Stephen Schiff reviews Prick Up Your Ears, about the relationship between playwright Joe Orton and his partner Ken Halliwell -- which ended in a murder-suicide.
Nicholas Proffitt's book Garden of Stone, inspired by his ceremonial role in the Army during the Vietnam War, was recently adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola.
Jill Godmilow's American Playhouse film explores the relationship between the avant-garde writer and her partner Alice Toklas. While much of the plot is invented, Godmilow was careful to stay true to the women's lives.
British novelist Julian Barnes takes great pleasure in quoting bad writing, as well as how words often fail to convey their intended meaning. His new book is called Staring at the Sun.
Language commentator Geoff Nunberg considers why actors adopt foreign or regional accents in film -- and why they sometimes speak in their natural voice, regardless of the part they play.
In his new book, music writer Joseph Horowitz considers the rise of Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, whose popularity grew during wartime. Many of Toscanini's contemporaries fell out of favor because of their German heritage.
Artur Schnabel is often considered an intellectual musician, but critic Lloyd Schwartz believes the pianist's skill lies in his emotional sensitivity. The Arabesque label has recently reissued a number of Schnabel's recordings on CD, including a collection of Beethoven concertos.
Diane Johnson's first novel in eight years deals with an American woman's affair during the Iranian revolution. She joins Fresh Air to talk about writing biographies and screenplays and why it took her so long to finish her newest book.
Nadine Gordimer's newest novel, A Sport of Nature, follows a white anti-apartheid worker as she traverses a complicated terrain of sex, race, and politics.
Photographer Bruce Davidson documented each line of New York City's subway system, documenting the people who rode the tracks, including youths, working commuters, and homeless people.
Graham Chapman came out while working on the sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus. He discusses his activism to support gay rights, as well as the many times the television program lampooned conventional masculinity.
Fresh Air jazz critic Francis Davis reviews a new recording of a 1924 arrangement of the Gershwin classic, which emphasizes the piece's jazzier elements.
Pat Conroy's abusive father tried to groom him for a career in the Marines. Conroy instead became a novelist who incorporates autobiographical details into his fiction.
Documentary filmmaker Henry Hampton. He produced the television program "Eyes on the Prize," which documents the history of the civil rights movement -- including the impact press coverage had on the cause.
