KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

  John Barth (1930-2024), who died on April 2, 2024 at the age of 93, was America’s leading writer of metafictional and post-modern fiction. This interview was conducted by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff on November 12, 2001 in the KPFA studios, while on the book tour for the novel Coming Soon. John Barth began to receive notice for his two earliest novels, The Floating Opera and End of the Road in the late 1950s, but burst on the scene with his epic comic novel about colonial life in Maryland, The Sot-Weed Factor, and his allegory of the Cold War, set on a university campus, Giles Goat-Boy. His short story collection, Lost in the Funhouse and novella collection Chimera cemented his reputation as a writer of meta-fiction, as the stories zoom back on themselves and on the writing of those stories. From Wikipedia: “In his epistolary novel LETTERS (1979), Barth corresponds with characters from his other books. Later novels such as The Tidewater Tales (1987) and The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor (1991) continue in the metafictional vein, using writers as protagonists who interact with their own and other stories in elaborate ways. His 1994 Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera casts Barth himself as the protagonist who on a sailing trip encounters characters and situations from previous works.” After the 2001 interview, he continued to work in the same vein with a triptych of novellas, Where Three Roads Meet in 2005, interrelated short stories set in a retirement community, The Development: Nine Stories in 2008, and Every Third Thought: A Novel in Five Seasons in 2011. A, book of collected stories was released in 2015 and Postscripts (or Just Desserts): Some Final Scribbling came out in 2022. This interview was both the last interview conducted with Richard Lupoff as co-host (he would return later with a couple of guest co-host interviews), and the final interview recorded and edited on analog tape. This program was digitized and edited in July 2024 by Richard Wolinsky.   The post John Barth (1930-2024), Master of Metafiction appeared first on KPFA.

Jonathan Kellerman and Faye Kellerman discuss their careers as mystery writers with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded October 28, 2004 while they were on tour for their stand-alone book, Double Homicide: Boston and Santa Fe. Jonathan Kellerman, as of summer 2024, has written 39 novels in the Alex Delaware series, the most recent of which is The Ghost Orchid, along with nineteen other novels, seven of which were in collaboration with their son, Jesse Kellerman. Faye Kellerman has written 27 novels in the Peter Decker and Rena Lazarus series, along with nine other novels, including one collaboration with their daughter, Aliza Kellerman. This interview has not been posted as a podcast or aired in full until now. The post Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, “Double Homicide,” 2004 appeared first on KPFA.

Adam Gopnik discusses his book “At the Strangers’ Gate with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded  September 12, 2017. First posted October 19, 2017. Adam Gopnik has been a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine for over three decades. Among his best-selling books are “Paris to the Moon,” “At the Children’s Gate,” and “The Table Comes First.” He is currently  the author of the magazine’s “Daily Comment” blog, and has written on several subjects, from politics to food to gun control. He is the winner of three National Magazine awards and has worked extensively in theater. His book, “At The Strangers’ Gate” deals with his arrival in New York in the early 1980s, and focuses on changes in life and culture over the course of that decade. In this interview, he discusses his recent book, as well as his work for the New Yorker, his lecture series, and other projects. Since 2017, Adam Gopnik has written two books, “A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism” in 2019 and “The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery” in 2023. The post Adam Gopnik, “At the Stranger’s Gate,” 2017 appeared first on KPFA.

Aya de Leon in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Aya de Leon is the Poet Laureate of the City of Berkeley. She is a novelist and poet who currently teaches creative writing at U.C. Berkeley. She is the author of ten books, the most recent of which are the adult novel, “That Dangerous Energy,” and the young adult novel, “Untraceable.” Originally a hip hop artist, Aya de Leon is also a noted local activist, and the acquiring editor of Fighting Chance Books, the climate justice fiction imprint of She Writes Press. She organizes with the Black Hive, the climate and environmental justice formation of the Movement for Black Lives. The post Aya de Leon, “That Dangerous Energy” appeared first on KPFA.

