Caption: Tony Barnstone
Tony Barnstone 

Poet Tony Barnstone

From: New Letters on the Air
Series: New Letters on the Air
Length: 29:00

The son of a poet and visual artist, Tony Barnstone was surrounded by great works of art, literature, and philosophy as a child and like his sister, Aliki, followed in his father Willis Barnstone's footsteps. He reads poetry from his collections THE GOLEM OF LOS ANGELES and SAD JAZZ, and also reads from his recent book, TONGUE OF WAR: FROM PEARL HARBOR TO NAGASAKI, a collection of dramatic monologues that draws from history, pulp fiction, and pop culture. Read the full description.

Tony-barnstone150_small
Tony Barnstone--son of poet, translator, and scholar Willis Barnstone and visual artist Elli Barnstone--was surrounded by great works of art, literature, and philosophy as a child, and like his sister, Aliki, followed in his father's footsteps.  This winner of the 2011 Poets Prize reads from three of his four collections, SAD JAZZ: SONNETS, THE GOLEM OF LOS ANGELES, and TONGUE OF WAR: FROM PEARL HARBOR TO NAGASAKI, winner of the John Ciardi Poetry Prize. This collection of dramatic monologues draws from history, pulp fiction, and pop culture to tell imagined stories about characters struggling with historical events, challenging readers to connect with what unites and makes us human.

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Piece Description


Tony Barnstone--son of poet, translator, and scholar Willis Barnstone and visual artist Elli Barnstone--was surrounded by great works of art, literature, and philosophy as a child, and like his sister, Aliki, followed in his father's footsteps.  This winner of the 2011 Poets Prize reads from three of his four collections, SAD JAZZ: SONNETS, THE GOLEM OF LOS ANGELES, and TONGUE OF WAR: FROM PEARL HARBOR TO NAGASAKI, winner of the John Ciardi Poetry Prize. This collection of dramatic monologues draws from history, pulp fiction, and pop culture to tell imagined stories about characters struggling with historical events, challenging readers to connect with what unites and makes us human.

Broadcast History

This program originally uplinked to PRSS' Content Depot on August 21, 2012, for delivery to member stations.

Timing and Cues

PROMO: On the next NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR, poet and translator Tony Barnstone reads from TONGUE OF WAR: FROM PEARL HARBOR TO NAGASAKI, his collection of dramatic monologues in which he draws from pulp fiction and pop culture to tell imagined stories about historical events and what unites humanity. The son of a visual artist and poet, Barnstone also talks about how growing up surrounded by great works of art, literature, and philosophy shaped his decision to become an artist and reads poems from his collections THE GOLEM OF LOS ANGELES and SAD JAZZ. Listen to Tony Barnstone on New Letters on the Air...
UPLINK DATE: 06/22/2012
PROGRAM LENGTH: 29:00 minutes
INCUE: (music) "Poet and translator Tony Barnstone has a strong desire..."
OUTCUE: "...Thanks for listening to NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR."
(music out)

Additional Credits

New Letters on the Air is a production of the quarterly literary magazine, New Letters, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Partial financial support comes from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Related Website

http://www.newletters.org/ontheair.asp