AUDIO GERMAINE GREER Thursday, Apr 2
at 6:30pm
Moderated by Katha Pollitt (54.7 mb,
Time 59:39)
Germaine Greer
reads from her latest book Shakespeare's Wife,
and discusses her feminist views, followed by
a Q&A session with moderator Katha Pollitt
and the audience.
Australian-born writer, broadcaster, and academic,
German Greer is widely regarded as one of the
most significant feminist voices of our time.
Greer's ideas have created controversy ever since
The Female Eunuch became an international
bestseller in 1970, turning her into a household
name overnight and bringing her both adulation
and criticism. Her most recent book Shakespeare's
Wife is a bold new take on the usual portrait
of Ann Hathaway and her marriage to Shakespeare.
Greer received her PhD from the University of
Cambridge in 1967 with a thesis on Shakespeare's
early comedies, and she has taught at universities
in Australia, Britain, and the United States.
In 1986 she was invited to contribute to Oxford
University Press's prestigious Past Masters volume
on Shakespeare. In 1989 she set up her own publishing
imprint, Stump Cross Books, and went on to publish
scholarly editions of Katherine Philips and Anne
Wharton. She is currently completing an online
edition of the complete works of Anne Finch, Countess
of Winchelsea. She lives in Northwest Essex with
two dogs, thirteen geese, and a fluctuating number
of doves.
AUDIO A.M. HOMES Thursday, March 12 at
6:30pm
Moderated by Aoibheann Sweeney (50.2 mb,
Time 54:47)
A.M. Homes reads the story "May We Be Forgiven," which appeared in Granta 100, and discusses
her writing life, followed by a Q&A session with
moderator Aoibheann Sweeney and the audience.
A.M. Homes has authored numerous works, including
the novels
This Book Will Save Your Life and
Music for Torching; the short story collection
Things You Should Know; the recent memoir
The Mistress's Daughter; and various
pieces in Harper's, The New Yorker, The New
York Times, and McSweeney's. A Guggenheim
and NEA Fellow, Homes was a writer/producer for
the hit Showtime original series The L Word,
and is currently a contributing editor to
Vanity Fair, Bomb, and The Blind Spot.
AUDIO JIMMY BRESLIN Thursday, Feb 19 at
6:30pm
Moderated by Daniel Menaker (46.1 mb,
Time 50:16)
Jimmy Breslin
tells the story behind his most recent book
The Good Rat: A True Stor,
followed by a Q&A session with moderator
Daniel Menaker and the audience.
New York native Jimmy Breslin is a long-time
investigative journalist, columnist, and author
of over twenty books, including The Church
That Forgot Christ, The Gang That Couldn’t
Shoot Straight, and the biography of newsman/writer
Damon Runyon, Damon Runyon: A Life.
The recipient of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for
commentary, Breslin has also received the George
Polk Award for Metropolitan Reporting in honor
of his work in Newsday. His most recent
book is The Good Rat: A True Story.
ART SPIEGELMAN Thursday, Feb 5 at
6:30pm
Moderated by Daniel Menaker (26.6 mb, Time 29:03)
Art Spiegelman
discusses his most recent book, Breakdowns:
Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!
during a Q&A session with moderator Daniel
Menaker and the audience.
Art Spielgelman is the creator of several critically-acclaimed
comic books, including the best-selling In the
Shadow of No Towers, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning
Holocaust narrative Maus. Widely published
in The New Yorker, McSweeney's,
and elsewhere, he has continued to be a singular
force in reviving critical interest in the comic
book genre. He is also a Guggenheim Fellow, and
was recently inducted into the Chevalier de l'Ordre
des Arts et des Lettres in France and named one
of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential
People. His most recent book is Breakdowns:
Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!
NATHAN ENGLANDER Thursday, January 22
6:30pm
Moderated by Daniel Menaker (48.6 mb, Time 58:25)
Nathan England reads
from his novel The Ministry of Special Case,
followed by a Q&A session with moderator Daniel
Menaker and the audience.
New York native Nathan Englander is the author
of the international best-selling short story collection
For the Relief of Unbearable Urges and, most
recently, the novel The Ministry of Special
Cases. A Guggenheim Fellow and contributor
to The New Yorker and The Atlantic
Monthly, Englander is also a recipient of the
O. Henry Prize, the Pushcart Prize, and was selected
as one of "20 Writers for the 21st Century"
by The New Yorker.
