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OUR LATEST SHOWS:
JIM HARRISON at the movies
Perhaps best known for his
novella Legends of the Fall, set in Montana,
Jim Harrison
discusses the value of place as he begins to imagine a
novel. “You absorb landscapes,” Harrison says, “and then the
story follows this absorption.” Harrison talks about the
rigorous process of writing screenplays for Hollywood, and
how it took a toll on him mentally and physically.
New Yorker feature writer
Susan Orlean, author of My Kind Of Place: Travel Stories
from the Woman Who's Been Everywhere, discusses how she
approaches a feature story as a journalist, and why she
often remains as much a part of the story as any of her
subjects. In addition to being a writer, Orlean holds the
unique distinction of becoming a fictional character
portrayed by Meryl Streep in the movie Adaptation,
which is based on Orleans book, The Orchid Thief.
However, she is quick to point out that she did not kill
Nicholas Cage, nor is she addicted to orchid dust.
All
during the month of August, New Letters on the
Air is featuring authors who
have been involved
in the
motion picture industry. Suzan-Lori Parks, the
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, kicks off
the month, talking about her participation in
adapting Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were
Watching God. Jim Harrison, who wrote
Legends of the Fall, shares some harsh realities
of writing in
Hollywood. Susan
Orlean offers a unique perspective on being
portrayed as a
character in the 2002 movie Adaptation.
Novelist and winner of a Best Screenplay Oscar, John
Irving, rounds out this series,
talking about the challenges of adapting The
Cider House Rules
from a novel to a film.
Each program in this series features comments by
Kansas
City screenwriter Mitch Brian.
Mitch Brian has written teleplays for all of the
major networks as well as HBO and FX. He co-created
and wrote episodes for Batman: the Animated
Series and co-wrote the NBC miniseries The
‘70s. He has written screenplays for directors
Chris Columbus, Oliver Stone, Luis Mandoki, and
Robert Schwentke, as well as for producers Geena
Davis, Mike Medavoy, and James Ellroy. His literary
adaptations include Far From The Madding Crowd,
The House of Usher, The Totem, and
Seven Days in May. He teaches screenwriting at
UMKC.
john irving
John Irving, whose novels have
been adapted into movies (The World According to Garp
and Simon Birch based on A Prayer for Owen Meany),
talks about the creative process behind his adaptation of
his own novel, Cider House Rules, which won him an
Oscar for best screenplay. He also reads an extended passage
from his most recent novel, Until I Find You, that
deals with some confusion at a film festival screening.
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ABOUT NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR:
New Letters on the Air,
hosted by Angela Elam, is the half-hour radio companion
to the literary quarterly magazine New Letters. Past guests include U.S. Poet Laureates Ted Kooser, Rita Dove, Billy Collins; Pulitzer Prize winning
playwrights August Wilson, Suzan-Lori
Harrison, Tony
Kushner and novelists Jim Harrison, Jane Smiley, Richard
Russo. The program, which also features emerging
writers of poetry, fiction, drama and creative
non-fiction, is produced by the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and distributed via Public Radio’s
Content Depot.
Angela Elam,
Host of New Letters on the Air
THE STORY OF NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR
New Letterson the Air celebrates its 30th
year as one of the nation's leading audio-literature
collectors and broadcasters. David and Judy Ray
began New Letterson the Air in 1977 as the radio companion to the
distinguished literary quarterly New Letters.
Rebekah Presson Mosby worked as a producer and then host
from 1982 until 1995. Now, producer/host Angela
Elam continues the tradition with New Letters
editor Robert Stewart
and other members of the New
Letters staff. New Letters on the Air
is not only a weekly program broadcast over many public
radio stations, but is also one of the largest and best
collections of recordings of contemporary authors, both
from the United States and around the world.
Many of these important
writers—Allen Ginsberg, Jane Kenyon, Howard Nemerov,
Michael Dorris, James Dickey, John Gardner, Gwendolyn
Brooks—have now passed from the literary scene. Many
are Nobel laureates, winners of Pulitzer Prizes or
National Book Awards. Most programs from our
extensive archives are offered for sale on audiocassette
or CD.
TIP
You may use the left-side search parameters in any
combination. You can search by author name, ID,
Genre or Interview Year. For example, to find all
authors who have a last name beginning with "A" simply
put an "a" in the text box field, on the drop down box
select On The Air and press the enter key.
discusses the value of place as he begins to imagine a
novel. “You absorb landscapes,” Harrison says, “and then the
story follows this absorption.” Harrison talks about the
rigorous process of writing screenplays for Hollywood, and
how it took a toll on him mentally and physically.
motion picture industry. Suzan-Lori Parks, the
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, kicks off
the month, talking about her participation in
adapting Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were
Watching God. Jim Harrison, who wrote
Legends of the Fall, shares some harsh realities
of writing in
Hollywood. Susan
Orlean offers a unique perspective on being
portrayed as a
character in the 2002 movie Adaptation.
Novelist and winner of a Best Screenplay Oscar, John
Irving, rounds out this series,
talking about the challenges of adapting The
Cider House Rules
from a novel to a film.
