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05-15-09 : Agony Column Podcast News Report :
Three Books With Alan Cheuse :


Sonata Mulattica
by Rita Dove

Shannon A Poem of the Lewis Clark Expedition
by Campbell McGrath

The Song is You
by Arthur Phillips

Once again, I'm honored to be joined by Alan Cheuse as we take another look at three books worth your valuable time and money. This time, we're heading over to the poetry section, to examine two unusual books of poetry by Rita Dove and Campbell McGrath. Then, just to keep things lively, we look at the latest novel by Arthur Phillips, 'The Song is You,' an actual song that I have tucked away somewhere on one of my Stan Getz records. Yes, vinyl records.

Music runs through the selections for today's Three Books conversation. Rita Dove's 'Sonata Mulattica' poetry collection is a historical narrative about George Polgreen Hightower, a wunderkind musical genius, the son of a white European woman and an "African Prince" who travels from London to Vienna to meet Ludwig Van Beethoven, who had written a sonata to honor him — until they met. Campbell McGrath's 'Shannon', is a 100 page narrative poem about George Shannon, the 16 year old boy who was separated from the Lewis and Clark Expedition and wandered alone on the prairie for 16 days is written in vivid, musical prose. And Arthur Phillips, 'The Song is You' is the first great American iPod novel, and offers an usual celebration of the sorts of technology that are usually shown as alienating factors in our lives. You can hear Alan and I discuss these books by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



Neal Coonerty  
05-14-09 : Agony Column Podcast News Report : Neal Coonerty on the Live Oak Redevelopment Project

I've been wanting to interview Neal Coonerty for a long time, but to tell the truth, I've been sort of scared, intimidated. After all, he's man behind the legendary Bookshop Santa Cruz, a past President of the American Booksellers' Association, and is currently the Third District Supervisor for Santa Cruz County. I've left a lot of stuff out, I'm sure. But you get the picture. He's not just a legend, he's a local legend.

Fortunately for me, life made it easy. Here I am, innocently hosting Talk of the Bay and answering requests from John Leopold the ever-able Supervisor for Live Oak to talk about Redevelopment, and, alas, the date of my show, Supervisor Leopold can't make it; but Supervisor Coonerty can. So, I find myself forced to something I've been heretofore afraid to do and not surprisingly, it turned out swell. It's all on the guest, I'll tell you. I just ask the questions, and you can hear how Coonerty displays a politician's skills without sounding like a politician by following the link to this MP3 Audio File.



05-13-09 : Agony Column Podcast News Report : The Mountain Community Theater Serves 'Breakfast of Champions' : The Author's Voice

When I think of works that lend themselves to adaptation, I have to admit that Kurt Vonnegut's anarchic 'Breakfast of Champions' is probably near the end of the line. It's a novel to end novels, a work that steps all over the form in a manner you might not think conducive to adaptation.

Apparently, in the 1980's, one Robert Egan decided to adapt Vonnegut's novel for the stage, and now our local Repertory Company, Mountain Community Theater , has decided to take on the task of mounting a performance. Wearing my "Talk of the Bay" hat, I interviewed the director, Steve Brenner, along with Denny Vierra, who plays the Author, and Adrienne Bischoff who plays about ten characters as part of "The Ensemble." For me, 'Breakfast of Champions' is a seminal novel that has really shaped my thinking and perspective on the world. But it's also only barely a novel as we normally know it, and it was fascinating to hear the director and cast discuss the challenges of getting Vonnegut's vision across. You can hear our action-packed conversation by following this link to the MP3 file.



Ginjer Buchanan  
05-12-09 : A 2009 Interview With Ginjer Buchanan: Ace Editor

Here's how things happen at The Agony Column. So, I'm trying to find out who the publicist is for the new Stephen Baxter novel, 'Flood.' A colleague at NPR wanted a copy. I know the publisher Penguin, so I gave them a ring.

I was quickly sent into voicemail and managed to climb to that branch of the phone tree where I could "Dial by name." Who did I know there I asked myself, racking my brain. Then I remembered Ginjer Buchanan, arguably The Most Important Person In SF; the senior editor at Ace Books, the woman responsible for much of our best genre fiction, and as a general notion, helping to keep the damn thing alive. She'd know who to talk to.

