This clip comes from our new documentary series, First Word on Horror.
Laird Barron is an author from Alaska.
The art of crafting a great short story collection, like the art of crafting a great musical album, is one often overlooked. Each individual story has to be right in and of itself but then they also all must be placed in an order that coheres, that flows, that creates a whole that makes each part better.
All of Laird’s story collections are emblematic examples of the art. Their tiles include: The Imago Sequence; Occultation; The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All; Swift to Chase; Not a Speck of Light.
Each of the collections is singular, an event unto itself. They contain stunning tales of horror and tension as well as portraits of the limits of human toughness and tenderness. They’ll leave you enriched and thinking.
And that’s not even to mention his novels…
Laird features in three episodes of First Word on Horror. Across the episodes he reads his story “Frontier Death Song” and discusses topics that include racing the Iditarod, the difficulty of controlling a story, and the importance of legacy.
He might well become your new favorite author.
