Among valley’s best kept secrets is one of America’s top podcasts on literary authors, now 10 years running
Special to The Aspen Times
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While working full time and earning her MFA in fiction, Mitzi Rapkin seamlessly continued her weekly podcast, “First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing,” interviewing top literary authors in America. Last month, the podcast celebrated its 10th anniversary.
She jokes she doesn’t really have much of a life and that if you saw her house, you “might be a little bit aghast,” but Rapkin’s in-depth interviews with authors, from fiction to poetry and everything in between, speak to just how rich and full her life is. (Granted, I haven’t visited her 400-square-foot cabin in the woods outside of Basalt, so I can’t debunk her second comment).
She estimates she has put about 9,000 hours into her podcast out of pure passion. Her goal: “To offer a platform for writers to discuss their work in a meaningful way and to offer writers and readers access to conversations about books and craft they won’t find elsewhere.”
The first episode of “First Draft” aired on June 3, 2013, when she worked at Aspen Public Radio. It migrated to its current podcast platform in 2015, and since then, new hour-long episodes have emerged every week, totaling more than 435.
Rapkin’s media experience, bachelor’s degree in English and master’s in journalism — in addition to her MFA in fiction and her absolute love for reading — give her a solid foundation as an interviewer who delves into matters of the heart as easily as she does tools of the trade. Rather than relying on a dry, prescribed formula, she revolves conversations around curiosity and creativity, delving into the “deeply human” aspect of writing.
While authors don’t regularly show up on the pages of People magazine, “They are some of our most profound artists (who illustrate) what it means to be human and what we grapple with,” Rapkin said.
Although she doesn’t rely on canned questions, she does end each episode asking the same seven quick questions (see box for her answers).
Some of her episodes have attracted 17,000 downloads, while others get 2,500 or so, but she still struggles with “general obscurity,” she said.
“I have to ask myself, ‘Why do I do this thing that takes so much time every week for virtually no money?'” she said.
Her simple answer: Giving back.
“I want people to enjoy the writers’ wisdom,” she said. “I think this archive is a true national treasure, and more people should know about it.”
Authors and listeners alike appreciate what a close reader she is, she said, adding that many authors come away from her podcast thinking about their books differently.
“Mitzi is one of the most talented and passionate interviewers in the world,” George Saunders, Booker Prize winner for “Lincoln in the Bardo,” wrote. “What makes her great is her precision and her genuine curiosity, which transforms the interview into an urgent conversation. The time flies by, and I always learn something new about my own work. … She reminds us all that nobody really understands how art works but that it is a lovely thing to try to understand this better.”
Rapkin strives to ask authors something they’ve never been asked and “have a moment of transcendence in some way,” she said. “It’s a tall order, but why not?”
She often reaches her mark.
“She’s one of the very best, the type of host who takes the time to read the writer’s work deeply and thoughtfully and who allows the conversations to unfold casually and organically, to go in surprising and always illuminating directions,” said author and listener Andrew Porter.
Rapkin usually does her podcasts early in the morning or late at night, when she also edits and reads. In addition to being an integral coach helping people transform their lives and working in communications, she works part time at the Aspen Airport. She hopes to travel more, getting her name out to more literary festivals and events. In June, she spoke as a panelist about podcasts at Lighthouse Writers Lit Fest in Denver.
“I just toiled away for 10 years,” she told Lit Fest participants. “If you really want listeners, it’s that long game and commitment.”
Meanwhile, Kase D. Johnstun, essayist, novelist, memoirist and fellow podcast Lit Fest panelist commented: “I can’t believe what Mitzi does. I just can’t believe it in any way.”
And yet, she’s still going strong with plans to expand her diverse archive of authors and genres, which includes small and large presses, nonfiction, fiction and poetry and LGBTIA+ and writers of color.
“Even if you think you’re not a reader or a writer, I think there’s so much wealth about what it means to be human in these conversations that they’re worth listening to,” she said, adding that she brings her values of wonder, honesty and compassion to whatever she does. “I just try to be as authentically real as I can, and that is what I see happen in people’s writing.”
Where do you write? Generally, at my computer at my desk, but I love to go on residencies.
What do you do or where do you go to get away from writing? Mountain biking or travelling.
Who do you show your work to first to get feedback? I haven’t shown my work in a long time, but I have a friend from graduate school — we talk about our stories, and she loves my main character as if he’s a real person.
How do you deal with rejection? I just swallow it and feel it in my body and take some time to think about it. It hurts a lot at first, but then it doesn’t hurt as much. (Through her podcast, one of the biggest things she’s learned is: It’s a slog to write because there’s so much rejection. You have to have a thick skin.)
What is your favorite word? I like words that have to do with light or something very lightweight like gossamer or half light.
