Working class
'She Wrote Her Own Rules': Kerry Washington's 'Little Fires' Role Reminds Her Of Mom
Washington is nominated two Emmys for producing and starring in the Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere, about an enigmatic artist adjusting to life in the suburbs. Originally broadcast April 6, 2020.
Bon Jovi, Coming Full 'Circle' With A New Album
Even before he had a band, Jon Bon Jovi delivered demos with the confidence of a superstar. He joins Terry Gross for a conversation about his new album, The Circle, and a companion book and movie.
Poet Laureate Philip Levine Reads From His 'Work'
America's new poet laureate, Pulitzer-Prize winner Philip Levine, reads some of his work from What Work Is, his 1992 collection of poems about the working class. This segment was originally aired in 1991.
Bon Jovi, Coming Full 'Circle' With A New Album.
Even before he had a band, Jon Bon Jovi delivered demos with the confidence of a superstar. He joins Terry Gross for a conversation about his new album, The Circle, and a companion book and movie.
Philip Roth Discusses His Latest Accolade
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Philip Roth has been a favorite of readers since his memoir Goodbye, Columbus emerged to help define the culture of postwar America. Now the Library of America is releasing Roth's books — a rare step for a living author.
'Incendiary' by Chris Cleave
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Icendiary, the debut novel by British writer Chris Cleave. The story is triggered by an al-Qaeda bomb attack on a London soccer match.
Film and Theatrical Director Mike Leigh
Leigh's social-realist comedies depict British working class life. He begins work on his films without a script, piecing them together from improvisations with his cast. His latest film is Vera Drake about a working class woman in Britain in the 1950s who secretly performs abortions.
Book Review: 'A Song I Knew By Heart'
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews A Song I Knew By Heart,the new novel by Bret Lott.
Pulitzer-Prize Winning Journalist David Shipler
His new book is The Working Poor: Invisible in America. Shipler is a former reporter for The New York Times. He's also written for The New Yorker, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. His book Arab and Jews: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land won the Pulitzer Prize.
Novelist Richard Russo
He won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel Empire Falls which was also a national bestseller. His subject matter is working-class unpretentious people, but as one reviewer writes he transforms 'every day people and seemingly ordinary events - into the quintessential'. He's written five novels in all, including Mohawk, The Risk Pool, and Nobodys Fool (which was made into a film starring Paul Newman). His latest book is a collection of stories, The Whores Child and Other Stories.