Conducted by Fresh Air host Terry Gross in her signature, award-winning style, this is a collection of thought-provoking interviews with writers. Includes David Sedaris, Stephen King, Maurice Sendak, Philip Roth, Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, John Updike, Joyce Johnson, Fran Lebowitz, Billy Collins, Richard Price, and David Rakoff.
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About the Author
Fresh Air with TERRY GROSS, the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, is one of public radio's most popular programs. Terry Gross started out in public radio in 1973, at WBFO in Buffalo. Soon after she became producer and host of Fresh Air, then a live, daily show broadcast locally, at WHYY in 1975. Fresh Air premiered nationally in its current hour-long version in 1987, designed as the lead in to the program All Things Considered. A recipient of the 2003 Edward R. Murrow award, Terry Gross has been called by the L.A. Times "One of the most thought-provoking interviewers working in the media today."
From AudioFile
The inimitable Terry Gross talks with 13 mostly contemporary writers in these excerpts from her Peabody-winning radio show. Stephen King discusses being run over by one of his own characters. David Sedaris reminisces over his salad days. Allen Ginsberg reveals the inspiration for "Howl." Fran Lebowitz talks about having made her reputation on not writing. As one would expect, the program is well produced and marked by Gross's relaxed, incisive style and trademark laugh, the sound of someone who truly loves talking with people. If you're interested in these writers, however, you may find the interviews frustrating. They're excerpts after all--and lack the in-depth focus of the radio show. And why are only two of the 13 writers women? Nonetheless, this is a collection that whets the appetite. E.K.D. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
worth a listen,
By
This review is from: Writers Speak: Fresh Air with Terry Gross (Audio CD)
This collection of Terry Gross interviews is great listening. She does pretty quality interviews, an oasis in the NPR desert of matte monotone. This collection showcases some of her more interesting interviews. In particular, the authors on display here are beyond the ordinary, and it is in this situation that Terry Gross excels. It should come as no surprise, I suppose, that the appeal of the individual interviews mirrors the value of the writings of the authors. Philip Roth, for example, is hilarious but with a deeper level of thought-provoking observations underneath the surface. Allen Ginsberg is idiosyncratic and eccentric in a way that can be both compelling and strangely unsettling. Norman Mailer is reflective but more interested in displaying his inflated, grandiose ego. John Updike speaks with polished style and has absolutely nothing of interest to say. The Davids, Sedaris and Rakoff, amuse with impious wit. Fran Lebowitz amuses with lonely, cheerless wit. But a good interview, which Terry Gross for the most part provides, draws out a little extra from the writer. There is no revising, no editing. No opportunity to perfect the rhythm of the speech. So you get a little extra. With any luck, there is a touch of candor, a little insight into the self-obsessive world of the artist.
15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Writing Clinic in a Box,
By Just another reader and listener (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Writers Speak: Fresh Air with Terry Gross (Audio CD)
Wow, what a great collection of interviews with the best writers in America.
I think the previous review applies to another Terry Gross CD set, I don't believe that reviewer even listened to this CD set, these are writers and not comedians. I actually listened to this CD and realized that this is just like a writers workshop. Terry Gross' questions bring out the real personalities of the people behind the famous names, too. The unexpected drama and irony, especially from Stephen King's interview about the traffic accident and his physical recovery is riveting. What an intimate and personal treatment for a celebrity interview. I feel greater respect and want to reach for a higher level of admiration for these people after hearing their interviews with Terry Gross. Terry's ability to share her conversations and leave us feeling as if we actually know each of these iconic writers is such a wonderful part of her interview show. It's better than listening to a talk by any one of them at a book reading or event because you get answers to those questions you wanted to ask.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a thrill to hear from Stephen King and others!,
By Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Writers Speak: Fresh Air with Terry Gross (Audio CD)
What makes writers "tick" has always amazed me and so
when I came across FRESH AIR WRITERS SPEAK WITH TERRY GROSS--an audiobook--I was hooked from just the title. What a thrill it was to hear interviews conducted by Gross with such notables as Stephen King, Maurice Sendak, James Baldwin, Allen Ginsberg, and nine others . . . I loved hearing Norman Mailer describe himself as having "an ego like a battleship" . . . and I was moved by John Updike's account of how psoriasis affected his life. Gross apparently based this compilation on brief parts of longer interviews she had conducted on her Peabody Award-winning program on public radio, FRESH AIR . . . she is a talented interviewer, and I liked the fact that the interviews all appeared as if they had been conducted live; i.e., there were some brief pauses, as well as breaks for unedited laughter. Best of all, many of the authors read from their works . . . Philip Roth had me marveling at how well he writes; it even sounded better than when I've read it . . . and Billy Collins, an American poet who served two terms as 44th Poet Laureate of the United States, had me smiling when he recited "Victoria's Secret," a poem about reading a lingerie catalog.
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