Denny Smith

Robert Glück reads "Conviction," a short story from Denny Smith about fathers and theft. (Running Time: 21:56)

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"Conviction" is one of a series of three "Forced Stories" that is included in Denny Smith. The "Forced Stories" are about fathers and theft, and how the son must steal what already belongs to him. I was looking for ways to explore a very queasy emotional terraine. Together, they turn the Oedipus story on its head. I stole some of the plot for "Conviction" from a Richard Scary video that I saw a thousand time with my son. Bananas Gorilla desperately searches for bananas, and finally steals some from a mail truck. I suppose the story is typical of my work, in that it examines the meaning of community, and it is part of an ongoing autobiography in which my own story is refracted through many different kinds of narratives.

About the Author:

Robert Glück: Robert Glück is the author of nine books of poetry and fiction, including two novels, Margery Kempe and Jack the Modernist. His most recent book is Denny Smith (stories). Glück was named one of the ten best postmodern fiction writers in North America by the Dictionary of Literary Biography in 1994. He teaches at San Francisco State.