KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

Ben Fountain, whose latest book, "Beautiful Country, Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion and Revolution" details the 2016 presidential campaign through essays, some of which were previously published in a different form in The Guardian, is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky.

Ben Fountain is primarily a fiction writer, the author of the best-selling novel, "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" and the story collection, "Brief Encounters with Che Guevara."

Extended 42-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/ben-fountain-beautiful-country-burn-again/

Gary Shteyngart, whose latest novel is "Lake Success," in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

Gary Shteyngart is the author of several novels, including "Absurdistan" and "Super Sad True Love Story," along with a memoir, "Little Failure." His latest book features a hedge fund manager on a road trip across America in 2016, and explains and satirizes the lives of the very rich. Gary Shteyngart took that road trip via Greyhound himself, and notes in the interview that virtually everything that happens to his character, Barry Cohen, happened to him.

An extended 40-minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/gary-shteyngart/

[caption id="attachment_297734" align="alignleft" width="388"] left to right: Richard Wolinsky, David Sedaris and David's boyfriend Hugh.[/caption]

David Sedaris, whose latest collection of essays is titled "Calypso," in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

David Sedaris has a national following based first on his contributions to the NPR radio show "This American Life," and later with essays collected in such books as "Barrel Fever," "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls." His latest collection, "Calypso," follows on the heels of the publication of his diaries from 1977 to 2002, and while often comedic, also deals with darker issues such as the death of his sister Tiffany, and politics in America today.

In this wide ranging discussion recorded in late June, 2018, he talks about gay parades, his father's obsession with Trump, his own obsession with garbage collection and fitbit steps, and how he creates and molds his essays.

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

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/david-sedaris/

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.

[caption id="attachment_296561" align="alignleft" width="248"] Richard Wolinsky and Charles Busch. Photo: Charles Busch.[/caption]

Legendary playwright, cabaret performer, actor, and drag superstar Charles Busch is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky.

Charles Busch, as a playwright, was nominated for the Tony Award for "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife." Among his other works are "Red Scare on Sunset," which has a production at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre, Sept 21- Oct. 21, 2018, "The Divine Sister," "The Lady in Question" and the long-running off-Broadway hit, "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom."

From his website:

He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. For two seasons, he appeared as Nat Ginzburg on the HBO series OZ and is the author of the auto-biographical novel Whores of Lost Atlantis. He has directed two films; the Showtime short subject, Personal Assistant, and a feature, A Very Serious Person, which won an honorable mention at the Tribeca Film Festival. Due to his love and knowledge of film and theatre history, he has appeared as a guest programmer and in numerous documentaries for Turner Classic Movies, and has lectured and conducted master classes at many colleges and universities including NYU, Harvard, UCLA and Amherst College.

New Conservatory website [1]

Charles Busch website [2]

An extended 40-minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky [3] podcast.

[1] https://www.nctcsf.org/

[2] https://www.charlesbusch.com/

[3] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/interview-charles-busch/

Elizabeth Rosner, author of Survivor Cafe: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory, just out in trade paperback, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded in front of an audience at Pegasus Books, on Solano Avenue in Berkeley.

Elizabeth Rosner, the author of three novels and one poetry/prose collection, discusses her latest book, Survivor Cafe, which deals with trauma and its effects, both direct and indirect. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, she examines the effects of war and other tragedies on the psyche, and how those effects can be passed down, generation to generation.

An in-studio interview was recorded and aired/posted in September, 2017. Recorded on November 30, 2017 and is being posted for the first time. Extended 49-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/elizabeth-rosner-survivor-cafe-2/

Erroi Morris, documentary film maker and author of "The Ashtray (Or the Man Who Denied Reality)" in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Noted film maker Errol Morris was in graduate school in philosophy when he argued with his professor, Thomas Kuhn. Kuhn threw an ashtray at Morris and had him kicked out of school. The argument was about truth. Kuhn said it was relative; Morris said it was real. All of Errol Morris's work as a director and documentary artist focuses on truth, whether it be "The Fog of War" and Robert McNamara, or "The Thin Blue Line," or even his latest project, the Netflix series "Wormwood."

In this interview, he talks about his feelings regarding Kuhn, the nature of truth and its relationship to the current Washington regime, the origins of "The Thin Blue Line' and other matters.

