A Life in Biography
Carl Rollyson
Talks and interviews about the life of biography as experienced by a biographer over forty years and fourteen biographies, dealing with subjects ranging from Sylvia Plath to William Faulkner, Marilyn Monroe to Susan Sontag, and much more.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 18, 2022 • 50min
Two Mailer biographers discuss why he still matters, and why they write about him.
My conversation with J. Michael Lennon, Mailer biographer and interlocutor reflecting on a lifetime with his subject.
Dec 10, 2022 • 37min
Mahala Stripling on her biography of Richard Selzer, the doctor who made an art of medicine
Richard Selzer inspired the work of a generation of doctor/writers. Listen to how he did it, and how his biography is shaping up.
Nov 27, 2022 • 50min
A talk with Bob Batchelor about his new biography of Jim Morrison, The Doors, and the Sixties
A wide-ranging conversation about what you might call the music of biography.
Nov 19, 2022 • 57min
A conversation with Norman Lock about Voices in the Dead House, novels, biography, and much more
I talk with Norman Lock about his American novel series, and why it should matter to biographers. This is my longest, most searching podcast.
Nov 13, 2022 • 42min
Ellen Brown talks about her work in progress, a biography of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams, copyright, fair use, research—Ellen Brown covers it all
Nov 5, 2022 • 16min
Biography By the Day
What it is like trying to capture a day by day account of William Faulkner’s life.
Oct 29, 2022 • 44min
How Diane Diekman became a biographer and her work in progress on Randy Travis
How a biographer begins with nothing—no contacts, no track record—and is successful anyway, writing biographies of Faron Young and Marty Robbins. And wait until you hear about her newsletter!
Oct 22, 2022 • 44min
Becoming You
Are you the same person you were when you were a child? How this question pertains to biography—the one you are writing and mine.
Oct 8, 2022 • 27min
How James Meredith broke the segregation barrier at Ole Miss
A conversation with Kathleen Wickham about her book, James Meredith: Breaking the Barrier” and her other work dealing with journalists who covered the 1962 riot at Ole Miss
Oct 1, 2022 • 47min
Allison Gilbert & Julia Scheeres: Listen, World! Their biography of the intrepid Elsie Robinson
Elsie Robinson had 20 millions readers but no archive. How two biographers set about reconstructing her life.
