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Gary Paulsen Discusses the Iditarod.

Author and former field engineer, editor, actor, migrant farm worker, farmer, trapper, truck driver and sailor Gary Paulsen. Paulsen has authored books for adults, young adults and children. His latest book for adult readers is "Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod" (Harcourt Brace and Company). The Iditarod has been called "the last great race on earth." It is the grueling 1,180 mile dogsled race over the Arctic terrain from Anchorage to Nome. Paulsen ran it twice. During training for the race, Paulsen almost lost his dogs and his own life. Relying on a combination of luck and brute will, he saved himself and his team. After that, he understood he would never be able to stop running dogs of his own free will. He is driven to write too. He has said "I can't not write. . . . I love doing it, putting the bloody skins on and dancing around the fire." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

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Other segments from the episode on March 10, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 10, 1994: Interview with Gary Paulsen; Interview with David Drake; Review of the film "The Ref."
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15:59

Actor and Playwright David Drake.

Actor and playwright David Drake. In 1985, Drake saw the play "The Normal Heart" by playwright Larry Kramer. It was a turning point for Drake. Kramer went on to become a founder of ACT UP--the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. Drake a gay man, started on a path of self discovery and activism that has led to his writing a series of vignettes called "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me" (Anchor Books). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

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12:36

Writer Gary Paulsen

Writer Gary Paulsen is a prolific writer of children's books. He began writing over 30 years ago, when he was coming to terms with his alcoholism. For many years he and his wife lived in poverty in rural Minnesota. This changed when Paulsen won the Newbery Award for children's fiction in 1985 with Dogsong, about running the Iditarod. Paulsen's children's books often deal with adventurous youths who triumph over adversity in the wilderness. This interview first aired Oct. 6, 1992.

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The Trauma of Rescue

A reading by Gary Paulsen from his new book, "Eastern Sun, Winter Moon." It details a harrowing story of the violent way his mother protected him from a potential predator.

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