The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker Teju Cole Reads “Incoming”
Nov 27, 2023
Teju Cole reads his story about Miss Prosper, a woman who sings revealing her true essence. The group plans an escape, facing painful obstacles. The narrator expresses through writing and reflects on welcoming a nonverbal individual. It explores reflections on departure and a challenging journey to the coast.
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Miss Prosper's Last Song
- Miss Prosper sang a dialect song the night before everything ended, revealing a softer, younger presence beneath her seriousness.
- The narrator links that song to the moment when "the things that were to bring an end to everything were already happening."
The Failed Break For The Trees
- The group planned a breakout when the bus arrived, accepting some would be captured or killed while others might reach the trees.
- During the escape they ran, fanned out, heard gunshots, and the narrator got tangled in barbed wire.
Pain Triggers A Childhood Memory
- Tangled in barbed wire, the narrator recalled a childhood afternoon of happiness while enduring pain and immobility.
- The memory mixes past joy with present injury as the world momentarily stops around them.