Literary figures/poets

Bly's work has dealt with nature, the Vietnam War, and gender differences. He considers the impact living simply in Minnesota has had on his writing.

Poet Jim Carroll is best known for his book The Basketball Diaries. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about his history of heroin addiction, writing, and sobriety.

Award wInning poet Maxine Kumin moved with her husband to a farm in New Hampshire. Her new life in a rural setting inspired her recent collection of essays.

The Nobel Prize-winning writer's formative experiences were informed by war in Eastern Europe, an itinerant childhood, and American novels and films. He has lived in the United States since 1960.

Caribbean writer Derek Walcott divides his time between Trinidad and Boston. While his work often focuses on his West Indian identity; Walcott writes in English--the language of the colonizers who suppressed and diluted is country's indigenous culture.

Writer Maya Angelou's newest installment in her series of autobiographical books, called All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, has just been published. She returns to Fresh Air to talk about the influence her childhood had on her life and career.

Exiled South African poet returns to Fresh Air to discuss the state of emergency declared by the South African government against anti-apartheid activists.

Poet and essayist John Ciardi is known for his etymologies on the NPR program "Morning Edition." Ciardi joins the show to discuss his love of words and their histories.

Exiled black South African poet Dennis Brutus describes his ordeal while imprisoned for his anti-apartheid organizing, and discusses his decision to sign an exit visa which prohibits him from returning.

Dennis Brutus is an exiled South African poet. Brutus was active in the anti-apartheid movement in the country which led to his imprisonment and eventual exile. Brutus moved to the United Stated in 1970, and gained permanent residence status in 1983 after a struggle in which the U. S. attempted to deport him. Brutus joins the show to give his impressions of the South African government's proposed reforms and the current violent ant-apartheid protests in the country, as well as read several of his poems.