An extended 33-minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky [1] podcast.

Special thanks to Cherilyn Parsons and the folks at the Bay Area Book Fair, who helped set up this interview.

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/errol-morris/

V.S. Naipaul, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in literature, died on August 11th, 2018, just days before his 86th birthday. The author of such acclaimed novels as A House for Mr. Biswas, the Booker Prize winner In a Free State, and A Bend in the River, and non-fiction works as The Middle Passage and An Area of Darkness, Naipaul also had a well-deserved reputation as a dyspeptic and difficult personality, all of which came to light in the highly regarded memoir, Sir Vidia’s Shadow, written in 1998 by his former protégé, the novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux, whose three decade friendship with Naipaul had just come to an end.

On October 28th, 1998, Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff had a chance to speak with Paul Theroux about his memoir, about V.S. Naipaul, and about the creation of Sir Vidia’s Shadow. 

Three years after the interview, V.S. Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. Quoting to the Washington Post, 'Theroux, who later reconciled with Naipaul, had visited with him recently.“We had some very ups and downs over the years, said Theroux, but there was great satisfaction in reconnecting,” he said. “It took him a long time to make his mark, but when he did, it happened in a big way.”'

From the NY Times Obituary on V.S. Naipaul:

“The writer Paul Theroux, who was one of Mr. Naipaul’s closest friends, had a falling out with Mr. Naipaul not long after the marriage to Ms. Alvi. In his book “Sir Vidia’s Shadow” (1998), Mr. Theroux documented the arc of their complicated literary friendship, which began in Uganda in 1966 and ended abruptly in 1997 after Mr. Theroux saw books he had written and inscribed to his mentor listed for sale in an auction catalog. He depicts Mr. Naipaul as a great inspiration as a writer, but also petty, cruel and needy. The two men later reconciled.”

From the Washington Post Obituary on V.S. Naipaul

<< “He will go down as one of the greatest writers of our time,” Theroux told The Associated Press during a telephone interview, citing his mastery of writing about families and colonialism. “He also never wrote falsely. He was a scourge of anyone who used a cliché or an un-thought out sentence. He was very scrupulous about his writing, very severe, too.”

As his literary stature grew, so did his reputation as a difficult, irascible personality. Naipaul was a private man and did not have many friends, but his personal life entered the public domain when Theroux, whose relationship with Naipaul had soured, published a stinging memoir about Naipaul in 1998.

“Sir Vidia’s Shadow” [1] described Naipaul as a racist, sexist miser who threw terrifying tantrums and beat up women.

Naipaul ignored Theroux’s book, but he did authorize a candid biography that confirmed some of Theroux’s claims. >>

The story of their reconciliation in 2011. [2]

An extended version of the interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [3]

 

 

 

 

[1] https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B00IHHQXGI&tag=thewaspos09-20&linkcode=kpe&preview=newtab

[2] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/11361208/V.S-Naipaul-and-Paul-Theroux-in-emotional-Jaipur-Literature-Festival-reunion.html

[3] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/sir-vidias-shadow-paul-theroux-discusses-v-s-naipaul-1932-2018/

Glen David Gold, whose latest book is "I Will Be Complete: A Memoir," in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Glen David Gold is the author of the bestselling novels Sunnyside [1] and Carter Beats The Devil [2] which has been translated into 14 languages. His essays, memoir, journalism and short fiction have appeared in McSweeney's, Playboy, Tin House, Wired, Zyzzyva, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the Guardian UK and London Independent. He has written The Spirit for DC comics and The Escapist for Dark Horse.  Recently he has co-written episodes of The Thrilling Adventure Hour and Welcome to Nightvale.

I Will Be Complete tells the story of his life through his twenties, focusing on his relationship with his mother, who left him alone frequently to go off and do her own thing, and his relationships and attempts at coming to grips with his own life story. Reading like a novel, I Will Be Complete uses fictional tropes to tell a real-life story.

Glen David Gold website [3]

An extended version of this interview can be found as a 47-minute Radio Wolinsky [4] podcast.

[1] https://www.glendavidgold.com/sunnyside

[2] https://www.glendavidgold.com/carter-beats-devil

[3] https://www.glendavidgold.com/

[4] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/glen-david-gold-i-will-be-complete-a-memoir/