Podcast Summary

All Of It with Alison Stewart: “An Upstate Drama in 'The Rich People Have Gone Away'”

Date: August 20, 2024
Guest: Regina Porter, author
Host: Alison Stewart

Episode Overview

This episode features novelist Regina Porter discussing her latest book, The Rich People Have Gone Away, a multi-layered drama set in upstate New York during the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion dives into the novel’s genesis—including its surprising relationship to playwright Tom Stoppard—its nuanced characters, and how the pandemic exposed social inequities in contemporary life. Porter shares her creative process, character development, and the deeper symbolism behind her storytelling.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origin of the Novel & Tom Stoppard’s Influence

• Meeting Stoppard as Catalyst: Porter reveals that her correspondence and meeting with Tom Stoppard informed her discipline and spurred her to develop this specific project.
  “...he actually read it and emailed me... So we would correspond occasionally. And finally I had the opportunity to meet him.” — Regina Porter (03:01)
• Stoppard’s Inquiry: After reading Porter’s previous work, Stoppard encouraged her to progress:
  “So he said, okay, what's next? And I kind of froze because I didn't really know...” — Regina Porter (03:43)

2. How COVID Inspired the Setting

• Atmospheric Observations: Porter's experience walking in Park Slope in April 2022 inspired her to capture the surreal social landscape:
  “I could smell the cleansers. There were no people around. I love horror films... It felt so much like that [zombie movie], and I had an encounter with a homeless woman.” — Regina Porter (04:12)
• Desire for Authentic Entry: Porter sought a respectful way to address pandemic realities and found her narrative voice through a new character.

3. Research and Commitment to Community

• Sense of Community: Conversations with restaurant and bookstore owners highlighted to Porter the mutual responsibility felt during crisis:
  “Again and again and again, I saw the responsibility in bookstores, bookstore owners, restaurants, people who understand the cost of living and feel a responsibility for their employees.” — Regina Porter (05:30)
• Emotional Core: Genuine care and responsibility stand out as themes, challenging the cliché of New Yorkers being cold.

4. Character Development and Themes

• Theo Harper’s Creation: Theo, an aesthetic advisor with a complex sense of identity, came to Porter first:
  “You have to have one thing about your character that's alive and real, and his sexuality is alive and real.” — Regina Porter (07:12)
• Writing Unlikable Characters: Porter emphasizes the importance of an “honor code”—even flawed or abrasive personalities have lines they won’t cross:
  “Every person has an honor code... Even the worst person has some honor code, some line... they will not cross.” — Regina Porter (07:48)
• Theo’s Racial Identity: Theo is white-presenting but has “30%” Black ancestry, which he keeps secret due to social complexities:
  “Class and race are so interlinked... Sometimes when we're talking about race, we're actually talking about class...” — Regina Porter (09:08)

5. Symbolism of Doors

• Portals and Change: The motif of doors—literal and figurative—runs through the novel as gateways to new realities and change:
  “Doors are a portal onto another place. They're also openings to a new life or change of life or freedom.” — Regina Porter (10:33)
• Humor and Physicality: The running joke about Theo’s affinity for doorways intertwines levity with deeper meaning.

6. Exploring Darla’s Character

• Musician and Motherhood: Darla is out of work, newly pregnant, and wrestling with her future and her marriage to Theo.
• Pregnancy Dynamics: Porter articulates how men and women experience pregnancy differently, with men tending toward pre-birth anxiety about responsibility:
  “I think the societal responsibilities of how am I going to... keep my family, afford the family... sometimes women take on the responsibility of, oh, my gosh, I have this child, and I'm going to have this child for the rest of my life.” — Regina Porter (13:13)
• Legacy of Trauma: Darla’s family was personally affected by 9/11, influencing her identity and musicianship.

7. Narrative Excerpt — Police Investigation (Reading)

• Intimate Interrogation: Porter reads a vivid scene where police question Theo after Darla’s disappearance.

  “These are the questions they ask when your wife disappears. What was she wearing the last time you saw her? Was she happy? Was she sad? Did you have an argument? ...”
  — Reading (15:19–17:58)

8. Broader Social Dynamics & COVID Inequity

• Xavier’s Story: The novel includes perspectives from Xavier, a Black teenager with a mother on a ventilator, reflecting the disparate impact of the pandemic:
  “One of the things that came to the forefront in Covid was some of the inequities in our society in a way that we can no longer deny.” — Regina Porter (18:36)
• Essential Workers and Tough Choices: The narrative pulls from real existential choices faced by marginalized families.

9. Interracial and Intercultural Dynamics (Ruby and Katsumi)

• Restaurant/Hotel Tensions: Ruby and Katsumi, a Black-Japanese married couple, place personal ideals and cultural assumptions in conflict, particularly over issues like housing homeless people in their property:
  “Ruby, she's idealistic...she would like to use the hotel they share to house homeless people... Katsumi...says, look, we don't have this kind of homelessness in Japan. We don't have these issues.” — Regina Porter (20:34–20:39)

10. Genealogy and Family Ties

• S. Alvin Harper: The inclusion of historical family photos hints at deeper, possibly unknown, genealogical influences in Theo's lineage.
  “I would say that Theo perhaps doesn't know how much the character comes from him.” — Regina Porter (21:42)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Porter on Doors (Symbolism):
  “Doors are a portal onto another place. They're also openings to new... to a new life or change of life or freedom.” — 10:32
• Porter on New Yorkers' Responsibility:
  “Again and again and again, I saw the responsibility in bookstores, bookstore owners, restaurants, people who understand the cost of living and feel a responsibility for their employees.” — 05:30
• On COVID’s Racial/Class Impact:
  “One of the things that came to the forefront in Covid was some of the inequities in our society in a way that we can no longer deny.” — 18:36
• Theo’s Defense of His Roots:
  “When he says, 'I'm from Iowa,' and if you're judgmental about that, he'll give it back to you a little bit...” — 08:07
• Narrative Excerpt (Theo’s Police Interview):
  “These are the questions they ask when your wife disappears. What was she wearing the last time you saw her?...” — 15:19–17:58

Timestamps for Significant Segments

• Meeting Tom Stoppard and early inspiration: 02:28–03:56
• Pandemic walks and inspiration: 04:05–05:11
• Community research and real-life stories: 05:22–06:26
• Character insights: Theo’s creation: 06:26–08:52
• Theo’s secrecy about race/class: 08:54–10:03
• Doors as metaphor: 10:03–11:30
• Darla’s background and motivations: 11:30–14:59
• Reading: Police questioning (narrative passage): 15:03–17:58
• COVID’s social inequities (Xavier’s story): 18:36–19:32
• Cultural clash: Ruby & Katsumi: 19:36–21:11
• Family photo S. Alvin Harper and genealogy: 21:11–21:48

Conclusion

Regina Porter’s appearance on All Of It gave listeners an intimate, thematic exploration of The Rich People Have Gone Away. Through candid conversation and a powerful narrative reading, Porter illuminated her process, the pandemic’s lingering effects on community and class, and the complexities of character and family. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in contemporary novels that combine social resonance with sharp literary craft.