Terry Gross

Coloratura soprano Roberta Peters made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1950, and has sung there every seasons since. Peters has performed in China and the U.S.S.R. Peters joins the show to discuss her life, career, and the current state of opera.

"Seaview" is Toby Olson's second novel, and has been nominated for a Penn/Faulkner Award. The novel follows a golf hustler and dying woman who travel across the U. S. Olson is also well known as a poet, especially in the Philadelphia where he is an active member of the "poetry scene." Olson teaches at Temple University where he is developing a Master's degree program in creative writing.

John Rockwell is the music critic for The New York Times. He believes critics should take (almost) all genres of music equally, and was one the first critics to cover "vernacular music." Rockwell has written the book "All American Music." Rockwell discusses his taste in music (including his beginnings in classical music), journalism, and shares records with Fresh Air.

Norman Mailer is a journalist, novelist, and essayist whose latest novel is "Ancient Evenings." Mailer delivers a talk on "The Problem of Writing" at the University of Pennsylvania.

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was, in 1954, the first black person to receive the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Brooks has written over fifteen books, her poetry has been widely anthologized, and has received over forty honorary doctorates. Brooks is also the Poet Laureate of Illinois. Brooks is in the are to deliver the "Marion Moore Poetry Reading" at Bryn Mawr College. Brooks discusses her career and reads some of her poetry.

Seymour Shubin is a novelist whose previous work "Anyone's My Name," was a best seller. Shubin is the former managing editor of Official Detective Stories, and has written for medical and psychological journalists. His new novel, "The Captain," is a suspense story that explores the anger and resentment a retired detective living in a nursing home feels towards the nurses, doctors, and the family members who put him there. The novel has been nominated for an Edgar Award.

Gerontologist Roy Walford is currently researching the aging process and how to extend life expectancy. His new book "Maximum Life Span," explores the theory he is currently developing on using caloric restriction, or what Walford calls "under nutrition," to extend life expectancy. Walford has been on the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) since 1954, and has won many awards for his research and work.

Stan Mack's cartoon strip "Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies," has run in the Village Voice since 1974. The strip comes with the guarantee "all dialogue reported verbatim," and consists of absurd conversations overheard by Mack. Mack began his career as an art director at The New York Tribune and The New York Times. Mack's new book "In Search of the G Spot" is a collection of "sex spoof jokes."

Peter Bogdanovitch is a screenwriter, director, and producer, whose movies include "The Last Picture Show," "What's Up Doc?," and "Paper Moon." He got his start working for Roger Corman. Bogdanovich is also a critic and journalist, who has written for the Village Voice and Esquire, and also an author of several books about U.S. film directors. His latest film is a romantic comedy titled "They All Laughed," and Bogdanovich is currently distributing it himself through his company Moon Pictures.

Alice Neel is a painter known for her portraits and nudes. Neel was born in 1900 in the Main Line and studied at the Philadelphia School for Design for Women, later Moore College of Art. Neel's work is featured in an exhibit at the Philadelphia College of Art, [later University of the Arts] focusing on women artists whose work appears in the archives of the Women's Interart Center in New York. She discusses her life and career as a woman artist.