Books & Literature

Writer Jake Lamar. In his new memoir, "Bourgeois Blues," Lamar examines the issue of race in his life, and in American society. (published by Summit Books).

Author Norman Mailer. Over the past four decades Mailer's evolved into one of America's most important, and at times most flamboyant, writers. He has a new novel, titled "Harlot's Ghost".

Maureen Corrigan reviews "Low Life," by Luc Sante (pronounced "luke sahn-tay"). The book explores the every-day existence of New Yorkers a century ago.

Children's author Maira (pronounced "my-rah") Kalman. Her latest kid's book is called "Ooh-La-La, Max In Love." (It's published by Viking).

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?" the latest book from political columnist Molly Ivins. (It's published by Random House).

Book critic John Leonard reviews Norman Mailer's new novel, "Harlot's Ghost."

Journalist Sam Dillon. Dillon was part of the Miami Herald's team of reporters that won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Iran Contra scandal. His new book, "Comandos: The CIA and Nicaragua's Contra Rebels," looks at the history of the contras during their ten year struggle with the Sandinistas. ( published by Henry Holt).

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz is also a poet, and today he reads one of his poems about leaves changing color.

Writer and critic Doris Grumbach. In her new memoir, "Coming Into The End Zone," Grumbach chronicles the 70th year of her life, faces the specter of her impending death, as well of the deaths of several of her friends due to AIDS. (It's published by Norton).

Film critic Pauline Kael talk to us from her house in Massachusetts. Kael spent years reviewing movies for The New Yorker. Her final collection of New Yorker reviews has just been published. It's called "Movie Love: Complete Reviews 1988-1991. (It's published by William Abrahams).

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Sexual Personae," Camille Paglia's (pag-lee-ah) controversial analysis of the sexes.

Cartoonist and novelist Jeff Danziger. Danziger is the political cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor, and his cartoons are featured in more than one hundred newspapers around the country. Danziger's just written his first novel. It's called "Rising Like The Tucson," and it's a dark comedy about the Vietnam War. (It's published by Doubleday).

Comedian Nora Dunn. Dunn was a cast member of Saturday Night Live for 6 years, and portrayed such roles as the vapid talk show host Pat Stevens, the lounge singing Sweeney Sisters, and French sex kitten Babette. She was also at the center of controversy when she refused to appear on SNL when Andrew Dice Clay was the guest host. Dunn has written a new book, in the personas of her characters, called "Nobody's Rib." (It's published by Harper Perennial).

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz is also an accomplished poet. The U.S. Information Agency recently sent Lloyd to Brazil for a lecture tour. He tells us he found a country with a huge love of poetry.

June Reinisch the Director of the Kinsey Institute, and the principle author of "The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex." In it, she debunks many myths Americans have about sex, and she discusses what she calls the "sexual illiteracy" of many Americans. (It's published by St. Martin's Press).

Actress Claire Bloom. After a long and illustrious career playing opposite the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Richard Burton, and Sir John Gielgud, Bloom is now performing a one woman show, called "Women Observed." In it, she reads roles from Anna Karenina, Jane Eyre, The Turn of the Screw, and A Room of One's Own. (The performance runs Thursday through Sunday at New York's Symphony Space). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Writer Ward Just. Just's new novel, "The Translator," is a thriller set in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Just has written nearly a dozen other novels, including "Jack Gance" and "The American Ambassador." Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Just was a journalist, covering the Vietnam War for Newsweek. ("The translator" is published by Houghton Mifflin). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Book critic John Leonard reviews, "Saint Maybe," the new novel from Anne Tyler.

Writer Norman Rush. Rush has a new novel, called "Mating." It's a comic romance that takes place in Botswana in the 80s. The novel builds on Rush's critically acclaimed collection of stories, "Whites." Rush himself served as the Peace Corps director in Botswana between 1978 and 1983. ("Mating" is published by Knopf). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

British writer Clive Barker. Some call him the "King of Horror," but he likes to think of himself as a writer who "delivers his readers into a new realm and states of reality." His novels include, "Cabal," and "The Great and Secret Show." He's also a filmmaker; his films include, "Hellraiser," and "Nightbreed." His new book is "Imajica," (published by HarperCollins.) (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)