Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon

SO WRONG FOR SO LONG and THE HAKAWATI

Francesca Rheannon — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:09:15 +0000

We talk with Rabih Alameddine about his wonderful novel, THE HAKAWATI. Also, Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor and Publisher, tells us about SO WRONG FOR SO LONG: How the Press, the Pundits–and the President–Failed on Iraq.

OLIVE KITTREDGE and THE END OF THE JEWS

Francesca Rheannon — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:58:57 +0000

We talk with novelists Elizabeth Strout and Adam Mansbach. Strout’s new book, OLIVE KITTREDGE, uses a collection of short stories to create a novel about the inhabitants of a coastal town in Maine. Strout explores the complex humanity of her characters as they evolve over time, revealing checkered depths of light and dark.
And Adam Mansbach also explores ambiguity — of cultural boundaries, marginality and continuity–in his new novel, THE END OF THE JEWS. He examines the thin line between appreciation and appropriation, as his largely Jewish characters connect with African American culture — jazz and hip-hop — to create a more fluid sense of identity. Mansbach was the founding editor of the pioneering ’90s hip hop journal Elementary, and also worked for the legendary jazz drummer Elvin Jones for several years as a roadie.

OLIVE KITTREDGE and THE END OF THE JEWS

Francesca Rheannon — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:16:52 +0000

We talk with best-selling novelist Olive Kittredge about her wonderful new collection of stories, OLIVE KITTREDGE. Taken together, the stories’ common theme compose a kind of novel about characters from a town in coastal Maine.

Strout will be at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, MA on May 15 at 7 pm.

Also, Adam Mansbach tells us about his new novel, THE END OF THE JEWS. It’s theme is cultural connections, change and boundaries and traces the tensions and connections in a multigenerational family of writers, from the Bronx in the 1930’s to the 1980’s.

Podcast 70: Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet. Bush’s Law.

Francesca Rheannon — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:05:39 +0000

The news today about a possible war impending between Georgia and Russia is prefigured in our first interview: host Francesca Rheannon talks with energy security expert Michael Klare about the dangerous new global order of energy politics — winners and losers, flashpoints of conflict, and what it means for democracy and the environment. His book is RISING POWERS, SHRINKING PLANET: The New Geopolitics of Energy. In our conversation Klare notes that Georgia could the the flashpoint not only of war between Russia and Georgia–but between Russia and the United States.

Also, New York Times reporter Eric Lichtblau broke the story on warrantless domestic spying. His book is BUSH’S LAW: The Remaking of American Justice.

Next Week: TBA

Francesca Rheannon — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:58:35 +0000

Tags: Fiction Latest Next Week Related posts No related posts.

This Week: RISING POWERS, SHRINKING PLANET and BUSH’S LAW

Francesca Rheannon — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:56:24 +0000

We talk with Michael Klare about the dangerous new global order of energy politics — winners and losers, flashpoints of conflict, and what it means for democracy and the environment. His book is RISING POWERS, SHRINKING PLANET: The New Geopolitics of Energy.
Professor of Peace and Security at Hampshire College, Amherst, Klare will be speaking at two local venues: The Odyssey Bookshop on May 7, 2008 at 7 PM and at Broadside Books on May 14 at 7 pm.
Also, Pulitzer Prize winner Eric Lichtblau tells us about BUSH’S LAW: The Remaking of American Justice. As New York Times national security reporter, he broke the story (with James Risen) on warrantless domestic wiretapping by the NSA.

Click on the player below to hear a Web only excerpt of our interview with Michael Klare.

Podcast 69: Nicholson Baker’s HUMAN SMOKE and more…

Francesca Rheannon — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:06:46 +0000

Also, we air an excerpt from our 2006 interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Maxine Kumin.

Next Week: BUSH’S LAW and RISING POWERS, SHRINKING PLANET

Francesca Rheannon — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:47:31 +0000

We talk with New York Times reporter Eric Lichtblau, who broke the story on the Bush Administration’s NSA program of warrantless wiretapping. His book is BUSH’S LAW: The Remaking of American Justice.

We also talk with peace and security analyst Michael Klare about his new book, RISING POWERS, SHRINKING PLANET: The New Geopolitics of Energy.

This Week: Nicholson Baker’s HUMAN SMOKE

Francesca Rheannon — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:35:16 +0000

Host Francesca Rheannon talks with Nicholson Baker about his acclaimed new book, HUMAN SMOKE: The Beginnings of World War II; The End of Civilization.
In a departure from his usual genre, fiction, Baker turns his eye for telling detail to an examination of the cavalier disregard for the human consequences of war by leaders on all sides of the conflict. We hear about how Churchill’s warmongering and Roosevelt’s anti-Semitism exacerbated the war’s civilian toll. We also hear of the courage of a few who dared to speak against the headlong rush to battle. We spend most of the hour in an in-depth conversation with the author.

