Welcome to Sad Me of the Past, where 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, anguish, 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. So let's travel back to that ancient time when we were bursting with hubris or scared to death; drunk with language or paralyzed by it; determined to become a writer or terrified that we didn't have the stuff. I'll show them! we thought. But what did we show, really, and to whom?
Today we have poet Donika Kelly in the studio! We discuss drawing curtains and dressing chickens, growing up in Compton, the English teachers of Arkansas, illustrating Ogden Nash with Clip Art, self-insert fan fiction, and poetry: where the sadness goes, imagining into another way of being, leaving out the story, and the idea that “poetry is my securest attachment.”
16 Jun 2025
Episode 16: Srikanth Reddy
Today we have poet Srikanth Reddy in the studio to share some of his earliest writing and his literary journey! We discuss his formative 3rd grade acrostic poem ABRAHAM LINCOLN, skipping school to review movies for the Chicago Tribune, deliberately throwing a Spelling Bee, and the inevitable Workshop curse of writing in everyone else's style except your own.
28 May 2025
Episode 15: SPECIAL EDITION Sad Me of the Past Presents Ghosts on the Radio
This is a SPECIAL EPISODE of Sad Me of the Past, where we invite young writers from the Iowa Youth Writing Project (IYWP) to talk about a ghost story they created for the Ghosts on the Radio haunted audio anthology.
21 Apr 2025
Episode 14: Madeline McDonnell
On this episode, Madeline McDonnell joins us via Zoom. It's our first remotely-recorded episode! Madeline shares all sorts of secrets with us from being admonished in Middle English, reading in trees, dramatic countdowns to playing an evil Jack-o-lantern in a 3rd grade play with Mindy Kaling, starting three books at the same time, and the importance of friends.
24 Mar 2025
Episode 13: Curtis Sittenfeld
On this episode, we have bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld in the studio! Curtis talks with us about the perils of boarding school, getting good luck from a used car, how her family really feels about her writing, and her new short story collection Show Don’t Tell.
14 Feb 2025
Episode 12: Josh Parkinson
On this episode, we have prose, screen, and television writer Josh Parkinson stop by the studio to share a story he wrote in high school called "The Man and the Fly." This absolute banger involves a fly, a car crash, and a response from the local authorities that you won’t see coming. Is it worth an hour of your time? We think so. It did win 3rd place in 1991.
15 Jan 2025
Episode 11: Gina Welch
On this episode, we are joined by Gina Welch, award-winning 'Castle Rock' screenwriter.
4 Dec 2024
Episode 10: Ada Zhang
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.
8 Nov 2024
Episode 9: Lila Byock
On this episode, Emmy Award winning TV writer Lila Byock stops by the studio to talk about her time writing for the acclaimed series Watchmen and her current projects. We discuss an array of topics with Lila including growing up in Missoula, Montana, fact-checking at The New Yorker, the magical powers of Cheerios, her transition to TV writing and the collaborative nature of a writers' room.
7 Oct 2024
Episode 8: Bret Anthony Johnston
On this episode, fiction writer Bret Anthony Johnston stops by the studio to talk about his new novel We Burn Daylight, his time at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and what he’s working on now.
27 Aug 2024
Episode 7: Melissa Mogollon
On this episode, fiction writer 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.
6 Aug 2024
Episode 6: Joe Fassler
On this episode, we were joined by author and journalist Joe Fassler while he was in town for his reading at Prairie Lights! We talk about his new novel The Sky Was Ours, and the 10 year process of writing it, which began with a single short story at Iowa.
16 Jul 2024
Episode 5: Nam Le
We had Nam Le on the podcast, joining us before his reading at Prairie Lights! We talk about early writing influences, the importance of an extraordinary writing teacher, and the wilds of writing while parenting. Nam takes us on his writer's journey -- from a law firm in Australia to the Iowa Writers' Workshop in Iowa City. Join us for this fantastic talk!
15 May 2024
Episode 4: Dan Beachy-Quick
We have Dan Beachy-Quick in the studio! Dan is in Iowa City as a guest lecturer for the Ancient Exchanges speaker series. His visit includes a reading at Prairie Lights Bookstore and a talk titled, "The “All-Bell Cosmos” and the “Fundamental Eros”: Poems that Think, Thoughts that Sing, and the Ongoing Practice of Ancient Poetics."
2 Apr 2024
Episode 3: Carmen Maria Machado
Today we have Carmen Maria Machado with us to talk about her first forays into writing, share a piece of her early work and discuss her inspirations and motivations. We dig deep into the timeline of her career, looking at the childhood obsessions that drove her work, the online forums and journal spaces that bouyed her early writing, and her future projects!
7 Feb 2024
Episode 2: Rachel Yoder
We have Rachel Yoder here to discuss her novel Nightbitch. We talk with her about her first attempts at writing in elementary school, her time in the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa, and her wild experience adapting Nightbitch to a soon-to-be-released feature film starring Amy Adams.
15 Nov 2023
Episode 1, Part 2: Vinnie Wilhelm + Dave Kajganich
We have Dave Kajganich and Vinnie Wilhelm today, here to share some of their early, sophomoric writing and talk process, progress and new projects. 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."
23 Oct 2023
Episode 1, Part 1: Dave Kajganich + Vinnie Wilhelm
We have two guests with us today, Dave Kajganich and Vinnie Wilhelm, here to share some of their early, sophomoric writing and talk process, progress and new projects. In part one of today's podcast, Dave shares a short story that he wrote in high school entitled "Martin Cowell Boom Boom Dead." Part Two will follow.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
5,757
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.4 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
49
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
31
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