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09:48

Richard Lourie Satirizes the Cold War.

Novelist and translator Richard Lourie. His new novel is titled Zero Gravity and follows his successful debut First Loyalty. Lourie has been closely involved with the Russian and Polish underground intelligentsia and the emigre communities in America.

Interview
09:39

Lloyd Schwartz: The Interview.

Fresh Air's classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz. It's part of our continuing series of conversations with Fresh Air's contributors. Schwartz is the classical music editor of the Boston Phoenix and writes for The Atlantic magazine and Vanity Fair. Schwartz was the winner of the 1987 ASCAP Deems Taylor for music criticism.

Interview
03:45

Mark Halliday's "Memory Sampler."

Poet Mark Halliday. He'll read "Memory Sampler," a poem he composed in an attempt to dispose of a whole series of troubling past experiences. Halliday is an English professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His first volume of poetry is titled Little Star.

Commentary
27:13

W. S. Merwin Shares His Poems.

Poet W.S.Merwin. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1970 work, The Carriers of Ladders. His books of poetry include The Song of Roland, The Compass Flower and, his latest collection, The Rain in the Trees.

Interview
27:13

Poet Sharon Olds Discusses Her Life and Reads Some of Her Poetry.

Poet Sharon Olds. She writes passionate and intensely personal poems about her childhood with abusive and alcoholic parents, and her own experiences as a mother and a wife. Suicide attempts in New York, and encounters on the subway also provide inspiration for her work. Sharon Olds is the recipient of the 1985 National Book Critics Circle Award for her collection titled The Dead and the Living.

Interview
27:39

How Poetry Disturbs and Consoles

Edward Hirsch was an All-American football player in college -- at the same time he became interested in poetry. He talks about how insomnia, sports, and restlessness affect his life and writing. He reads several poems for Fresh Air listeners.

Interview
09:44

Mexican Poet and Author Octavio Paz

The writer has also worked as a diplomat. Artistically and professionally, he has explored the cultural and political identity of his home country. His new book is about the poet Sor Juana; Paz says her life mirrors his own in several ways.

Interview
09:48

Lyricist Fran Landesman

Landesman's name isn't well known, but her songs are, like "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most." She was part of the 1950s Beat scene, and now lives in London.

Interview
09:49

A Prisoner Has the Most Beautiful Dreams

Russian poet Irina Ratushinskaya was sent to a labor camp for her poetry advocating human writes. She continued to write in prison, smuggling her poems out for publication and committing many others to memory. Her memoir, Grey is the Color of Hope, details that time.

27:31

The Life and Poetry of Langston Hughes

Arnold Rampersad's biography of the African American poet has been called "a literary event." Despite dedicating his writing to the black experience, Hughes grew up in a largely white community. His more radical work didn't find much of an audience, which led to him adopting a more social-realist style later in his career.

Interview
03:50

Remembering the Paranoia of a Fascist Poet

Book critic John Leonard reviews Humphrey Carpenter's biography of Ezra Pound, called A Serious Character. Leonard says the book is filled with inessential material, and doesn't do enough to address Pound's literary, political, and personal shortcomings.

Review
09:38

Poet and Critic Robert Pinsky

Pinsky says he's suspicious of literary criticism, even though he often writes it himself. His new book, Poetry and the World, looks back on his past, including growing up in New Jersey.

Interview
09:29

Poet Sharon Olds

Olds' writing is confessional and personal, but she says her work is not necessarily autobiographical. She wonders why readers have the desire to separate truth from invention in her work -- and the work of other women poets in particular.

Interview
27:24

Poet, Essayist and Activist Audre Lorde

Lorde is open about her identity as a black lesbian feminist; she hopes her visibility will help other women like her feel less alone. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her romantic relationships with men and women, and the tensions between African American and feminist communities. Her new collection of essays, A Burst of Light, deals with her experience with breast cancer.

Interview
09:50

Poet Robert Hass

Hass says he is overwhelmed by images; the point of art is to make sense of it. He joins Fresh Air to talk about how memory and invention influence his poetry. A new collection, called Human Wishes, will be published later this year.

Interview

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