The Moth Presents: A Point of Beauty

January 15, 2024
Bowles and the rest of the editing team at the Moth, a live storytelling series, follow up 2022’s How to Tell a Story with an affecting compendium of 50 true tales that “show us that even on the darkest of days there is usually something beautiful to observe or discover.” Novelist Maniza Naqvi describes “resuscitating a seventy-year-old bookstore in Karachi, Pakistan,” while the country struggled with fallout from the war in neighboring Afghanistan, and Francine Lobis Wheeler—whose son was murdered in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School—contributes a wrenching account of the sweet conversation she enjoyed with him inside a coffee shop the morning of his death. The editors also include selections from such high-profile contributors as Lin-Manuel Miranda, who recalls how seeing Rent during its first year on Broadway inspired him to start writing musicals, and memoirist Elizabeth Gilbert, who provides a touching elegy recounting how her strong-willed partner’s fiery spirit endured even in her final days before dying of pancreatic cancer. The entries are soul-stirring and heartbreaking, often simultaneously. This collection serves as a testament to the broad scope and profound depth of human experience. Agent: Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary.

February 1, 2024
The oral tradition of storytelling may very well be programmed into human DNA, from tales in front of caves to medieval scops to present-day stand-up comedians. Add to this an organization called The Moth that encourages and sponsors this practice. In this fifth volume of their published presentations, the uniting theme is a moment in time that rings with clarity. Some are poignant and evocative, as in "Sandwiches and Neighbors" and "Don't Call Me Young Lady"; some harken back to points of modern history, as in "Being a Foot Soldier" and "Survive, Then Live"; some bring family issues to a head, as in "It's Your Job to Hold the Baby" and "Knock-offs." Also here are a Stradivarius, loaned, stolen, then found; a photographer from Kansas City who discovers there are Black cowboys; and a trans man who gives birth. This is an extraordinarily mixed bag, and though reading is perhaps less vivid than the experience of hearing the live performance, this is a collection well worth exploring, whether straight through or dropping in randomly. A good choice for public-library shelves.

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