LOUISE ERDRICH
Moderated by Aoibheann Sweeney
Thursday, January 15 6:30pm (48.6 mb, Time 52:59)
Louise Erdrich reads
from her story collection The Red Convertible:
Selected and New Stories, 1978—2008,
followed by a Q&A session with moderator Aoibheann
Sweeney and the audience.
Louise Erdrich is the author of numerous critically-acclaimed
and New York Times best-selling novels, poems,
and short story collections, including Love Medicine,
The Master Butchers Singing Club, The Porcupine Year,
and her most recent novel, The Plague of Doves.
A member and descendant of the Chippewa nation, Erdrich
is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim
Fellowship, the O. Henry Award, the Scott O’Dell
Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
The Red Convertible: Selected and New Stories,
1978—2008 will be published in January
2009.
VIDEO
2008 National Book Awards Finalists
Announcement
Scott Turow
October 15, 2008
Steppenwolf Theater, Chicago
The Winner in each of the four categories –
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry and Young People’s
Literature – will be announced at the
59th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and
Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York
City on Wednesday, November 19.
Paul Muldoon
Moderated by Edward Hirsch
Thursday, April 17th
6:30 p.m. (57.1 mb, Time
1:11:17)
Paul Muldoon
reads from his poetry collection Horse Latitudes,
followed by a Q&A session with moderator
and poet Edward Hirsch and the audience. Muldoon
discusses what allows for the creation of great
poetry, what it means to be a poet from Northern
Ireland, and when he finds the time to write.
Poems read during the event include: Sushi,
Egg, Turkey Buzzards, and
The Loaf
A native of Northern Ireland, Paul Muldoon
was recently appointed poetry editor of
the New Yorker. He has published
innumerable poems, his first at age 16.
Since then, he has published several collections,
including New Weather (1973), Madoc:
A Mystery (1990), and Moy Sand
and Gravel (2002), for which he won
the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. Muldoon has received
international honors that include the 1994
T. S. Eliot Prize, the 2003 Griffin International
Prize for Excellence in Poetry, and the
2004 Shakespeare Prize. He is currently
chairman of the Princeton University Center
for the Creative and Performing Arts. To
read more of his work, visit http://www.paulmuldoon.net.
Shalom Auslander
Moderated by Harold Augenbraum
Apr 3 at 6:30pm (48 mb, 59 minutes
51 seconds)
Shalom Auslander reads from his memoir, Foreskin's
Lament, followed by a Q&A session with
moderator, Harold Augenbraum and the audience.
Auslander discusses the abuse of religious authority
he experienced as a child and how that informs
his current professional and personal life and
why he chose memior and not fiction to tell his
story.
Shalom Auslander is the author of Foreskin's
Lament, which Time magazine has
called "one of the best memoirs of the year."
His first book was the critically-acclaimed short
story collection Beware of God. Nominated
for the Koret Award for Writers Under 35, Auslander
has written for The New Yorker and The
New York Times Magazine, and is a regular
contributor to Public Radio International's This
American Life.
Peter Carey
Moderated by Aoibheann Sweeney
Mar 20 at 6:30pm (43.8 mb, 54:39)
Peter Carey reads from his novel, His Illegal
Self, followed by a Q&A session with moderator,
Aoibheann Sweeney and the audience. Carey discusses
the difficulty of writing American characters as
an Australian, how class figures into his work,
the difference between the U.S. and Australian class
system, and how he begins work on a novel.
A two-time Man Booker Prize winner, Australian-born
Peter Carey is the author of several books, including
Oscar and Lucinda (1998) and True History
of the Kelly Gang (2001). He has taught writing
at NYU, Columbia University, and The New School,
and currently directs the MFA program at Hunter
College.
Deborah Eisenberg
Moderated by Aoibheann Sweeney
Feb 7 at 6:30pm
(46.9 mb, 58:27)
Deborah Eisenberg reads from "Revenge of
the Dinosaurs," followed by a Q&A session
with moderator (and former Eisenberg student) Aoibheann
Sweeney and the audience.
Deborah Eisenberg has authored several short story
collections, including Transactions in a Foreign
Currency, Under the 82nd Airborne,All
Around Atlantis, and most recently, Twilight
of the Superheroes, all cited as New York
Times Notable Books of the Year. Eisenberg is
a Guggenheim Fellow and currently teaches at the University
of Virginia.Dinner music by Eric Kurimski, South American/jazz
guitar.
