Pro Golfer Charlie Sifford. He was the first black admitted to the PGA in 1961. Even so, he's found that blacks are still not welcome in the game of golf. His new book is "Just Let Me Play," written by Sifford with James Gullo (by British American Publishing, 19 British American Boulevard, Latham, New York, 12110).
Composer John Corigliano, Composer-in residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His composition "Symphony No. 1" is Corigliano's personal statement about the AIDS crisis. The first three movements of the Symphony are dedicated to three of his lifelong musician-friends who died of AIDS. Corigliano was inspired to write the composition after seeing the AIDS memorial quilt. (Corigliano: Symphony No. 1, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim -- on the Erato Label, #2292-45601-2).
Author and Senior Fellow at the World Wildlife Fund, Roger D. Stone. He's on his way to Rio de Janeiro for the Earth Summit. His book, "The Nature of Development: A Report from the Rural Tropics on the Quest for Sustainable Economic Growth," (by Knopf) in which he theorizes that the only way to protect an environment is to provide economically viable, ecologically sound alternatives for the the people who live there.
Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, chief nurse of the Washington National Guard. Last week she was discharged from the army for being a lesbian. Cammermeyer is one of the highest ranking members of the military ever to be removed because of her sexual orientation. She served in Vietnam where she received the Bronze Star and in 1985 was chosen from 34,000 candidates to be the Veterans Administration's Nurse of the year. She is challenging her dismissal in Federal Court.
Terry talks about the fighting in Sarajevo between the Serbs, the Muslims, and the Croats with Yale University Professor Ivo Banac (BAH-nitz.) He is a native of Croatia, although he's lived in the United States for a long time.
Novelist and screenwriter Richard Price. His screenwriting credits include "The Color of Money," "Sea of Love," and Martin Scorsese's section of "New York Stories." He's returned to novel writing with "Clockers," a murder mystery set in the world of a crack dealer in New Jersey. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times writes "the signal achievement of "Clockers' is to make us feel the enormous power of these giants that are drugs, alcoholism, poverty." (published by Houghton Mifflin).
Jon Robin Baitz is a playwright who was awarded a $15,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA). While he has accepted the money, he has turned around and donated the exact amount to the two institutions that were recently turned down by the NEA's acting Chairwoman, Anne-Imelda Radice.
Writer Terry McMillan. Her new novel, "Waiting to Exhale," (Viking) is about four strong, urban black women in their thirties, their successful careers, and their sometimes volatile relationships with black men. She says women -- both black and white -- are frustrated because they can't find a man who's willing to commit, and won't lie and cheat. Her previous novels are "Mama" and "Disappearing Acts."
Novelist Randall Kenan. He was raised in the rural, North Carolina, a part of the country in which he says "it's hard to distinguish between the myths and reality." His new book, "Let the Dead Bury Their Dead," is a collection of stories, about a five-year old who can hear the dead speak, an Asian man who falls from the sky and encounters mindless violence and racism, and a conventional widow who copes with the revelation that her grandson is a homosexual, and others.
Glenda Lockwood. She and her family were living in Kuwait when the Iraqis invaded in August 1990. Later the family was taken to Bagdad as "human shields" and Glenda's son, Stuart Lockwood, was seen on international television being coaxed by Saddam Hussein. It was a propaganda effort on Hussein's part that failed, and ended up infuriating viewers around the world. Glenda Lockwood's new book is " Dairy of a Human Shield." (by Bloomsbury, distributed by Trafalgar Square, North Pomfret, Vermont 05053).
Benjamin Cheever is the son of the late John Cheever. Ben is also a writer, and he grew up in the shadow of his father's fame. He's just written his first novel, for which he says he finally found his own voice, separate from his father's. "The Plagiarist" (Atheneum) is loosely based on Ben's life, and the time he spent working at "Reader's Digest" magazine. Ben was also the editor of "The Letters of John Cheever," published in 1988.
Actress Amy Madigan. She's now playing on Broadway as Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire" opposite Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin. You may remember her as Kevin Costner's wife in the film "Field of Dreams." She's also played in the films "Uncle Buck" and "Roe V. Wade," among others.
