Terry Gross

Singer-songwriter John Prine. He's just come out with his first studio album in 5 years, "The Missing Years." (It's on Oh Boy Records).

Zoologist Alan Rabinowitz. He spends his time tracking and trying to protect endangered large cats in Central America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. He's written two books about his adventures, "Jaguar" and his latest, "Chasing the Dragon's Tail." (Both are published by Doubleday.)

Writer and radio performer Garrison Keillor. Keillor's weekly program, "The American Radio Company," is heard on many public radio stations. Keillor's now written a new novel, about the golden days of radio, titled "WLT." (It's published by Viking).

Poet Daniel Halpern. Halpern's latest collection of poems, "Foreign Neon," has just been published by Knopf. Halpern himself is also a publisher, the head of Ecco Press, and the editor of the literary journal, "Antaeus" (pronounced "an-es").

Actor Joe Mantegna. Mantegna plays a tough cop investigating a murder in the new David Mamet film, "Homicide." Mantegna's worked with Mamet several times before, starring in his movie, "House of Games," and in the Mamet play, "Glengarry, Glen Ross."

Surgeon and photographic historian Stanley Burns. Burns has just compiled a book called "Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photography In America." It chronicles what was a common occurrence in the late 1800s and early 1900s... taking one last photograph of a dead relative. (The book's published by Twelvetrees Press).

One of Africa's greatest novelists, Nuruddin Farah (New-ru-DEAN Fair-ah). He was born in what is now known as the Somalian Republic. He writes in English, and his work has been widely praised for its treatment of women. His books include, "From A Crooked Rib," "A Naked Needle," and a trilogy, "Variations on an African Dictatorship." For a long time Farah was living in exile because of a death sentence placed against him for his writing. It has since been lifted.

Cartoonist Dan Perkins, otherwise known as "Tom Tomorrow," the creator of the comic strip, "This Modern World." This social/political strip appears regularly in a number of alternative papers and magazines such as the Utne Reader, Whole Earth, and Z. It's just recently began running in the San Francisco Examiner. The strip uses the collage imagery from 40s and 50s advertising and features Sparky the Wonder Penguin who has been known to call George Bush a "Wanker."

First, novelist E.L. Doctorow reads from his novel, "Billy Bathgate." (First broadcast March 14, 1989) Then, film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Billy Bathgate," the film adaptation of E. L. Doctorow's best-selling novel. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Bruce Willis.

We remember theater impresario Joe Papp. He was responsible for bringing out such hits as "A Chorus Line" and "Hair," and for staging many memorable performances at the New York Shakespeare Festival. He died yesterday at age 70. We'll listen to a Fresh Air interview with Papp from 1987.