George Saunders
Moderated by Aoibheann Sweeney
Jan 17 6:30pm
(46.9 mb, 58:27)
Saunders reads from "Sea Oak," which
can be found in his short story collection Pastoralia
followed by a Q&A session with moderator Aoibheann
Sweeney and the audience.
A MacArthur Fellow, George Saunders is the author
of the short story collections Pastoralia,
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, and In Persuasion
Nation, which was one of three finalists for
the 2006 Story Prize for best short story
collection of the year. His most recent book is The
Braindead Megaphone, a collection of essays.
Widely translated and anthologized, Saunders currently
teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse
University.
VIDEO The 2007 National
Book Awards
November 14, 2007 ~ New York City
Michael Cunningham
presenting the
Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
to Joan Didion
(35.4 MB, 5:47) Direct
Download (MP4) Subscribe
via iTunes
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Joan Didion, recipient
of the 2007 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to
American Letters, accepts the medal
(72.2 MB, 11:48) Direct
Download (MP4) Subscribe
via iTunes
Subscribe in a reader
Ira Glass presents the
Literarian Award to Terry Gross (47.6 MB, 7:47) Direct
Download (MP4)
AUDIO
Kurt Andersen
BAMcafé
Wed, May 30 at 6:30pm
43.1 MB
Time: 53 minutes 43 seconds
Kurt Andersen reads from his novel Heyday,
an interview follows by moderator Jessica Hagedorn.
Andersen talks about his life as a radio personality,
journalist, and novelist. He discusses why he decided
to expand from nonfiction/journalism to fiction, and
explains his interest in Victorian New York.
Accomplished in a range of media, Kurt Andersen is
a bestselling author, the host and co-creator of the
Peabody Award-winning radio show Studio 360,
and a columnist for New York Magazine. He
lives in New York City.
More
AUDIO
Gary Shteyngart
BAMcafé Thursday, May 17 at 6:30pm
43.6 MB
Time: 54 minutes 21seconds
Gary Shteyngart reads from his novel Absurdistan.
An interview follows by moderator Jessica Hagedorn.
Shteyngart talks about life as a Russian-Jewish writer
and a New Yorker. He speaks about his literary influences
and answers questions from the audience.
Born in Leningrad and raised in the United States,
Gary Shteyngart is the author of the critically acclaimed
novels The Russian Debutante's Handbook and
Absurdistan. He lives in New York City.
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AUDIO
Jonathan Franzen
BAMcafé Thursday, March
8, 2007 at 6:30pm
43.1 MB
Time: 53 minutes 43 seconds
Jonathan Franzen then reads from his autobiography
The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History, an interview
follows by moderator Brigid Hughes. Franzen talks
candidly about his life as a writer, the difficulty
of writing fiction post-9/11 and the difference between
being a Hollywood celebrity and a "famous"
writer. Franzen talks about what happened when The Corrections was chosen by Oprah
Winfrey for her book club.
Jonathan Franzen is the author of three novels, including
The Corrections, which won the National Book
Award; a collection of essays (How to Be Alone);
and an autobiography (The Discomfort Zone: A Personal
History). Franzen lives in New York City and
Boulder Creek, California.
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AUDIO
Pete Hamill Thursday,
January 25, 2007 at 6:30pm
47.7 MB
Time: 59 minutes 28 seconds
Pete Hamill reads from his book Snow in August,
followed by an interview with moderator Brigid
Hughes. Hamill talks candidly about his life in Brooklyn,
and as a newspaperman. He reveals how Mexico influenced
his writing and his philosophy on teaching writing.
An audience Q&A complete the podcast.
Born in Brooklyn in 1935,
Pete Hamill has an extensive background in journalism.
In addition to his work as a journalist, he has received
critical acclaim for his bestselling novels Snow
in August and Forever, his memoirs,
and his biographies.
Francine Prose reads from her new book Reading
Like A Writer, an interview follows by moderator
Brigid Hughes. Prose talks candidly about her teaching
style, the issues that inform her work and gives insight
into how her style of reading has influenced her writing.
An audience Q&A complete the podcast.
A distinguished critic, essayist, and novelist, Francine
Prose is the author of fourteen works of fiction,
including A Changed Man and Blue Angel,
which was a finalist for the National Book Award,
and the recent non- fiction book Reading Like
a Writer. She has taught literature and writing
at Harvard, the University of Arizona, the University
of Utah, Bard College and The New School. Prose lives
in New York City.
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