An English Professor Finds a New Line of Work in Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s Short Story, “Ghetto University”
From the Ursa Short Fiction Podcast with Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton
On Episode 11 of Ursa Short Fiction, a professor in New Orleans loses his job and resorts to a new line of work—mugging tourists in the French Quarter.
“Ghetto University” is a short story by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, featured in his 2021 collection, The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You. Ursa’s audio version features a performance by Allan Thomas and is directed by Adetola Abdulkadir, with sound design by Alicia Qian and illustrations by Anthony Santagati.
Listen to the story in your favorite podcast app, or read along at ursastory.com/ghetto-university.
Then come back next week for Ruffin’s in-depth conversation with Ursa Short Fiction co-hosts Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton.
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Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author of The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You, a New York Times Editor’s Choice that was also longlisted for the Story Prize. His first book, We Cast a Shadow, was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the PEN America Open Book Prize. Ruffin is the winner of several literary prizes, including the Iowa Review Award in fiction. A New Orleans native, Ruffin is a professor of Creative Writing at Louisiana State University, and the 2020-2021 John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi.
