KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

Steven Saylor, whose latest novel, part of his Roma Sub Rosa series, is “The Throne of Caesar,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

The author of several historical mysteries set in ancient Rome, Steven Saylor’s latest novel takes his detective protagonist, Gordianus the Finder, to the days leading to the assassination of Julius Caesar. In the novel, Gordianus has just been appointed by Caesar to the Roman Senate, and has been tasked by Caesar and by Cicero, to discover if there’s any plot afoot to kill the dictator before he leaves to conquer Parthia. Along the way, Steven Saylor takes us into the life and culture of Rome at the time, from how to buy a toga to what foods are eaten at feasts.

In this discussion, he talks about some of the facts he discovered along the way, his life as a writer, and the relationship of the fall of the Roman Republic to what might, or might not, be happening in America today.

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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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Joyce Maynard, whose latest book is a memoir, “The Best of Us,” in conversation with 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, the making of the film of her novel “Labor Day,” and her feelings about writing memoir, and its relationship to fiction writing.

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Peter Mayle (1939-2018) became a best-selling author with his memoir, “A Year in Provence.” He followed that up with several books about the French region, both fiction and non-fiction.

Richard Wolinsky interviewed Peter Mayle, on October 18, 1999, while he was on tour for his collection of essays, “Encore Provence,” his third non-fiction book set in that part of France.

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Tim Kreider, cartoonist and author of the essay collection “I Wrote This Book Because I Love You” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Tim Kreider gained a reputation as a cartoonist in the style of B. Kliban before turning political following the stolen election of 2000 and 9/11. His series, “The Pain — When Will It End?” ran for twelve years in the Baltimore City Paper and other alternative weeklies. Currently he writes for The New York Times and other newspapers and magazines.

His latest collection of essays deals with the personal and the political, and examines such topics as the war on terror, atheism, the circus and other themes.

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