She did in fact know how to talk to, but then it occurred to me that she w2as the one to talk to. In these dark days for the publishing world, when editorial and publicity staff fall by the wayside, she'd know the scoop. And indeed, you can find the scoop by following this link to the MP3 audio file of our conversation.



Sarah Waters
05-11-09 : A 2009 Interview with Sarah Waters : "Something very malign"

Sarah Waters builds her novels as she might build a house; first the framework, then the layers and layers of details, the tiny muscles that move the plot. When I talked to her at KQED about her latest novel, "The Little Stranger," she emphasized the architectural nature of her writing process, saying that sometimes she had to rip down an entire wing and move it elsewhere.

Waters is an engaging and entertaining speaker. She talked to me about her writing process, which she explains involves mostly re-writing, and about her research into the psychic leaders of the day, particularly the work of Frederic Meyers. Meyers is an interesting guy, who hypothesized that in moments of stress, people can split off portions of their personality that can manifest as psychic phenomena. This sort of detail carries throughout the work, and Waters talked about researching the journals of James Lees-Milne to get a feel for the country houses. You can hear our conversation by following this link to the MP3 audio file.


New to the Agony Column

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Erik Larson : " "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

03-01-15: Commentary : William Ury on Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents : To the BATNA, Robin!

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William Ury : ...he proceeded to shout at me for approximately 30 minutes..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 198: William Ury : Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents

02-22-15: Commentary : Jennifer Senior Experiences 'All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood' : Reading Fun for the Whole Fambly!

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jennifer Senior : "...it becomes a source of enormous tension once a baby comes along..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 197: Jennifer Senior : All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood

02-09-15: Commentary : Stewart O'Nan Looks 'West of Sunset' : Twilight of the Great

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Stewart O'Nan : "...we see him as a tragedian because is life is a tragedy..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 196: Stewart O'Nan : West of Sunset

02-04-15: Commentary : Armistead Maupin Maps 'The Days of Anna Madrigal' : Swiftly Flow the Years

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Armistead Maupin : "I could see what silliness was going on while it was happening..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 195: Armistead Maupin : The Days of Anna Madrigal

01-31-15: Commentary : Christine Carter's Path to 'The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work' : Neurohabits

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Christine Carter, Ph.D. : "...a real tipping point..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 194: Christine Carter, Ph.D. : The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work

01-23-15: Commentary : Jake Halpern Pushes 'Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld' : Non-Fiction 21st Century Noir

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jake Halpern : "...he goes to Las Vegas to this debt-buyers' convention..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 193: Jake Halpern : Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld

01-19-15: Commentary : David Shields and Caleb Powell Assert 'I Think You're Totally Wrong' : The Power to Bicker

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with David Shields and Caleb Powell : "I read no book reviews any more; the level of discussion is really pedestrian." David Shields "I'm just saying it's a conflict of interest!" Caleb Powell

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 192: David Shields and Caleb Powell : I Think You're Totally Wrong

01-17-15: Commentary : Charles Todd Expects 'A Fine Summer's Day' : We Interrupt This Program...

Commentary : Charles Todd Engages In 'A Test of Wills' : The Politics of Passion and Policing

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Charles and Caroline Todd : "...let them be themselves and sort it out..." Caroline Todd "...it's more on a personal level..." Charles Todd

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 191: Charles Todd : A Fine Summer's Day

01-13-15: Commentary : Rosalie Parker Unearths 'The Old Knowledge' : The New Old World

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Ray Russell and Rosalie Parker : "I thought I'd write something for fun.." Ray Russell "..there was a side of me of that was interested in the strangeness..." Ros Parker

01-12-15: Commentary : Richard Ford 'Let Me Be Frank with You' : The Default Years

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Richard Ford : "...most of our politicians are morons..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 190: Richard Ford : Let Me Be Frank with You

01-06-15: Commentary : Bessel van der Kolk 'The Body Keeps the Score' : Human Trauma

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Bessel van der Kolk : "...being able to see what happens in the brain really helps us to understand certain things..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 189: Bessel van der Kolk : The Body Keeps the Score

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