Talk to Her: Interviews [Paperback]

Kristine McKenna (Author)

Book Description

Series: Interviews (Fantagraphics) | Publication Date: August 2004

McKenna's second collection of in-depth interviews with some of the 20th century's most brilliant cultural icons.

Kristine McKenna's work as a journalist began in the late 1970s, when she covered the Los Angeles punk scene for various domestic and international publications. During the '80s and '90s she wrote art, film and music criticism, and profiled directors, musicians and visual artists for a variety of publications including Artforum, Playboy, Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times and New York Rocker.

Talk to Her is McKenna's second collection (the first was 1999's Book of Changes) of favorite interviews culled from McKenna's files, and the book reveal's McKenna's highly intimate technique as an interviewer. That she manages to get such candor out of her subjects is remarkable.

The stunning list of interview subjects includes: Filmmaker Robert Altman; Jackie Onassis's cousin Edie Beale; punk rocker and poet Exene Cervenka; the musician Elvis Costello; surf guitar legend Dick Dale; the postmodern critic Jacques Derrida; Beat poet Allen Ginsberg; Television's Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine; art curator Walter Hopps; Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde; country music legend Rickie Lee Jones; the Sex Pistols' John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten); singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell; the Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man; punk rock legend Joey Ramone; New York rock legend Lou Reed; the actress Eva Marie Saint; and the recently-departed Joe Strummer of the Clash. Also included are brief oral histories of Andy Warhol and Orson Welles.

Talk to Her also includes portraits of each interview subject by some of the best cartoonists in the world, including Daniel Clowes, Charles Burns, Phoebe Glockner, Tony Millionaire, Jeff Wong and others. Black-and-white illustrations

Editorial Reviews

Review

A rare talent for catching her subjects being themselves and saying things they care about. -- Beck

Kristine has a rare talent for catching her subjects being themselves and saying things they care about. -- Beck

McKenna expertly draws out so much wisdom and character, you'll never miss not knowing what they're wearing. -- Jane

McKenna is one of the most gifted journalists in America. -- Joe Frank

McKenna is one of the most gifted journalists in American. -- Joe Frank

About the Author

Kristine Mckenna lives in Los Angeles, California, where she has recently finished a biography of the artist Wallace Berman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books; 1st Fantagraphics Ed edition (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560975709
• ISBN-13: 978-1560975700
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!, February 17, 2008

By 

Vikki (Woodbridge, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Talk to Her: Interviews (Paperback)

Forget the "fluff" and tabloid gossipy tidbits. Kristine McKenna interviews celebrities with questions that we ourselves would ask a friend. Reflections on their culture, how they feel about their fame and questions of who and what inspires them. I originally purchased this book for an interview piece on Edie Beale but was soon drawn to other interviews with other celebs. I didn't know who some of the interviewed were but Krisitine's interviewing style made me interested in who some of these people were and piqued my curiousity to learn more about them. Her writing style and genuine interest in the people she interviews make her a careful and thoughtful writer. I will purchase her other book, "Book of Changes" based on the wonderful experience that I had reading this book.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun, Important Book, September 8, 2005

By 

Camden Joy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Talk to Her: Interviews (Paperback)

A celebrity with the chance to be interviewed by Kristine McKenna is one mighty lucky celebrity indeed. Ms. McKenna refuses to delve into the tabloid gossip of their lives, focusing instead on drawing out their insights about the human condition. She wants these people to explain inspiration, fame, ambition, enchantment... and by reading her subjects well, and expertly pacing her lines of inquiry, she almost always succeeds. A magnificent achievement, given how jaded and suspicious most of her interviewees tend (at least initially) to be. Ms. McKenna is a far more accomplished and insightful interviewer than Fresh Air's Terry Gross, in my opinion.