Nancy MacLean, author of “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. Nancy MacLean’s 2017 book, “Democracy in Chains,” deals with the long game of the Koch brothers and their ilk, which may now have finally come to fruition with the Supreme Court legalizing bribery as “gratuities,” the overthrow of administrative protections in the areas of safety and the environment, and legalizing crimes by the President. The idea was to create a constitutional convention, which would codify laws in such a way that progressive regimes would be unable to move their programs forward, thanks to the courts, and based on how the Pinochet regime was able to control Chile after giving up power. That convention idea didn’t work in this country, but thanks to Mitch McConnell and his refusal to bring Obama nominees to a vote, followed by the Trump Administration’s packing of all the courts, the Koch plan wound up working anyway. In this interview, Nancy MacLean goes back to the origins of the plan, and brings us forward. Duke University Professor Nancy MacLean, in researching the life of libertarian professor James Buchanan, discovered the philosophical underpinnings of what Hillary Clinton (almost unknowingly) called the “vast right-wing conspiracy.” Funded by Charles Koch and other donors, they’ve taken over the GOP and have an agenda, she says, that ultimately will allow minority rule in the United States for the forseeable future. In this interview, she discusses the role of Buchanan and the Mont Pelerin Society in the underpinnings of this gradual take-over of the state and federal government, and what the goals are, according to her research. Recorded in the KPFA studios October 20, 2017, and previously posted.       The post Nancy MacLean: How the Right-Wing Took Over the Courts appeared first on KPFA.

Pam MacKinnon, Artistic Director of American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Pam McKinnon, has been Artistic Director of ACT — American Conservatory Theatre, since January 2018. A leading interpreter of the works of Edward Albee, she won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a play for a Revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 2013. She was also nominated for a Tony for her direction of Clybourne Park in 2012, as well as winning an Obie for an earlier off-broadway production of that play in 2011. In this interview, she discusses, in depth, the upcoming season, as well as issues involving the area around the Strand Theatre, how the pandemic impacted ACT, and the differences between working in San Francisco and London as a director. The post Pam MacKinnon, Artistic Director, American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.), 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

David Sedaris, noted humorist, comedian, diarist and radio contributor, discusses his collection of essays, “When You Are Engulfed in Flames” and how his career originated in this interview recorded in the KPFA studios on June 28, 2008. (First time podcast). Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Pride Month Special.     The post David Sedaris, “When You Are Engulfed in Flames,” 2008 appeared first on KPFA.

Ayodele Nzinga, the Poet Laureate of Oakland  and the director of the play “Pac and Biggie Are Dead” by Biko Eisen-Martin, which is running at BAM House in Oakland through June 30, 2024, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky Ayodele Nzinga, known as “Wordslinger,” is the lead curator of BAM House (formerly the Flight Deck and Piano Fight Oakland), YBCA Creative Corps fellow, director of BAMD Fest, an international biennial arts festival in 2025, and creator and director of Lower Bottom Playaz, Inc. She has written a book of poetry, “Incandescent,” and is also an actor and playwright. “Pac and Biggie Are Dead” focuses on two deceased rap artists who were central to the art form, Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. in a place that might be heaven as they ponder their past and their present, in a non-linear work that attempts to put their art in the context of the African American experience. The post Ayodele Nzinga, Director, “Pac and Biggie Are Dead” appeared first on KPFA.

Colm Tóibín discusses his latest novel, “Long Island,” which follows characters from his earlier best-seller, “Brooklyn” twenty years later. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Colm Tóibín was born in Enniscorthy, Ireland, in 1955. He is the author of 11 novels including The Master, Brooklyn, The Testament of Mary, Nora Webster, House of Names and The Magician. His work has been shortlisted for The Booker Prize three times, has won the Costa Novel Award and the IMPAC Award. He has also published two collections of stories and many works of non-fiction. Special thanks to the folks at BookShop West Portal in San Francisco for their assistance. The post Colm Tóibín, “Long Island,” 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

Maureen Gosling, filmmaker and film editor, discusses the films of noted documentary director Les Blank (1935-2013), which whom she collaborated for several years, along with her own career, in this interview with host Richard Wolinsky.  A Retrospective of the films of Les Blank can be seen at Pacific Film Archive June 7 to July 27, 2024. Les Blank is best known for “Burden of Dreams,” an award winning documentary detailing the efforts of German director Werner Herzog in making his film “Fitzcarraldo” in the Peruvian jungle. Les Blank’s work, though, focuses on the music and culture of the New Orleans and Louisiana, and the American South, with forays into the lives of several musicians, including rock legend Leon Russell. Maureen Gosling worked as a sound recordist and editor (and co-filmmaker) on several of Les Blank’s films. Among her own films are There Ain’t No Mouse Music: The Story of Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records and The Nine Lives of Barbara Dane.   The post Maureen Gosling: The Films of Les Blank appeared first on KPFA.