KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

In-depth interviews with authors of fiction and narrative non-fiction, delving deeply into political and social issues, literary technique, and the life of the author. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

In-depth interviews with authors of fiction and narrative non-fiction, delving deeply into political and social issues, literary technique, and the life of the author. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

In-depth interviews with authors of fiction and narrative non-fiction, delving deeply into political and social issues, literary technique, and the life of the author. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Wes Craven (1939-2015), noted director of horror and genre films, interviewed by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff on October 13, 1999 while on tour for his one novel, "Fountain Society."

Wes Craven, who died at the age of 76 on August 30, 2015, was considered one of the masters of cinema’s horror genre. Best known for The Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream films, ,He was best known for two series of films, the Nightmare on Elm Street films, and the Scream series, which also served as an academic deconstruction of the genre. Starting life as a humanities professor, Wes Craven moved over to film as first a sound editor, and then film editor before turning to writing and directing with The Last House on the Left. Along with the first Nightmare film (and the deconstruction last New Nightmare entry), he directed all four Scream films, along with Red Eye, Cursed, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and the non-genre Meryl Streep vehicle, Music of the Heart.

His first and only novel, "Fountain Society," was published in 1999, and it was during his book tour that he stopped by KPFA where he was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff. That interview was digitized and re-edited in 2017 by Richard Wolinsky.

An extended version of this interview was posted March 2017 as a Radio Wolinsky podcast [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/wes-craven-1939-2015/

Ursula K. Le Guin, who broke the artificial wall between science fiction and literature, died on January 22nd, 2018 at the age of 88. An essayist and poet along with being a fiction writer, she transcended all genres with the quality of her prose and the allegorical nature of her work.

Best known for her novels The Left Hand of Darkness, which dealt with gender; The Dispossessed, which dealt with a utopian civilization; her series of novels in the fantasy realm of Earthsea; and her short stories, especially "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," Ursula K. Le Guin broke ground in several directions over the course of her writing life.

But she started in science fiction fantasy. On September 29th, 2000, Richard Wolinsky and his then co-host Richard A. Lupoff spoke with Ursula K. Le Guin about her career as a writer and about her latest novel, a political and social science fiction allegory, "The Telling."

An extended version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/ursula-k-le-guin-1928-2018/

[caption id="attachment_283861" align="alignleft" width="307"] Richard Wolinsky and Joyce Maynard in the KPFA studios.[/caption]

Joyce Maynard, whose latest book is a memoir, “The Best of Us,” is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky.

The author of several novels and multiple memoirs, Joyce Maynard’s latest book deals with her unexpected relationship and marriage in her late fifties, followed shortly thereafter with her husband’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. It’s both a love story and a harrowing tale of coping with a fatal disease.

In this interview, she discusses “The Best of Us,” talks about her twenty-year old memoir, “At Home in the World” and her affair with J.D. Salinger, and the making of the film of her novel “Labor Day."

An extended version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/joyce-maynard/

Peter Carey, whose latest novel is "A Long Way from Home," in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Two-time winner of the prestigious Booker Prize, Peter Carey is Australia's most distinguished author. Among his works are Oscar and Lucinda, The True History of the Kelly Gang, Jack Maggs and Parrott and Olivier in America. A Long Way From Home delves into the story of racism in Australia and the oppression of the indigenous aboriginal peoples who inhabited the continent for two centuries before the white man and colonialism arrived. The novel does this by focusing on the Redex, an auto trial which featured a voyage around Australia starting in Sydney.

In the interview, he discusses the reasons behind the novel, why it took so long to write about the native Australians, and the relationship between his own life and his fiction.

An extended version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky [1] podcast.

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/peter-carey-a-long-way-from-home/

[caption id="attachment_305027" align="alignleft" width="230"] Richard Wolinsky & Carol Channing at KPFA, Oct 2002[/caption]

Carol Channing (1921-2019), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded during the tour of her memoir, "Just Lucky I Guess," on October 18, 2002. The great Broadway star Carol Channing died on January 15, 2019 at the age of 97. This iconic performer, along with starring in Hello Dolly for over 5000 performances, made her mark in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. appeared on the Broadway stage in thirteen other shows, and was also known for her TV appearances and for her role in the film Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Strange looking – tall in heels, a waist that looked 15 inches wide and a head large enough to fit on Mount Rushmore, Carol Channing walked into the studio all in black, her shirt buttoned to the top. As the interview continued, she unbuttoned and you could see her performer’s aura, which was enhanced by the group of KPFA workers who congregated in the control room to watch her through the plate glass. It was extraordinary.

The best way to hear Carol Channing is unfettered by editing. This hour-long Radio Wolinsky [1] podcast is the interview exactly as it took place on that day in 2002.

 

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/carol-channing-1921-2019/

Amos Oz (1939-2018), author of "A Tale of Love and Darkness" and other books, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in San Francisco in November, 2004.

Amos Oz, the noted Israeli novelist, short story writer, essayist and peace activist, and perennial Nobel Prize candidate, died on December 28th, 2018 at the age of 79. The author of forty books, he was a firm believer in the two-state solution who felt, over the past decade, that the hope for peace appears to be slipping away.

Today his greatest work is considered to be the memoir of his family, set against the background of the rise of Nazi Germany, World War II, and the formation of the state of Israel, and culminating in the suicide of his mother. A Tale of Love and Darkness, was published in Israel in 2002 and two years later in the United States.

This interview was recorded during a book tour for "A Tale of Love and Darkness."

An extended version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/amos-oz-1939-2018/

Katya Cengel, whose latest book is "Exiled: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to California and Back" is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky. She discusses the plight of Southeast Asian refugees, from their lives under the genocidal watch of the Khmer Rouge to their difficult times in the United States, to the fear and possibility of deportation under ICE.

An extended version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast.