Customer Reviews

Thirteen by Corwin

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In his preface to this book, Carl Van Doren refers to Norman Corwin as being to radio what Marlowe was to the Elizabethan stage. Published in 1942, this is a compilation of 13 radio dramas written by Corwin between 1938 and the publishing of the book. He was just beginning his illustrious radio career at that time.

Norman Corwin was without peer in radio writing. And this book shows you why. In stories ranging from fanciful to funny, with serious and moving falling somewhere between, Corwin shows his unique talent for producing plays especially for radio. These are not adaptations from other media.

Corwin's reputation was so respected that whenever he came up with a new script, CBS would just tell him to go ahead and produce it. They put him on the air without commercial interruptions, and he almost always directed his own scripts.

He is the only writer in radio history to have one his plays simultaneously aired on all three radio networks at one time.

Included in this collection is the delightful "Plot to Overthrow Christmas", his first radio production. And it is written in poem format, a very unusual style for radio. Often the rhyme for a line would be spoken by another character, such as this brief exchange between Nero and a courier sent by the devil inviting Nero to a meeting in Hades.

Courier: Oh, you will be sitting in Row A, center, 'Tween Ivan the Terrible, the tormentor, and Circe.

Nero: Mercy! Why, they're both deranged!

Courier: Do you wish me to see if your seat can be changed?

This entire 30-minute drama must be read (or heard) for full appreciation.

Other works in this volume include the fantasy "The Odyssey of Runyon Jones", in which a young boy searches Heaven and Hell for his deceased dog; the satirical "Radio Primer" which pokes fun at the practices of radio stations; and the strongly worded epitaph to the Spanish Republic in which dictator Franco was handed the rule of the land, "They Fly Through the Air With the Greatest of Ease."

Each of the thirteen stories is a delight and readers may have fun by gathering friends together for readings. Everyone will enjoy and perhaps be amazed by the versatility and literary quality.

Corwin will not disappoint. He never did in the 1940's heyday of radio, and his work is just as vibrant as it was back then.