The prolific and award-winning author is uncomfortable with fame, and has kept a low public profile. Now he opens up in a new collection of autobiographical essays. Updike uses his own body as a jumping-off point for his ruminations.
XTC's Andy Partridge describes his band's music as "weird pop." His frustration with the imperfections of live performances and his intense stage fright have kept the band from touring. Yet Partridge opens up on XTC's latest album with what rock critic Ken Tucker calls "an aggressive humanism."
Film critic Stephen Schiff says the former Monty Python animator's latest movie, like his others, suffer from a mid-story slump. Yet it's also Gilliam's best to date, and can inspire awe in viewers of all ages.
Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a newly re-issued recording of the late pianist GLENN GOULD playing Haydn's last six piano sonatas. Gould made these recordings in 1980, two years before his death.
Czech-born novelist JOSEF SKVORECKY. His parents fled the Nazis, and he fled the Soviets when they invaded Czechoslovkia. His first novel, The Cowards was banned in Czechoslovkia and since then he and his wife have run a publishing firm that brings out the works of other Czech writers who have also been banned. His best known books are Dvorak in Love, The Engineer of Human Souls and The Bass Saxophone. He's also written mysteries, the latest is Sins For Father Knox. His stories blend elements of memoir, politics and his love of music. Since 1969 he has lived in Toronto.
Writer, photographer and teacher MARGARET RANDALL. For 23 years, she lived throughout Latin and Central America, writing about the people, and in particular the lives of the women. She has published almost 50 books of poetry, prose and oral history. Since her return to the United States from an extended stay in Latin America, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has been trying to deport her. Randall and her supporters claim that is because Randall's writing is sharply critical of government policy in Central America.
The record producer is best known for propelling Elvis Presley to stardom; but Phillips founded his label in part to give African American musicians in the South a place to record their songs. Rock historian Ed Ward tells his story.
The author's books follow the lives of fictional characters in real historical situations. Several of them have been made into films. Doctorow's newest novel, Billy Bathgate, takes place in the criminal underworld of early-twentieth-century New York City.
Robert MacNeil hosts the Newshour program with Jim Lehrer. His latest book is about how his childhood experiences led him to a career in the news, and the importance of language and diction in his professional life.
Former diplomat Anthony Lake's new book is about the tense relationship between the United States and Nicaragua during the final years of Anastasio Somoza's reign. Book critic John Leonard is impressed by Lake's thoroughness, as well as his recommendations for improved diplomatic relations -- though the author is not without his own political blind spots.
Film critic David Bianculli says the drama China Beach and a special episode of Nightline deal with the lives of Vietnam veterans in respectful and powerful ways; both are worth watching.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says critical darling's piano music is often considered dark and heavy. But Blake's new album, Painted Rhythms Volume II, also has a sharp wit.
Douglas Adams' new, metaphysical novel follows detective Dirk Gently's investigation into an explosion at a London airport. His book A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy spawned a radio show, several sequels and a computer game.
Le Guin has a new collection of essays called "Dancing at the Edge of the World," about her life as a writer of genre fiction, her perspective as a woman sci-fi author who is also a mother, and the various tropes she explore in her classic works, like 1969's gender-themed "Left Hand of Darkness."
Barron was part of the Sphere jazz ensemble and records for the ECM label. He joins Fresh Air to perform some of the songs that influenced his playing.
Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews books by Wayne C. Booth and Robert Coles, writers who, while offering different solutions, both believe that the teaching of literature deserves a greater place in colleges and universities.
Rose has created educational and literacy programs for young people who fall through the cracks in school. As a young person, he was placed in a vocational track after a testing mixup -- a program that wasn't a good fit for Rose. His new book about his education and his current teaching is called "Lives on the Boundary."
The new novelist's book, The Casual Brutality, deals with a man from Trinidad who moves to Canada -- a narrative inspired by Bissoondath's own life. The writer is descended from Indian immigrants, and is the nephew of fellow author V.S. Naipaul.
David Marc considers his new book about classic sitcoms as a kind of autobiography: each show he reviews reminds him of the time in his life when he first watched it. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the history and politics of television comedy, especially in how it restricted the roles of women and people of color.
