning 25 to 40 minutes.
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With a reading diet that includes authors from the Subcontinent, we are sceptical as to how much it would resonate and be absorbed by those from the West. Plus, historical fiction isn't something we've delved wholeheartedly into either. Our doubts are put to rest right from episode one. Cram converses with Laura Morelli here, who's authored a book called The Giant that revolves around the making of Michelangelo's David. Cram's questions not only bring out the nuances in the genre but also the research involved; we are introduced to Giorgio Vasari, who is recognised as the first art historian.
Our favourite episode was very well connected with Mumbai. She interviews bestselling British writer Vaseem Khan, the author of the Baby Ganesh Agency series of crime novels that are set in Mumbai. We're hooked to this discussion where he talks about elephants as self-aware animals and how he didn't wish to depict India via a Western lens with "choreographed dance numbers". That's when we think about what this podcast has achieved — that sometimes things that seem alien to you are actually not. It is easy to follow even if you don't have any context of the author or the setting of the book and we're looking forward to more episodes.
Carol M Cram and Vaseem Khan
Log on to artinfiction.com
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