Nation of Writers

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Isaac Bashevis Singer. An immigrant to the United States, Singer was an esteemed essayist, short story writer, novelist, translator, and children’s book author. As a young man in Poland, Singer initially pursued rabbinical studies, but the pull of literature was too strong. He worked as [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau. An essayist and poet, Thoreau lived a provocative life in which he endeavored to escape the limitations of human society by exploring the wider, wilder natural world. He was a naturalist, land surveyor, pencil maker, abolitionist, and student of Indigenous American culture [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of poet, actor, and rapper Tupac Shakur. Quoting from his official website: “Tupac Shakur is one of the greatest and most controversial artists of all time. More than a quarter of a century after his tragic death in 1996 at the age of just twenty-five, he [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Sholem Asch. Born in Poland to an Orthodox Jewish family, Asch was a novelist, playwright, and essayist acclaimed by both critics and readers alike. He was one of the first Yiddish writers to attract a wide readership in translation and was one of the best-known [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Gertrude Stein. A poet, novelist, and essayist, Stein was a towering literary figure in her time. She moved to Paris in 1902 with her partner Alice B. Toklas, where they would spend the remainder of their lives. Together they held regular salons in their apartment [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of James Weldon Johnson. A leader of the Harlem Renaissance, he wrote fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. He also wrote lyrics for many songs, including “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” popularly regarded as the Black National Anthem. Johnson raised public awareness of lynching and fought Jim Crow [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Nguyễn Quí Đức. Born in Da Lat, Vietnam in 1958, Đức arrived in the United States at 17 as a refugee of the Vietnam War. He would go on to become a journalist, translator, writer, and radio producer, working for the BBC in London, KALW-FM [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Born in 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, when he was 23. He would go on to become a Jazz Age celebrity. His short stories and novels captured the exuberance, excess, and irony of [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Flannery O’Connor. Born in Georgia in 1925, O’Connor wrote prolifically before her early death at age 39 due to lupus. She routinely wrote every morning until noon, and spent her afternoons and evenings tending to her domestic birds or entertaining visitors. Informed by the community [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Studs Terkel. A Chicago resident from age 10 until his death at age 96, Studs Terkel epitomized Chicago. A charismatic presence, Terkel began his career as a radio actor and on-air interviewer before becoming the star of an unscripted local TV show called Stud’s Place. [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Hawthorne’s paternal ancestors were some of the first Puritans to arrive in America—one of his ancestors was even a judge who oversaw the Salem Witch Trials. He was educated at Bowdoin College where he [...]

This episode lies between the pit of man’s fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call, The Twilight Zone… In this episode, we discuss the life and work of screenwriter Rod Serling. Quoting from the PBS American Masters episode about him, “Known primarily [...]

This week, we take a look back at some of our top episodes of 2024 from both of our podcast series: AWM Author Talks and Nation of Writers. This is our final episode of 2024. We’ll return next year with even more episodes featuring the writers you love and the stories they tell. Presented in [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of poet and novelist James Welch. Part Blackfeet and part Gros Ventre, Welch grew up on the Blackfeet and Fort Belknap reservations in Montana and graduated from the University of Montana, where he studied writing under poet Richard Hugo. Welch was the author of the novels [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Filipina-American journalist and guerilla leader Yay Panlilio. Born in 1913 to a Filipina mother and Irish-American father, she moved to the Philippines in the 1930s where she became a popular reporter, photographer, and radio broadcaster. When World War II broke out, Yay served as an [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of queer Chicana poet, essayist, and theorist Gloria E. Anzaldúa. Quoting from The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader edited by AnaLouise Keating: “Born in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, Gloria Anzaldúa was an internationally acclaimed cultural theorist. As the author of Borderlands / La Frontera: The [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of journalist Mike Royko, a Chicago writing icon. Quoting from the Newberry Library’s current exhibit Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism, “Best known for his daily column, he wrote for the Chicago Daily News from 1959 until the paper’s closure in 1978; he joined [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Thomas Wolfe, one of the country’s leading novelists of the early twentieth century. A contemporary of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner, Wolfe is best known for his first novel Look Homeward, Angel. He would publish four books during his lifetime and is an important figure in [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and work of the multifaceted writer Rachel Pollack. She was the author of 41 books, including two award-winning novels, Unquenchable Fire, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Godmother Night, winner of the World Fantasy Award. Her comics work includes Doom Patrol, The New Gods, Tomahawk, The [...]

In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of poet and author Audre Lorde. Born in New York City in 1934, Lorde was the daughter of immigrants and had a love for poetry from an early age. She would go on to publish many collections of poetry, essays, and speeches that continue to have [...]

In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of poet W. S. Merwin. Appointed U.S. Poet Laureate in 2010, William Stanley Merwin had a career that spanned seven decades. A poet, translator, gardener and environmental activist, Merwin has become one of the most widely read and honored poets in America, the recipient of two [...]

In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of fiction writer Kate Chopin, who dared to write about female sexuality, longing, and identity at a time when women were expected to focus on husbands and family. Chopin’s works mostly take place in Louisiana and lyrically reflect the many cultures of the region: Creoles, Acadians, [...]

In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of television pioneer Norman Lear. We are joined by pop culture historian Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, whose bestselling books detail the stories and cultural impacts of television and film. Her latest book, So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (And Why We’re Still So Obsessed with It) [...]

*Episode note: In the introduction, we incorrectly called the book co-written with Vince Lombardi Running into Daylight. The correct title is Run to Daylight. In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of journalist and author W. C. Heinz. Most well known for his sports reporting, Heinz was one of the nation’s preeminent sports [...]

In this special episode, we take a look back at some of our favorite moments from the top episodes of our two ongoing series – Nation of Writers and AWM Author Talks.