KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Stuart Klawans, author of “Crooked but Never Common: The Films of Preston Sturges,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

Stuart Klawans was film critic for the Nation  from 1988 to 2021, and before that wrote a small press and poetry column for the magazine. His previous books were Film Follies: The Cinema Out of Order, and a collection of his reviews and essays from 1988 to 2001, Left in the Dark.

Preston Sturges was the first in the Hollywood sound era to write and direct his own films, creating a series of movies, from The Great McGinty in 1940, through The Lady Eve, Sullivan’s Travels, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek and other classics to Unfaithfully Yours in 1948, that still resonate today.

A retrospective of the films of Preston Sturges runs at Pacific Film Archive July 27th through August 26th, and Stuart Klawans will be on hand to introduce The Great McGinty on July 27th, The Lady Eve on July 29th and The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek on July 30th. You can find out more at bampfa.org.

All the films mentioned in the interview are available streaming either for rental via Amazon or Apple, or in the case of Unfaithfully Yours, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock and The Great Moment, free on YouTube.

Recorded via Zencastr July 6, 2023.

Complete 52-minute interview.

Kate MacKay, Associate Film Curator at Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive, discusses a retrospective of the films of the great Spanish director Luis Bunuel playing through November 19, 2023, with host Richard Wolinsky.

Luis Bunuel began his career working with Salvador Dali on the film “Un Chien Andalou,” a masterpiece of the Surrealist movement. After working on another film with Dali, “L’Age d’Or,” and creating a documentary known today as “Las Hurdes” (Land Without Bread), he spent nearly two decades in the Mexican film industry before coming to Hollywood first, and then working with European producers to create masterwork after masterwork, from Viridiana to Belle du Jour to Tristana, The Exterminating Angel, TheDiscreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie through to The Phantom of Liberty and That Obscure Object of Desire. The retrospective contains all the later films plus several rarely seen films from his Mexican period.

All photos courtesy Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive.

Pacific Film Archive film series listing.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC).  See website for past streams.

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – July 13, 2023: Stuart Klawans – Kate MacKay appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

David Grann, whose latest book is “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded June 14, 2023 at Book Passage bookstore in Corte Madera, California.

David Grann is a long-time staff writer for The New Yorker. Earlier books include Killers of the Flower Moon, soon to be a film directed by Martin Scorsese, The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, a collection of essays, and The Lost City of Z.

The Wager tells the story of the HMS Wager, one of a handful of British ships sent around Cape Horn to harass the Spanish fleet in the Pacific, which went aground near the Strait of Magellan, and of the crew members who survived (and didn’t) during the following year, and of the aftermath back in England.

In the interview, David Grann also discusses the origins of Killers of the Flower Moon, and the relationship between all three of his books. Photos: Richard Wolinsky.

Complete 37-minute Interview.

Yiyun Li is an award winning author of novels and short stories. Born in China in 1972, she earned a BA at Peking University before coming to the united States and getting a degree in Immunology from the University of Iowa, eventually moving on to a Master of fine Arts in creative fiction and non-fiction from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker and Paris Review, and two of the stories from her collection A Thousand Years of Good Prayers were adapted into films by Wayne Wang. She has also written five novels, the most recent The Book of Goose in 2022.

This is the first of two interviews with Liyun Li. The second was recorded in 2014 for her novel, “Kinder than Solitude.”

Complete 30-minute Interview

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC).  See website for past streams.

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – July 6, 2023: David Grann – Yiyun Li appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Joanna Trollope, recorded in the KPFA studios on May 12, 2002 while on tour for her novel, “Brother and Sister”. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Since the time of the interview, Joanna Trollope has written nine novels, for a total of seventeen in all.

A distant relation of British novelist Anthony Trollope, Joanna Trollope began her career writing romance novels under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Four of her novels have been adapted for television. Her most recent novel, Mum and Dad, was published in 2020.

Andrew Sean Greer discussing his novel “The Confessions of Max Tivoli” with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios on March 4, 2004.

Andrew Sean Greer won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 2018 for his novel, “Less.” A sequel, “Less is Lost,” was published in 2022. Other novels include “The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells” and “The Story of a Marriage.”

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – June 29, 2023: From the Archives: Joanna Trollope – Andrew Sean Greer appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

In honor of Pride Month, we hear two interviews with author Alan Hollinghurst. The first was recorded October 18, 2005 for Bookwaves while he was on tour for the paperback edition of his Booker Prize winning novel, The Line of Beauty.  The second interview, recorded on November 5, 2011, was conducted while he was on tour for his novel The Stranger’s Child.

