Collection of Radio Plays: Thirteen by Corwin

Overview
Norman Corwin's "Thirteen by Corwin" gathers thirteen radio plays created and broadcast around the early 1940s, a moment when radio drama was at its artistic peak and the world was caught in the convulsions of war. The collection showcases Corwin's characteristic blend of lyricism, civic urgency, and dramatic imagination, moving between intimate human portraits and broader moral fables. Each piece exploits the immediacy of sound and the power of spoken language to create vivid, cinematic scenes in the listener's mind.
The plays are compact but ambitious, often folding personal stories into national concerns and turning ordinary moments into moral reckonings. Corwin's ear for dialogue, his use of poetic monologue, and his willingness to let silence and sound effects carry emotional weight make these works both products of their time and examples of radio's unique artistic possibilities.

Form and Style
Corwin favored a dramatized essay form that mixed reportage, dialogue, and heightened narrative address. The writing moves fluidly between conversational rhythms and eloquent speech, using narration to frame scenes and to offer moral reflection without losing dramatic momentum. Sound design is integral: footsteps, trains, street noise, and musical underscoring are not mere adornment but structural elements that shape pacing and emotion.
There is a persistent lyrical quality to Corwin's language, visible in carefully crafted images and recurring motifs. At the same time, the plays retain a populist clarity; diction and tone are meant to reach a broad radio audience, making lofty ideas feel immediate and accessible.

Themes and Concerns
A central concern across the thirteen plays is the relationship between individual conscience and collective responsibility. Corwin probes how ordinary people respond to extraordinary pressures, whether those pressures are war, prejudice, or civic indifference. Compassion, empathy, and the possibility of redemption recur as moral anchors, while irony and gentle satire puncture complacency.
Patriotism in Corwin's hands is often critical rather than jingoistic. He summons national ideals as standards to be lived, not mere slogans. Simultaneously, a humanistic curiosity underlies the work: characters who might otherwise be dismissed, wandering drifters, small-town citizens, lonely veterans, are rendered with dignity and complexity.

Notable Pieces
Among the collection are pieces that exemplify Corwin's range. "The Odyssey of Runyon Jones" follows a distinctive protagonist through episodic encounters that illuminate American life in wartime, blending humor with melancholy. "Unity Fair" dramatizes efforts to bridge social and political divides in a local communal setting, pairing warmth with a clear moral purpose. Other pieces shift tone from elegiac to satirical, but all maintain a balance between character-driven storytelling and broader commentary.
Corwin's ability to compress narrative and emotional development into a single broadcast-length piece allows each play to feel both complete and resonant beyond its immediate plot.

Legacy and Influence
"Thirteen by Corwin" stands as a testament to radio drama's golden age and to Corwin's role as one of its leading voices. The collection influenced later dramatists by demonstrating how radio could be both a platform for urgent civic discourse and a medium for poetic experimentation. The plays continue to be studied for their rhetorical craft, their historical perspective on wartime America, and their contributions to the evolution of broadcast drama.
Beyond its historical moment, the collection endures because of its humane outlook and theatrical inventiveness. Corwin's work invites listeners and readers alike to consider how storytelling over the airwaves can shape public imagination and moral thought, making "Thirteen by Corwin" a distinctive achievement in American radio literature.