Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Cynthia Ozick Discusses Her Fiction.

Writer Cynthia Ozick. In 1981 and 1984, Ozick's two stories, "The Shawl" and "Rosa" won the O. Henry Prize award. Both stories appear in Ozick's new book, called The Shawl. In it, Ozick looks at what it means to `survive' the Nazi concentration camps, telling the story of Rosa, who witnesses the murder of her infant daughter in the camps. Later, living in Miami, Rosa imagines her daughter alive and married to a doctor in the United States. Ozick examines the way Rosa distances herself from the death of her daughter and her attempts to gradually re-emerge into life.

22:39
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on September 21, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, September 21, 1989: Interview with Cynthia Ozick; Review of Bob Dylan's "Oh, Mercy"; Interview with Li-Young Lee; Commentary on children's names.
Queue
11:34

Li-Young Lee Discusses His Childhood and Poetry.

Poet Li-Young Lee. He was born into a family of political refugees from China. They traveled throughout Asia for years to escape persecution. In the mid-60's his family moved to Pennsylvania. Lee's poems reflect his struggle with his Chinese heritage - a heritage to which he is bound but in which he never lived. His poems also reflect Lee's attempt to come to terms with the powerful and mythic figure of his father, who was alternately imprisoned and revered for his beliefs.

Interview

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
03:59

Moral Questions About Identity, Memory, and History Raised in New Novel by Polish Author.

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews an English translation of the novel, "The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman," by Polish writer Andrzej Szczypiorski. Although it was a bestseller in Europe, the novel was banned in Poland because of the writer's involvement with Solidarity. With the recent political changes, Szczypiorski's book is now published in Poland and in July he was elected to the Polish Senate.

Review
Queue
04:03

A Dream of the Earthly Paradise Gone Wrong.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Solomon Gursky Was Here," the new novel by Canadian writer Mordecai Richler. Richler's also the author of "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" and "Joshua Then and Now."

Review

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

42:59

Monkey thieves, drunk elephants — Mary Roach reveals a weird world of animal 'crime'

Roach researched animal misbehaviors for her book, Fuzz. She says animals tend to ignore the rules we try to impose on them — and they often have the last laugh. Originally broadcast Sept. 14, 2021.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

08:31

'Blonde,' the new Marilyn Monroe biopic, is an exercise in exploitation, not empathy

The movie turns Monroe into an avatar of suffering, brought low by a miserable childhood, a father she never knew and an industry full of men who abused and exploited her until her death in 1962, at the age of 36.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

52:30

Extreme heat, flooding and wildfires: How climate change supercharged the weather

Washington Post reporter Brady Dennis warns our aging infrastructure systems weren't built to withstand the stresses of climate change: "There is a certain amount of suffering that we can't avoid."

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue