Books & Literature

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.

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.

Literature professor and writer Carolyn Heilbrun writes about women's issues under her own name, and detective novels under the pseudonym Amanda Cross. She believes that the path forward for feminism is androgyny and a greater blurring of gender roles and identities.

Walt Frazier was a superstar NBA player for the New York Knicks in the 1960s and '70s. During that time, he was known for his ostentatious fashion and extravagant lifestyle. Now older, he's returned to the world of basketball as a sports commentator. His new memoir is called Walt Frazier.

Peter Sichrovsky's lives in Austria, and is the child of Holocaust survivors who grew up alongside the children of former Nazis. He is interested in how the generation after World War II dealt with their parents' experiences during this time, either as perpetrators or victims of violence. Sichrovsky's books include Strangers in Their Own Land and Born Guilty.

Hamilton says he'll always be pigeonholed as a New Yorker cartoonist; his work regularly appears in that magazine. His new novel, The Lap of Luxury, is about marrying into a rich family.

Book critic John Leonard reviews African Madness, a new collection of travel essays by Alex Shumatoff, a New Yorker staff writer who seeks to capture the changing face of sub-Saharan African.

The British journalist reports on Washington politics for The Nation, Spectator, and Harper's. He's frustrated by the tendency of news outlets to avoid reporting facts about political figures that may seem partisan or outwardly critical. A collection of his columns, titled Prepared for the Worst, has just been published.

Erwitt got his start early, shortly after he left the Army. He's worked as a photojournalist and commercial photographer, and takes personal pictures as well. Erwitt's new book is called Personal Exposures.

Writer Patrick McGrath grew up near England's Broadmoor mental hospital, where his father worked. He is now a horror writer. His collection of short fiction is called Blood and Water and Other Tales. A novel is forthcoming.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg says that dictionaries remove words and their meanings from any sort of context, which makes them inefficient tools for students seeking to expand their vocabularies. But dictionaries can reveal a lot about simple words, which are often the hardest to define.

Book critic John Leonard review Taylor Branch's new book about the Civil Rights era. Branch argues that the early 60s, until now identified as the Kennedy era, ought to be identified with Martin Luther King Jr.

Ray has written twelve books of poetry. His lastest, Sam's Book, centers on memories of his son Sam, who was killed in a drinking accident.

The fiction writer sought adventure, so he followed the Equator around the world. His new book describes the different cultures, colonial vestiges, and natural phenomena of his various stops -- many of which the locals described as the "middle of nowhere."

The author came from a political family, which he says didn't groom him for life as a writer. Nonetheless, Vidal has continued to stay engaged in politics through his series of historical novels and a new essay collection, called At Home. He tells Fresh Air host Terry Gross about some of his early work, and how television helped bolster his celebrity.

Book critic John Leonard reviews the new book by Milorad Pavic, a novel in dictionary form about an ancient tribe thought by some to be the lost Tribe of Israel. The book has an inventive structure, and comments on organized religion, history, and the current state of Yugoslavia.

Ron Haver spent several years searching for the missing half-hour from "A Star is Born," starring Judy Garland and James Mason. He found most of the lost footage and has written a book recounting his search for the lost scenes, the restoration, and the making of the 1954 motion picture classic. Haver is director of the film deaprtment at the Los Angeles County Museum.

New Yorker art writer Calvin Tompkins looks at the state of the art world. He says there has been a rise in corporate-owned collections, which often exclude more provocative or sexually-themed works.

John Cheever's son Benjamin collected the author's letters in a new book. He joins Fresh Air to talk about John Cheever's sexuality, relationship with their family, and the impact of his death.

Lawrence Shainberg's new book links brain damage to the writer's imagination