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OUR LATEST SHOWS:
steve lopez
In this interview, taped before an audience at the
Kansas City Public Library, Angela Elam talks with Steve Lopez, about his
book, The Soloist, winner of the 2009 PEN Center USA Award for
creative non-fiction. The book chronicles Lopez' friendship with
schizophrenic virtuoso cellist Nathaniel Ayers, and was made into the movie
with the same title. Lopez is an award-winning columnist for the Los
Angeles Times and the author of three novels.
The recipient of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for
Commentary, Anna Quindlen had a long career in journalism and writing
syndicated columns, especially the 1980s series "Life in the 30s," which led
her to becoming an unintended voice of the baby boom generation. Quindlen
moved away from journalism to write fiction full-time in 1995, and developed
a successful career as a novelist. She discusses her journalistic roots and
the family dynamics at play in her 2010 novel, Every Last One.
Fiction writer Chang-rae Lee won six awards for his
1995 debut novel, Native Speaker, and has gone on to write three
more novels. He talks about his 2010 novel, The Surrendered, which
took him 12 years to write. Set during the Korean War, it presents a
harrowing view of the savagery of war, and draws on some his father’s
stories. Born in Korea, Lee came with his family to the U.S. when he was
three years old. A graduate of Yale, he currently teaches creative writing
at Princeton, and talks about writing in first versus third person.
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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. P. Past guests include U.S. Poet Laureates Ted Kooser, Rita Dove, Billy Collins; Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, 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
over 30 years 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.
SPONSORS:
Support for New Letters on the Air comes from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, and the University
of Missouri-Kansas City's College of Arts and Sciences.
of Missouri-Kansas City's College of Arts and Sciences.