Bookworm

Under the Feet of Jesus Viramontes talks about the Latina writer's obligation to choose art and truth over political correctness.

Reservation Blues The hip young novelist on his desire for fame, accessibility and rock stardom.

Interstate An interview about emotion in fiction. Dixon discusses his Dostoyevskyan ambition to render his complex extremity of feeling about the death of a fictional child.

Secret Life The poet discusses the difficulties of writing accurately and artistically about his ongoing recovery from sexually obsessive behavior.

Memoir from Antproof Case   Mark Helprin on the legacy of fathers...

The Trial of Elizabeth Cree Penny-dreadfuls, transvestitism, the English Opium Eater, Thomas de Quincey and Grand Guignol are touched on in this conversation about the underside of the Victorian Age.

Independence Day In this conversation about one novelist's development, Richard Ford describes the emotional confidence he needed to complete his break-through novel.

My Father Was a Toltec The barriers of language, ethnicity, class and gender: the challenges faced by a Latina writer.

Off Stage Betty Comden who, with Adolph Green, his written for some of the theater's great clowns--Phil Silvers, Bert Lahr, Judy Holliday, Rosalind Russell, Nancy Walker--discusses the art of the musical comedy lyric.

This novel of punk-adolescence recalls the great American coming-of-age novels. In the examination of the voice of Bank's hero, homage is paid to his literary ancestor--Huck Finn...

Oswald's Tale   Norman Mailer on the skills a novelist brings to the assembly of a historical record...

(Getty Series) Galeano discusses journalism, testimony, folklore and history-writing. He shows how each reveals a facet of the life of the writer-revolutionary.

(Getty Series) The author talks about the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution and her quest to discover a way to write truthfully about Mao's China.

(Getty Series) A conversation about &quotThem;" and &quotUs.;" Allison and Sarris talk about illegitimacy and the status of the &quotoutsider;" in both American culture and autobiographical writing.

History, imagination and memory: Allende states that she does not make a distinction between reality and imagination and then discusses their fusion in her work. (Getty Series)

(Getty Series)Troupe, who co-authored the controversial, award-winning autobiography of Miles Davis, speaks about the process of inhabiting another person's memories. He explores music as a structuring principle of memory and reveals the musical origins of his own poetry.

(Getty Series) Cisneros describes an autobiographical childhood incident and demonstrates how she transformed it into her most popular short story, &quotEleven.;&quot

The Matisse Stories Author A.S. Byatt defends art-for-art's-sake against the incursions of multi-cultural politics.

Dreaming A nuts-and-bolts conversation about truth-telling and family history.

Trinity Fields A conversation about secrets--political, personal and spiritual--and how they drive a story.

Wonder Boys   Young Michael Chabon discusses his feelings about the blocked, frustrated writers and editors who people his new novel...

After Warhol: Two survivors of the original Warhol Underground Films (Chelsea Girls, Vinyl, Kitchenette, etc.) discuss artistic life after Andy.

(marketing manager of Small Press Distribution) How to find out about the vibrant writers emerging today? How to find their books? A conversation with someone who knows the answers--about small presses and how they fit into the current book-selling scene.

Let the Dog Drive The author's indefatigable adventures drove his wild book from the obscurity of an unknown press to cult status and major-league paperback publication.

Poetry, memory and the Chicana writer. Author Sandra Cisneros talks about identity, the sexual revolution and self-motivation.