Customer Reviews

Writers Speak: Fresh Air with Terry Gross

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

My capacity to listen to cassette tapes went down the tubes when I recently got a new car. Consequently, I ordered this CD because one of my favorite "Fresh Air" interviews with Philip Roth (which I have on cassette tape) was on it. The CD is advertised as "Audiobook, Unabridged". It is not unabridged; the Roth interview was cut short by, at least, 25 minutes, and from my perspective, much of the good stuff was cut, and some of the less good stuff remained. I would also guess that other writers' interviews have been abridged, since most of Terry Gross' interviews are close to an hour long, and most of these are ca. 25 minutes. Too bad, because I don't think that any of her (usually wonderful) interviews should ever be cut.

Terry Gross is an exceptional interviewer, who is well prepared and is able to ask a provocative question. The interviewee will often disagree with where Ms. Gross seems to be going with her question, but in the process will reveal himself/herself. This technique also prevents her from being too intrusive, the sin of most TV interviewers.

In this collection, the most interesting interviews are of the minor writers. Joyce Johnson, Kerouac's girlfriend, gives a very revealing account of her relationship with Kerouac, Kerouac's alcohol problem, and Kerouac's inability to cope with his sudden fame. Rakoff gives an hilarious account of his acting career.

Of all the notable writers, Updike is the most likeable and Mailer comes off as the jerk he is often made out to be. Ginsburg is quite interesting in the debt he acknowledges to Burroughs and Kerouac as well as in his own dim view of his "America" poem that helped make him famous.

Given the complexity of the material and the time constraints, it is not possible for Ms. Gross to have as in-depth an interview of each author as one would have liked.