New Letters on the Air

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Listening to New Letters on the Air is like eavesdropping on intimate conversations with favorite writers who reveal secrets about their creative methods, read a few favorite passages, and inspire the listener's imagination.

NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR is a weekly half-hour show that has been entertaining and informing audiences about contemporary writers and literature since 1977. Each week, the program focuses on a writer of poetry, fiction or essays, either in an intimate interview or in a public reading before an audience. Post-produced with narrative and music, NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR gives insight into the creative writing process and the universal stories that writers tell.

Each show is self-contained and undated, except for the occasional holiday or theme related program. 30- and 60-second produced promos are provided weekly on the PRSS promo satellite feeds and on Content Depot. Written promos are posted weekly on the DACS along with the timings and cues. Other distribution methods are available.

Though educational, NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR is not pedantic, and the conversation is often filled with laughter as authors discuss and read from their books. Our archive programs contain many Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners, along with recipients of other major literary awards. Recent guests include poets Sherman Alexie, Naomi Shihab Nye, Billy Collins, and Alicia Ostriker; dramatists August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Tony Kushner; essayists Meghan Daum, Susan Orlean, and David Sedaris; fiction writers Richard Russo, Jane Smiley, and Ha Jin. The program also features less-familiar but remarkable writers whose work and contributions are equally engaging.

"Most people have a creative streak, whether they're interested in writing or not," says Angela Elam, host of NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR. "I hope by exploring the writer's process and hearing work that captures the essence of our lives, the program will inspire listeners to do something creative in their own way."

Series

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5 Pieces

NOTE: ALL EPISODES CAN STAND ALONE; NO OBLIGATION TO RUN THE ENTIRE SERIES. This five-episode series of one-hour programs features 17 of the men and women who have served as United States Poet Laureates over the past four decades, from the late Howard Nemerov (1963-64) to Donald Hall (beginning 2006). These conversations and readings of poetry vary from humorous to heavy, but are always thought-provoking, and are perfect for National Poetry Month in April, though they can be used anytime.


Pieces

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Novelist Whitney Terrell talks about his third novel, THE GOOD LIEUTENANT. Terrell was embedded with the military in Iraq, writing non-fiction for ...

Bought by WNJR


  • Added: May 29, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
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We're celebrating National Poetry Month with a nod to what Missouri-born poet T.S. Eliot called THE CRUELEST MONTH. Listen to ten poets, reflectin...

Bought by WNMU-FM, GCR (Global Community Radio), WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., KUER, WNJR and more


  • Added: Apr 27, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 10
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We continue National Poetry Month with part two of a conversation with poet Ellen Bass, the author of the 2020 book INDIGO. She discusses how, aft...

  • Added: Apr 21, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
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California poet Ellen Bass, the author of the 2020 book INDIGO, describes looking back on her childhood in Philadelphia for inspiration, especially...

Bought by KAAD-LP and GCR (Global Community Radio)


  • Added: Apr 21, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
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National Poetry Month continues with this "Classic" program featuring our current U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón (lee-moan). In this 2020 reading at ...

Bought by WNMU-FM


  • Added: Apr 17, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: PRX default Piece image
For National Poetry Month, we'll hear early work by our current U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón. The author of six poetry books, including the 2022 c...

Bought by GCR (Global Community Radio) and KMUN


  • Added: Apr 17, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
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For Women's History Month, we feature a special program about four important feminist poets who led the the next generations into the 21st century....

Bought by GCR (Global Community Radio), WNMU-FM, KBIA, WNMU-FM, WDCB and more


  • Added: Mar 08, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 19
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We continue Black History Month with the Past American Voice of Al Young, the two-time American Book Award winner, who passed away in 2021 at age 8...

Bought by WNJR and WMUU-LP


  • Added: Feb 24, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: PRX default Piece image
This week on NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR... Anthony Grooms is a two-time winner of the Lillian Smith Book Prize, given to writers who tackle issues of ...

  • Added: Feb 13, 2023
  • Length: 29:00
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NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR features a program of readings and conversation at Commerce Bank's The Box Gallery. Poets Wyatt Townley, H.C. Palmer, Brian ...

  • Added: Feb 08, 2023
  • Length: 29:00