Also, we take a last chance to celebrate poetry month by bringing Joshua Krugman, a member of the upcoming generation of poets, on air to read a few of his poems. Krugman’s work won first prize in the youth division of the Poet’s Seat competition and is an editor of Albany Road, the student literary magazine of Deerfield Academy.

Podcast 68: Poetry From the Grassroots

Francesca Rheannon — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:04:44 +0000

Hip-hop, poetry slams, and more: it’s the SPOKEN WORD REVOLUTION REDUX. We talk with editor Mark Eleveld about poetry in performance and hear cuts off the CD accompanying the book.

Also, on Writer’s Voice we’ve featured some of the most famous poets in the English language. They occupy the heights of what many think is a rarified domain not relevant to the average person. But the poets of Florence Poets Society in Northampton, Massachusetts disagree. They declare that “poetry is part of everyone of us”. We speak with three of the Society’s poets: Tom Clark, Carl Russo and Jim Cahillane. Clark, a firefighter, and Carl Russo, a lawyer, started the Society five years ago.

Connie Hale of the Nieman Center

Francesca Rheannon — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:06:00 +0000

In March of 2008, Writer’s Voice host went to the Nieman Foundation’s Conference on Narrative Journalism. In this show segment, we talk with Nieman narrative program director Connie Hale about what “narrative journalism” is all about.

This Week: FLORENCE POETS SOCIETY

Francesca Rheannon — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:56:38 +0000

During Poetry Month, we’ve featured some of the most famous poets in the English language. They occupy the heights of what many think is a rarified domain not relevant to the average person. But the poets of Florence Poets Society disagree. They declare that “poetry is part of everyone of us”. Based in Northampton, Massachusetts, the Florence Poets Society goes both local and international. Its monthly meetings draw local talent and its annual online poetry contest draw poems from around the world. They publish the best poems in an annual anthology, The Silkworm. We speak with three of the Society’s poets: Tom Clark, Carl Russo and Jim Cahillane. Clark, a firefighter, and Carl Russo, a lawyer, started the Florence Poets Society five years ago.

Podcast 67: AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON and AGAINST THE MACHINE

Francesca Rheannon — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:32:10 +0000

Our theme is cultural decline and what to do about it. We talk with cultural critic Susan Jacoby about THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON. And former New Republic editor and author Lee Siegel talks about the unintended consequences of the digital age. His book is AGAINST THE MACHINE: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob.

My guests this hour both point to technology as culprits in the decline of critical thinking and cultural literacy. Susan Jacoby says America has long had a tradition of anti-intellectualism vying with the Enlightenment rationalism of the founding fathers. But she argues the advent of television and now visual media in general has accelerated the process, overwhelming reasoned discourse and threatening democracy itself.

Lee Siegel got into trouble with the blogosphere in 2006 when he was editor of the New Republic’s online culture blog. When confronted with the electronic thuggery that Web anonymity allows, he responded first with direct comments under his own name — and then thought he’d try to give the culprits some of their own medicine. He posed as a reader himself under the moniker “Sprezzatura” and went on the attack. It caused a scandal that got him temporarily suspended from his job and subjected him to ridicule from the digiterati of the blogosphere. But it also spurred him to write AGAINST THE MACHINE: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob. It’s a critique of the ugly underbelly of the Internet and what it’s doing to our culture.

Next Week: To Be Announced…

Francesca Rheannon — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:51:09 +0000

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This Week: AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON and AGAINST THE MACHINE

Francesca Rheannon — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:48:15 +0000

Our theme is cultural decline and what can be done about it. We talk with cultural critic Susan Jacoby about THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON. And former New Republic editor and author Lee Siegel talks about the unintended consequences of the digital age. His book is AGAINST THE MACHINE: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob.

WMUA LISTENERS, PLEASE NOTE: This show will NOT air on 91.1 FM WMUA on Friday, April 11, since it will be pre-empted by a UMass Sports broadcast–UNLESS the softball game is rained out!! In that case, tune in to hear California Poet Laureate Al Young tells us SOMETHING ABOUT THE BLUES, and novelist Geraldine Brooks talk about PEOPLE OF THE BOOK. And to hear the show featured above, check back on right here on our website on Monday April 14 for the podcast or tune into 103.3 FM Valley Free Radio on Thursday April 17 at 8 AM. The show will air as usual on our other stations around the country.