Playlist: Annie Walsh's Portfolio
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Poet and fiction writer, Sapphire
From New Letters on the Air | 29:01
Poet and fiction writer Sapphire, best-known for her novel PUSH, which became the award-winning film PRECIOUS, reads from her 2011 novel, THE KID, which follows the son of Clarice "Precious" Jones. She discusses why she takes on gritty subject matter in her poetry and prose and discusses the redemptive power of language.
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- Poet and fiction writer, Sapphire
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- New Letters on the Air
Best-known for her 1996 novel, PUSH, which became the award-winning 2009 film, PRECIOUS, poet and fiction writer Sapphire has also written books of poetry and prose, including AMERICAN DREAMS and BLACK WINGS AND BLIND ANGELS. Sapphire's 2011 novel, THE KID, follows the son of Clarice "Precious" Jones. She reads from the book that's now out in paperback and discusses why she takes on the gritty subject matter of violence, racism, and poverty, and how language and literacy have been transformational in her own life and the lives of her characters.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon
From New Letters on the Air | 29:00
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon turned to essay writing with his two books, MAPS AND LEGENDS and MANHOOD FOR AMATEURS. He discusses writing nonfiction, his love of genre fiction, and the circumstances under which his first book, THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH, came to be.
Since winning the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY, an epic novel that brings together the creation of Superman, Jewish myths, and forbidden love, Michael Chabon has written novels that bring science fictional elements to literary fiction. His newer works include two books of nonfiction, MAPS AND LEGENDS, which deals with his creative process, and the 2009 essay collection, MANHOOD FOR AMATEURS: THE PLEASURES AND REGRETS OF A HUSBAND, FATHER, AND SON.
National Book Award-winning poet and translator, Robert Bly
From New Letters on the Air | 29:00
Esteemed poet and translator, Robert Bly, is joined by sitarist David Whetstone in this public reading for the Midwest Poets Series. Bly reads a variety of poems, including work from his 2011 book, TALKING INTO THE EAR OF A DONKEY.
Robert Bly, the preeminent poet, translator, and cultural commentator, reads from his 2011 poetry collection, TALKING INTO THE EAR OF A DONKEY. Winner of a National Book Award and two Guggenheims, Bly has published over twenty collections of poetry, and is highly regarded as a great translator of international poetry. In this recording of his reading at Rockhurst University’s Midwest Poets Series, he performs with sitartist David Whetstone and also reads from MY SENTECE WAS A THOUSAND YEARS OF JOY: POEMS, his own adaptation of the Mideastern ghazal form in three-line stanzas.
Poet Michelle Boisseau
From New Letters on the Air | 29:00
Poet Michelle Boisseau talks about her collection A SUNDAY IN GOD-YEARS, which examines borders between black and white, free and slave, living and dead, and wrestles with her own guilt over descending from a family of slave-owners.
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- Poet Michelle Boisseau
- From
- New Letters on the Air
A SUNDAY IN GOD-YEARS takes its title from the notion that inside the long stretch of geologic time, human history happens in the blink of God's eye as God rolls over during a Sunday nap. This fourth collection by Michelle Boisseau is centered around the long poem "A Reckoning," made up of 15 sections that explore the connections between the heirs of slave holders and slaves, and the repercussions felt in today's society.
Poet Michelle Boisseau
From New Letters on the Air | 29:00
Poet Michelle Boisseau talks about her collection A SUNDAY IN GOD-YEARS, which examines borders between black and white, free and slave, living and dead, and wrestles with her own guilt over descending from a family of slave-owners.
- Playing
- Poet Michelle Boisseau
- From
- New Letters on the Air
A SUNDAY IN GOD-YEARS takes its title from the notion that inside the long stretch of geologic time, human history happens in the blink of God's eye as God rolls over during a Sunday nap. This fourth collection by Michelle Boisseau is centered around the long poem "A Reckoning," made up of 15 sections that explore the connections between the heirs of slave holders and slaves, and the repercussions felt in today's society.
PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist Lorraine Lopez
From New Letters on the Air | 29:00
Fiction writer Lorraine Lopez was a 2010 finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, with her collection HOMICIDE SURVIVORS PICNIC AND OTHER STORIES. She's also published three novels, but talks about why she loves the short story format, and reads from her now recognized collection.
Fiction writer and Vanderbilt University professor Lorraine Lopez was shocked in 2010, when her book of short fiction, HOMICIDE SURVIVORS PICNIC AND OTHER STORIES, became a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Published by a small press, the book was up against the work of Sherman Alexie, Barbara Kingsolver, and Lorrie Moore. Lopez reads from her now recognized collection and talks about why she truly loves writing short stories, and how it differs from writing novels. Her 2011 releases include THE REALM OF HUNGRY SPIRITS, a novel, and a collection of essays that she co-edited, called THE OTHER LATINO: WRITING AGAINST A SINGULAR IDENTITY.