Terry Gross

An excerpt from the next edition of "This American Life" from WBEZ: a performance excerpt from monologist, actor and writer Spalding Gray. His latest show "It's a Slippery Slope" opens this Sunday at New York's Lincoln Center Theater. This excerpt was recorded at Chicago's Goodman Theater.

Next week, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist will be honored at the National Book Awards ceremony for her distinguished contribution to American letters. In 1992, at the time of this interview, she had a new novel "Jazz," and a book of essays, "Playing in the Dark." Her novel, "Beloved," won the Pulitzer prize. She's written five novels in all. (REBROADCAST FROM 4/24/92).

Director of the Brookings Institution Center for Public Management, John Dilulio, Jr. He's also a professor at Princeton University and member of the Council on Crime in America. He's just co-authored a new book called Body Count, in which he and others warn that though violent crime by juveniles may be down now, the worse is yet to come. They blame violent crime not on economic poverty, guns, or the use of lack of prisons.

President and founder of the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives Jerome Miller. When he was commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (1969-1972), he closed down the state reform schools and placed residents in community programs because of the brutal, inhumane way the residents were treated. His "experiment" turned out to be a success. He wrote about it in the book "Last One Over the Wall: The Massachusetts Experiment in Closing Reform Schools."

The novelist has been described by Kirkus Reviews as "The British master of social satire." He's written nine novels, short stories, and written for radio, television, and the stage. His newest novel is "Footsucker," whose narrator is a serious man with a full life and a foot fetish.

O'Brien took over David Letterman's spot in 1993, and his "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" has just celebrated it's third birthday. Previous to that, he was a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons.

He's the man who wrote "Blue Suede Shoes," the hit song sung by Elvis Presley which became the first Sun label record to sell over a million copies. Carl Perkins has also written the songs, "Matchbox," "Honey Don't," and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" which have been recorded by the Beatles. Born in Tennessee, he's a pioneer of rockabilly music. His new memoir and CD are both called "Go Cat Go!"

Kingsley is the British actor who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film, "Ghandi." He's also known for his roles in "Bugsy," Schindler's List," "Sneakers," and "Species," and many more movies and plays. Kingsley was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court in London and the National Theatre. His new film is "Twelfth Night."

Documentary film producer Paul Stekler. He co-produced the new film series, "Vote for Me - Politics in America," a look at how American culture is reflected in local politics. This PBS series examines the various things candidates will do in their campaigns to be elected. Also interviewed was Maggie Lauterer, the subject of one "Vote for Me" episode. She's a former journalist and first-time candidate who ran for Congress in North Carolina, and lost.

Hass has written several books of poetry including "Praise," "Human Wishes," He also edited "The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson & Issa." He's been nominated to receive the National Book Award for his latest collection of poems, "Sun Under Wood." In addition to his job as a Poet Laureate, which will continue through to this May, Hass is involved in environmental activism and he continues to teach in the English department of the University of California at Berkeley. (REBROADCAST from 4/23/96)