Literary Figures: Novelists

Novelist Randall Kenan. He was raised in the rural, North Carolina, a part of the country in which he says "it's hard to distinguish between the myths and reality." His new book, "Let the Dead Bury Their Dead," is a collection of stories, about a five-year old who can hear the dead speak, an Asian man who falls from the sky and encounters mindless violence and racism, and a conventional widow who copes with the revelation that her grandson is a homosexual, and others.

Benjamin Cheever is the son of the late John Cheever. Ben is also a writer, and he grew up in the shadow of his father's fame. He's just written his first novel, for which he says he finally found his own voice, separate from his father's. "The Plagiarist" (Atheneum) is loosely based on Ben's life, and the time he spent working at "Reader's Digest" magazine. Ben was also the editor of "The Letters of John Cheever," published in 1988.

Nigerian writer Ben Okri. His novel, "The Famished Road," won Britian's prestigious Booker Prize in 1991. It's about a young boy growing up in a poor African village. He's written four other novels and a collection of short stories. Besides "The Famished Road," the only other book of his published in the U.S. is his book of short stories. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Controversial author Salman Rushdie. Terry last talked to him in late 1990 about his life. For over three years, Rushdie's been in hiding, a result of the reaction to his novel "The Satanic Verses." That novel offended many Muslims and led to the Ayatollah Khomeini putting a one-million-dollar death sentence on Rushdie's head. Just lately, he's begun to travel and make public appearances, even though he's still a target for assassination. Rushdie called us from his hiding place somewhere in Great Britain.

Monologuist, actor and writer Spalding Gray. His latest monologue "Monster in a Box" is about all the distractions that prevented him from completing his novel, "Impossible Vacation." Now the monologue has been made into a film of the same name. It's also out in book form, and on top of that, "Impossible Vacation" has just been published. (The book "Monster in a Box" is published by Vintage Press, the book "Impossible Vacation" is published by Knopf, and the film "Monster in a Box" is distributed by Fine Line Features.)

Writer Jess Mowry. His novel, "Way Past Cool," is about an Oakland gang. He works with inner city youths in Oakland, California. Mowry used to be in a gang himself. In 1988, he bought a used typewriter for 10 dollars and started writing. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc.) (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Irish screenwriter and novelist Shane Connaughton co-wrote the screenplay for "My Left Foot." Now he's written the screenplay for the new film "The Playboys," starring Aidan Quinn and Albert Finney.(Samuel Goldwyn) He also has a new novel out called "The Run of The Country." (St. Martin's Press)

Novelist Toni Morrison. She has a new novel "Jazz," (published by Knopf) and a new book of essays, "Playing in the Dark," (by Harvard). Her novel, "Beloved," won a Pulitzer prize. She's written six novels in all.

Michael Tolkin, who wrote the novel and screenplay for the new Robert Altman movie, "The Player" (Fine Line Features, opening wide tomorrow), gives a screenwriter's take on the way Hollywood works -- or doesn't. Tolkin also wrote, directed and produced the film, "The Rapture," now available on home video.

British writer Richard Rayner. His new semi-autobiographical novel is "The Elephant," about a son's relationship with his father. The father steals a lot of money, fakes his own death, and disappears for ten years. Once reunited, the two engage in scandalous exploits. One reviewer wrote that the novel progresses from the picaresque to the poignant "densely woven with brilliantly macabre, hilarious details..." (published by Random)