Earlier novels by Alan Hollinghurst include his breakthrough novel, The Swimming Pool Library, along with The Folding Star and The Spell. The Line of Beauty became an acclaimed television miniseries in 2006 (and was being filmed at the time of the interview) starring Dan Stevens, and is currently streaming only in England.His latest novel, The Sparshot Affair, was published in 2017.

Alan Hollinghurst Wikipedia page.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC).  See website for past streams.

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – June 22, 2023: Alan Hollinghurst appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

David Sedaris, whose latest collection of essays is titled “Happy Go Lucky,” and is just out in trade paperback, is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky. Recorded June 9, 2022 at Book Passage Bookstore in Corte Madera, California.

David Sedaris is author of thirteen books, including Me Talk Pretty One Day, A Carnival of Snackery, The Best of Me, Calypso, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls and others. He has been a commentator on NPR and CBS.

In this wide-ranging interview he discusses life during the pandemic, his views on talking with Trump supporters, his relationship with his siblings, including his sister Amy Sedaris and her appearance on The Mandalorian, how he molds his essays, and other topics.

Photos by Richard Wolinsky.

Complete 65-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast.

Review of “The Wizard of Oz” at ACT’s Toni Rembe (Geary) Theatre through June 25, 2023.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – June 15, 2023: David Sedaris appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Robert Anton Wilson (1932-2007), interviewed by Richard Wolinsky in February 1983, recorded in a car in the Santa Cruz mountains during a rainstorm. Digitized, remastered and edited in May, 2023.

Robert Anton Wilson had a remarkable career. Starting as a writer of comic science fiction based on historical stories of conspiracy, his work soon turned in the direction of physics, psychology, and futurism, and described himself as an agnostic mystic. In the religion or philosophy known as discordianism, he is considered both pope and saint.

A journalist in his early career, he co-edited the Playboy Magazine forum, and covered the work of both Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, later known as Ram Dass. Most of his best known works were written in the 1970s and 1980s, though he continued to write non-fiction into the 21st century. These include The Illuminati Trilogy, co-written with Robert Shea, The Schrodinger’s Cat and Cosmic Trigger trilogies, and Prometheus Rising. His early works were published by large commercial presses; his later by small presses. Most, of not all, of his books still remain in print. The three books mentioned toward the end of the interview were all published and are all available. Complete 32-minute interview.

Fay Weldon (1931-2023) who died on January 4th, 2023 at the age of 91, published 31 novels during her lifetime, including The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, one of four novels which later became films. She was also a playwright, short story writer, television writer and non-fiction author. Richard A. Lupoff and Richard Wolinsky interviewed her twice in the KPFA studios. This second interview was recorded on January 21, 1992 while she was on tour for two novels, Darcy’s Utopia and Life Force

Fay Weldon’s career continued for the next thirty years after the interview with several novels, including a sequel to She-Devil, more plays, more short stories and several works of non-fiction.

This interview was digitized, remastered, and edited in June, 2023 by Richard Wolinsky. First time on the air in over thirty years. Complete 34-minute Interview.

First Fay Weldon interview, recorded March 1990 while she was on tour for The Cloning of Joanna May.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – June 8, 2023: Robert Anton Wilson – Fay Weldon appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Martin Amis (1949-2023), in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky for the “Probabilities” program, recorded in the KPFA studios November 26, 1991 while on tour for the paperback edition of “London Fields.” First of five interviews conducted over a 23 year span.

Martin Amis, who died of esophageal cancer on May 19th, 2023 at the age of 73, was a leading English novelist, essayist, memoirist and screenwriter. Known for such novels as London Fields, Money, Time’s Arrow, The Information and The Zone of Interest, his memoir Experience won the Booker Prize, and his essay collection The War Against Cliché is now considered a classic. The son of novelist and essayist Kingsley Amis, Martin Amis was close friends with Christopher Hitchens, Saul Bellow and Philip Larkin, all of whom he wrote about in his final novel, which was actually a memoir, Inside Story, in 2020.

This is the first of five interviews recorded with Martin Amis. and has not been heard in over a quarter century and was digitized, remastered and edited in May, 2023. Front photo by Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA studios in 2014. Page photo: Creative Commons.

Bill English, Artistic Director of San Francisco Playhouse, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded via Zencastr May 29, 2023.

San Francisco Playhouse was founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano and has grown into a major regional theatre, with several world premieres later moving on to future productions in New York and elsewhere. In this interview, Bill English discusses the current show at San Francisco Playhouse, Chinglish by David Henry Hwang, which runs through June 10, 2023, and the upcoming production of A Chorus Line, which starts previews on June 22, 2023. He also talks about the upcoming 2023-2024 season, as well as the state of the company three years after the pandemic shutdown. Complete Interview

Review of “Let The Right One In’ at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre through June 25, 2023.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – June 1, 2023: Martin Amis – Bill English appeared first on KPFA.