KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

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.”

This podcast is taken from that interview, with segments from a short 1983 interview conducted by Richard A. Lupoff. The official interview ends at around the 36 minute mark, and the final fifteen minutes consist of a free-form discussion about Ursula LeGuin’s history in the science fiction field and her thoughts on several writers, including Philip K. Dick and James Tiptree Jr.

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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.

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Carol Channing (1921-2019), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded during the tour of her memoir, “Just Lucky I Guess,” recorded 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 is the interview exactly as it took place on that day in 2002.

Richard Wolinsky:

As I learned later, Carol wasn’t exactly truthful about her film performances. She did star in one other film, Otto Preminger’s Skidoo, a bizarre attempt to be hip which featured Jackie Gleason and Carol as a married couple who are forced onto a yacht owned by a gangster named God, played by Groucho Marx. The high point is Carol singing the title song while walking the deck, stoned on LSD. Check it out.

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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.”

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Larry Kirwan, creator of the new musical “Paradise Square” at Berkeley Rep, the author of five books, and the lead vocalist and guitarist for the legendary New York Irish American band Black 47, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

Larry Kirwin’s five books are Green Suede Shoes, a memoir subtitled An irish American Odyssey; A History of Irish Music; Rockin’ the Bronx; Mad Angels, a colleciton of plays; and a novel based on his play,  Liverpool Fantasy. He’s written several plays, many of which were produced in New York, off and off-off Broadway. His band, Black 47 produced albums and went on tour over a 25-year period from 1989 to 2014, along the way making a name for itself through its music and politics.

“Paradise Square,” which runs at Berkeley Rep through February 17, 2019, is set in the Five Points section of New York in 1863 at the onset of the Civil War draft riots, and deals with the relationship of the Irish and African-American residents of the neighborhood. The show uses the music of Stephen Foster, augmented by lyrics by Nathan Tysen, with a book by Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas and Larry Kirwan. The creative team also includes the choreographer Bill T. Jones, director Moises Kaufman, and composer/arranger Jason Howland.

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