Welcome to Sad Me of the Past, a podcast by the Writing University, the Magid Center for Writing and the Iowa Young Writers' Studio. In this podcast we invite an established writer to revisit a piece they wrote in their tender years that fills them with affection, regret, nostalgia, embarrassment, relief, delight, all of the above, or something else entirely. Just as an infant must take those early, brave, awkward steps when learning to walk, we writers must make our own early, brave, awkward efforts as we set out on the journey of mastering our craft. We travel back to that ancient time when we were bursting with hubris or scared to death; enraptured by language or paralyzed by it; determined to become a writer or terrified that we didn't have the stuff.

 


 

Latest Episodes

ada zhang guest in grayscale

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 10: Ada Zhang

Wednesday, December 4, 2024
On this episode we have Ada Zhang in the studio with us to share an early piece of work and discuss her journey in becoming a writer.
lila byock in studio

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 9: Lila Byock

Friday, November 8, 2024
Lila Byock stops by the studio to talk about her time writing for the acclaimed series Watchmen and her current projects.
bret anthony johnston in the studio

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 8: Bret Anthony Johnson

Monday, October 7, 2024
Bret Anthony Johnston joins us in the studio to talk about his new book We Burn Daylight, his time as a graduate student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and what he’s working on now.
mel headshot

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 7: Melissa Mogollon

Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Melissa Mogollon stops by the studio to talk about her debut novel Oyé, her time as a graduate student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and what she’s working on now. For her piece from the past, Mel shares a list she wrote during her time as a graduate student at the Workshop!
Joe Fassler

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 6: Joe Fassler

Tuesday, August 6, 2024
"I mean this book took me more than 10 years -- I started it while I was at Iowa!"
nam on the podcast!

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 5: Nam Le

Tuesday, July 16, 2024
"There was a term that I heard somewhere used, just the other day, and she said "I'm in my gathering phase." Have you guys heard that? Is that a term of art over here?"
dbq won the pod!

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 4: Dan Beachy-Quick

Wednesday, May 15, 2024
In today's podcast, poet and translator Dan Beachy-Quick talks with us about his early writing days, and his current Greek translations.
carmen maria machado

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 3: Carmen Maria Machado

Tuesday, April 2, 2024
"My godmother gave me stationary -- it was jungle themed stationary that had my name, it was customized -- and I would write stories and send them to publishers."
rachel reading at the studio

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 2: Rachel Yoder

Wednesday, February 7, 2024
In today's podcast, novelist Rachel Yoder discusses her wild experience adapting Nightbitch to a soon-to-be-released feature film starring Amy Adams.
vinnie headshot

Sad Me of the Past // Episode 1, Part 2: Vinnie Wilhelm + Dave Kajganich

Thursday, November 16, 2023
In part two of today's podcast, novelist and screenwriter Vinnie Wilhelm shares a section from a novel he wrote in high school, entitled "SPAM."