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Stuart Horwitz talks about his book architecture method of organizing and revising any manuscript. His book is BLUEPRINT YOUR BESTSELLER. Then Rajesh Parameswaren discusses his new story collection, I AM AN EXECUTIONER: LOVE STORIES; finally, Drew Adamek reviews Ismail Kadare’s The Fall of the Stone City.
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George Saunders talks about his acclaimed new short story collection, TENTH OF DECEMBER. And Jennifer Haigh discusses her new collection, NEWS FROM HEAVEN: The Bakerton Stories. Continue reading
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Sarah Skinner Kilborne
Silk manufacturing was one of the most important industries to emerge out of the Connecticut River Valley in the 19th century. William Skinner was, perhaps, the most influential of the textile magnates. He lived the American Dream: a poor immigrant, he used grit and skill to build an industrial behemoth– and then lost everything in a catastrophic flood. But he rose like a phoenix, rebuilding his mill on the mighty Connecticut River and thereby putting Holyoke, Massachusetts on the world map.
Francesca Rheannon talks with his great granddaughter, Sarah S. Kilborne, about her book, American Phoenix, The Remarkable Story of William Skinner, a Man Who Turned Disaster Into Destiny, to learn more about the forces that shaped his life and the economy of the Connecticut River Valley.
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Writers Voice continues its special series, The River Runs Through Us, exploring the literature, spirit and meaning of the Connecticut River in Massachusetts.
This week: industrial development. Historian Kerry Buckley gives an historical overview, Sarah Skinner Kilborne discusses her biography of silk magnate William Skinner, and labor scholar and folk musician Tom Juravich talks about de-industrialization and the potential for a new green industry.
The River Runs Through Us is funded by a generous grant from Mass Humanities. And right now we need your help to continue the project. We need to raise $600 to fulfill the conditions of our grant and to cover our costs. It’s not a lot –and it’s the first time we’ve ever asked you for money. But now we really need you. Please head on over to this link to donate on Kickstarter. Any contribution is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your support!
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Donald O. White talks about his translation of THE ISLAND OF SECOND SIGHT by Albert Vigoleis Thelen. Also, Damion Searls discusses his translation of Hans Keilson’s novel of wartime Amsterdam, COMEDY IN A MINOR KEY (encore.) Continue reading
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James W. Douglass talks his new book GANDHI AND T HE UNSPEAKABLE: His Final Experiment with Truth. It’s about Gandhi’s advocacy of peace and reconciliation and the forces, both in the Indian government and among extremist groups, that murdered him. Then WV airs an excerpt from our 2009 interview with Douglass about his book, JFK and The Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters.
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Scientist and author Jared Diamond talks about his latest book, The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? And herbalist Holly Bellabuono discusses her book, The Authentic Herbal Healer: The Complete Guide to Herbal Formulary & Plant-Inspired Medicine for Every Body System. Continue reading
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Martin Duberman talks about his biography, HOWARD ZINN: A Life On The Left. We’ll also hear an excerpt from a 2005 interview with Zinn, five years before his death, about the book, VOICES OF A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES (co-authored with Anthony Arnove.) Continue reading
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Rilla Askew talks about her new novel, KIND OF KIN. It’s about anti-immigrant hatred, its reign of terror and how it’s tearing families apart. And Rebecca Coleman once again plumbs the outer limits of what ordinary people are capable of doing in her new novel, HEAVEN SHOULD FALL. Continue reading
Larry A. Fader talks about his book 120’0″; it’s a previously unpublished two-hour conversation with composer John Cage. And artist and writer Matthew Rose talks about the unbound book of art postcards he curated, A BOOK ABOUT DEATH, in a re-broadcast of a WV 2009 interview. Continue reading
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WV looks back at 2012 and celebrates some of our favorite episodes with clips from our interviews with Junot Diaz (This is How You Lose Her), Ursula K. LeGuin (The Unreal And The Real), Louise Erdrich (The Round House), Margot Livesy (The Flight of Gemma Hardy), John Michael Greer (Apocalypse Not), Eyal Press (Beautiful Souls), and Walter Mosely (The Gift of Fire). Also on the list of the Ten Best of 2012 are Barbara Kingsolver (Flight Behavior), Steve Volk (Fringe-ology) and Eric Laursen (The People’s Pension). Continue reading
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In the second episode in The River Runs Through Us, WV examines the life of Sojourner Truth and what she means to us. We talk with Jacqueline Sheehan about her novel about Sojourner Truth, THE COMET’S TALE; with historian Nell Irvin Painter, author of SOJOURNER TRUTH, A Life, A Symbol; and with Rachel Kuhn and Priscilla Kane Hellweg of the Enchanted Circle Theater about their musical play, SOJOURNER’S TRUTH: I Will Shake Every Place I Go To.
Our thanks to Mass Humanities for their support for this series.
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Nutritionist Deborah Kesten shares the results of her research into losing weight and keeping it off. Her book is MAKE WEIGHT LOSS LAST. Then, Francesca’s story about a master chef’s philosophy about food. And Drew reviews ALL THE ART THAT’S FIT TO PRINT (And Some That Wasn’t): Inside The New York Times Op-Ed Page and talks with the author, Jerelle Kraus. Continue reading
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Filmmaker Susan Rockefeller discusses her film, MISSION OF MERMAIDS: A Love Letter To The Ocean. Also, children’s book author, Jason Chin, talks about his acclaimed new book, ISLAND: A Story of the Galapagos. But first, WV encores our 2011 interview with Paolo Bacigalupe about SHIPBREAKER, his dystopian sci fi novel that takes place in a world altered by climate change.
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Barbara Kingsolver talks about her new novel, FLIGHT BEHAVIOR. It’s about what happens when a rural community in Tennessee is confronted with a bizarre phenomenon — caused by global warming. And futurist James Howard Kunstler says we’d better dispense with our penchant for magical thinking. His book is  TOO MUCH MAGIC: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation. Continue reading
