Books & Literature

"Populist gourmet" Calvin Trillin is a journalist, humorist, and food writer. His latest work is "Third Helpings." He joins the show to discuss his work and contemporary food culture, including potato skins and the "bacon-bit barrier."

Margaret Atwood is a novelist and poet whose female protagonists have attracted women readers. Atwood considers herself a feminist writer and joins the show to discuss her life, career, and the women's movement. Her latest work is a collection of short stories titled "Dancing Girls."

"Seaview" is Toby Olson's second novel, and has been nominated for a Penn/Faulkner Award. The novel follows a golf hustler and dying woman who travel across the U. S. Olson is also well known as a poet, especially in the Philadelphia where he is an active member of the "poetry scene." Olson teaches at Temple University where he is developing a Master's degree program in creative writing.

Norman Mailer is a journalist, novelist, and essayist whose latest novel is "Ancient Evenings." Mailer delivers a talk on "The Problem of Writing" at the University of Pennsylvania.

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was, in 1954, the first black person to receive the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Brooks has written over fifteen books, her poetry has been widely anthologized, and has received over forty honorary doctorates. Brooks is also the Poet Laureate of Illinois. Brooks is in the are to deliver the "Marion Moore Poetry Reading" at Bryn Mawr College. Brooks discusses her career and reads some of her poetry.

Seymour Shubin is a novelist whose previous work "Anyone's My Name," was a best seller. Shubin is the former managing editor of Official Detective Stories, and has written for medical and psychological journalists. His new novel, "The Captain," is a suspense story that explores the anger and resentment a retired detective living in a nursing home feels towards the nurses, doctors, and the family members who put him there. The novel has been nominated for an Edgar Award.

Stan Mack's cartoon strip "Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies," has run in the Village Voice since 1974. The strip comes with the guarantee "all dialogue reported verbatim," and consists of absurd conversations overheard by Mack. Mack began his career as an art director at The New York Tribune and The New York Times. Mack's new book "In Search of the G Spot" is a collection of "sex spoof jokes."

Marita Golden became part of a group of black radicals as student at American University in Washington, D.C. After graduating from the Columbia School of Journalism, Golden married a Nigerian and moved to Nigeria with him. Golden was shocked by the role of women and wives in the country, which she found stifling. Taking her son with her, Golden left her husband and returned to the United States. She discuss her life and experiences in her memoir "Migrations of the Heart."

Joyce Johnson became a part of the circle known as the Beat writers: Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac, when she broke away from her middle class Jewish family life and joined the bohemian Greenwich Village crowd. Johnson met Kerouac in 1957 and was in a romantic relationship with him for two years. Her new memoir, "Minor Characters," discusses not only her experiences but also the role of women in the Beat generation. Johnson is also an editor and novelist.

Poet Nikki Giovanni joins the show to discuss her latest work "Those Who Ride the Night Winds," the life of a poet, African American poets, rap, and women poets.

Documentarian Bob Mugge's new film "Black Wax" is a performance documentary with poet and activist Gil Scott-Heron. The film documents performances by Scott-Heron, including some with wax figures. Mugge's previous film "Amateur Night at City Hall," was a documentary about Frank Rizzo. The film includes Scott-Heron performing a portion of his poem/song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Walter S. Kenton spent seventeen years working in the insurance industry as a salesperson, manager, and broker before deciding he could no longer work in the industry in 1980. Kenton has written a book about what he calls insurance companies' "deceitful" sales tactics, "How Life Insurance Companies Rob You and What You Can Do About It."

Marge Piercy is a novelist. Her new book is titled "Braided Lives." She joins the show to discuss looking back on one's past, feminism, and her involvement in leftist politics.

Novelist Edmund White's newest work, "A Boy's Own Story," follows a young gay man growing up in the midwest in the 1950s. The novel has some autobiographical elements. White joins the show to discuss his life, growing up as a homosexual person, and his novel.

Thomas Keneally recently won the prestigious Booker prize for his novel "Schindler's List." The novel tells the story of German Industrialist Oskar Schindler who, in World War II, created "benign" work and concentration camps. The Australian novelist has published several novels, including "The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith," which has been made into a film.

Frank Saunders worked as the chauffeur for Joseph and Rose Kennedy from 1961 until after Joseph Kennedy's death. He lived in a cottage on their Hyannisport estate, and performed many duties for them beyond his title. He's written a book about his time with the Kennedys, "Torn Lace Curtain."

Poet and performer Lane Kiyomi Nishikawa will be performing his one-man show about being Asian American "Life in the Fast Kabe: Requiem for a Sansei Poet" in Philadelphia. The show contains stories and poems based on his life in Hawaii and San Francisco. He joins the show to discuss his work and life.

Mimi Pond is the author and illustrator of the new book "The Valley Girls' Guide to Life," which she researched by spending time in the mall with Californian junior high students. Pond is a cartoonist whose strip "Mimi Pond's Famous Waitress School" appears regularly in The National Lampoon.

Civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz is known as a defender of free speech and an advocate for the right to a passionate defense. Dershowitz has defended many controversial figures and is currently involved in the Claus von Bulow and Jack Henry Abbott cases. He has been a professor at Harvard Law School since the age of twenty-eight. His new book is "The Best Defense."

Larry King is the host of the radio talk show "The Larry King Show." The late-night program features guest interviews and listener calls and is aired between midnight and five thirty. He's recently written the memoir "Larry King." He will be airing his show live from Philadelphia this week.