As The New Yorker celebrates its centenary, authors Zadie Smith, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Ottessa Moshfegh have crafted new stories inspired by the magazine's rich tradition of short fiction. Alongside these works, each author shares insights about the pieces that influenced them, particularly highlighting Grace Paley's 'My Father Addresses Me on the Facts of Old Age' as pivotal for Smith. She expresses her surprise at discovering a looser, more authentic storytelling style, contrasting it with her earlier exposure to more conventional narratives. Smith's story, 'The Silence,' encapsulates themes of existential reflection and nuanced human experience.
Reading 'My Father Addresses Me on the Facts of Old Age' in the early years of a new century was genuinely transformative. No twists or moralizing.
Smith's story—about a woman engulfed in silence—was inspired by Paley's approach of a loose human voice, arguing and dramatizing endlessly.
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