Literary Figures

Writer Lee Stringer. He spent eleven years on the streets of New York City, living n the tunnels under Grand Central Terminal, addicted to crack. His acclaimed memoir "Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street" (Washington Square Press) chronicled his unraveling, from a marketing executive to being homeless and crack addicted. He collaborated on his new book with Kurt Vonnegut: "Like Shaking Hands with God: a conversation about writing" (Seven Stories Press)

The writer Paul Bowles died today in Tangiers, Morocco, his home for 50 years. He was 88 and died of cardiac arrest. His most famous novel "The Sheltering Sky" was selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the century. We remember him with an excerpt of his 1993 interview. (REBROADCAST from 6/15/93).

Poet and novelist Michael Ondaatje (on-DAH-chay). He won Britain's highest literary prize, the Booker Prize, for his novel set in post World War II, "The English Patient," which was made into a film. Ondaatje was born in Cylon (now Sri Lanka), emigrated to England, and now lives in Canada. He has a new book of poetry, "Handwriting" (Knopf)

Host Garrison Keillor of Minnesota Public Radio's "A Prairie Home Companion." His new book has caused quite a stir. "Me: by Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente as told to Garrison Keillor" (Viking) satirizes Minnesota's new state governor, and former professional wrestler, Jesse Ventura. The governor, who plans to write his own autobiography, called Keillor's book "cheating" and proposed gradually eliminating state funding for Minnesota's public radio and TV. He also singled out Keillor saying he'd like to see his W-2.

Writer Andre Dubus died this week. Dubus' short stories earned him numerous awards, including a MacArthur award, a Rea Award, and a Bernard Malamud Award from the writers group, PEN. An accident in 1986 left Dubus wheelchair bound, he later said his condition helped him get rid of his fears, it also made its way into his writing. Dubus short stories gained wide attention in the years following the accident. (REBROADCAST from 6/25/91)

Playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Paul Rudnick. His new play "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told" looks at God and Creation from a gay perspective. (It's playing at the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village in New York City). Rudnick also wrote the plays as "I Hate Hamlet," "The Naked Eye," and "Jeffrey." And he wrote the screenplays for "Addams Family Values" and "In & Out."

Richard Ford, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of the novel "Independence Day," has edited and collected a new selection of short stories by the great Russian playwright and short-story writer Anton Chekhov. It's called "The Essential Tales of Chekhov" (Ecco Press)

New York writer Daniel Drennan has written a new collection of essays about life in Manhattan. His book "The New York Diaries: Too True Tales of Urban Tramau" is published by Ballantine Books.

Ethan Coen makes movies with his brother Joel Coen. Their films include, "Blood Simple," "Raising Arizona," "Barton Fink," "Fargo," and "The Big Lebowski." His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, and Vanity Fair. He's written his short story collection, called "Gates of Eden."

Barry is best known for his play, "The Steward of Christendom," as well as for his commentaries on the troubles in Ireland for the The New York Times. He's written a new novel, "The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty" (Viking). It's about a naive Irishman who joins the British Merchant Navy during World War I, and then is blacklisted from his beloved hometown by the Royal Irish Constabulatory. A review from Kirkus Reviews says the book is "one of the best novels out of Ireland in many a year."