Books & Literature

Legendary writer James Baldwin is the author of modern classics such as "Notes of a Native Son," "Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone," and "Go Tell It On the Mountain." Here, Baldwin delivers a lecture and has a "rap" session with students at an event at Lehigh University.

Chuck Barris is the creator and producer of over a dozen television game shows, including "The Gong Show," "The Newlywed Game," and "The Dating Game." He gained his reputation as the "manic" host of "The Gong Show." Barris has written a semi-autobiographical novel "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," in which a game show host named Chuck Barris also secretly works as a C. I. A. agent. Barris claims to have had an opportunity to work for the organization, but that he turned it down.

Former Major League Baseball Umpire Ron Luciano was known for his flamboyant style. His book "The Umpire Strikes Back," was a hot, and Luciano has written a follow-up "Strike Two." He shares humorous stories about his career in MLB and discusses some of the colorful characters working in the sport today.

Journalist and writer Tom Wicker grew up in the South. He joined the staff of the New York Times in 1960 and has worked for the paper since then. Wicker was one of the journalists covering President Kennedy's visit to Dallas in 1963, and his op-ed column "In the Nation," is nationally syndicated. Wicker has written non-fiction and fiction books. His latest novel, "Unto this Hour," is based in part on stories from his grandmother about her life in the Confederacy. The novel is set in the Civil Battle, the Second Bull Run.

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter grew up in Plains, Georgia. She met her husband, Jimmy, when she was 17 and he was 20 years old. She was glad that his naval career allowed them to travel, and when they returned to Georgia after his father's death, Carter was upset. It was there, however, that she grew into a business partner in her husband's peanut farm. Carter spoke last week with Betty Ford on the topic of modern First Ladies. Carter's life before and during the presidency is discussed in her new memoir "First Lady from Plains."

Poet and novelist Marge Piercy's work often discusses feminism and leftist organizing. Her newest novel "Fly Away Home," is about a famous chef who discovers that her marriage has fallen apart and that her husband has a secret life.

Pete Dexter is a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News and also has a monthly column for Esquire Magazine, "Sports Scene." Dexter's first novel, "God's Pocket," is set in Philadelphia. The novel tells the story of a reporter investigating a murder committed by a construction worker. Dexter joins the show to discuss his novel, work as a journalist, and respond to listener calls.

Philip Foner is the foremost historian on the labor movement in the U. S. He is the author of over eighty works, including a four volume history of the American labor movement, "Organized Labor and the Black Worker," and "Women and the American Labor Movement." Foner's specialities include labor history, African American history, and the history of women and Socialism. Foner has recently edited a collection of speeches and writings of Irish-American labor organizer Mother Jones.

Noted playwright Edward Albee is the author of "The Zoo Story" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," which was lated adapted into an Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton film. Albee has won many awards including two Pulitzer Prizes, one in 1967 for "Delicate Balance," and one in 1975 for "Seascape."

Robert Townsend is the author of the 1970 bestseller "Up the Organization," and his newly revised edition of the book is called "Further Up the Organization: How to Stop Management from Stifling People and Strangling Productivity." Townsend contends that most workers are "docile, bored, and dull," and advocates a type of "non-violent guerrilla warfare," in which workers dismantle all but those aspects of organizations that serve them. Townsend is known for his tenure at Avis and also worked at Twentieth Century Fox and American Express.

Humorist and reporter Calvin Trillin is staff writer for the New Yorker and a humor columnist at The Nation. Trillin recently joined the show to discuss his love of rich regional and ethnic food which he chronicled in his book "Third Helpings." His New Yorker Magazine series "U. S. Journal" ended in 1982, but a collection of 16 of his stories about murder have been collected in the book "Killings."

Jazz legend BILLY TAYLOR is a pianist who has worked with his own trio as well as musicians such as Billie Holliday, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Charlie Mingus, Art Tatum, and Miles Davis. Taylor is also a composer whose song "I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to Be Free" became a civil rights anthem. Taylor is also known for being the guiding force between the public radio programs "Jazz Alive" and "Billy Taylor's Piano Jazz." Currently, Taylor is the editor for the arts on the CBS Sunday morning program.

Etheridge Knight began writing poetry while serving a sentence for robbery. He talks with Fresh Air producer Danny Miller about how he draws inspiration from his past experiences as a former prisoner and drug addict.

W. D. (BIll) Ehrhart and Jan Barry are poets and publishers whose literary work centers on veterans of the Vietnam War. Ehrhart was recently featured on the PBS series Vietnam: A Television History. Both men read several of their poems on air.

76ers general manager Pat Williams and sportswriter Bill Lyon have co-authored a book about the Philadelphia basketball team's history and recent success. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.

The married couple joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to discuss their experiences a black actors, the need for strong African American writers for theater and television, and their work to promote new works by and about marginalized groups.

Author Jack Chambers has a new biography about the life of jazz legend Miles Davis. Chambers pays special attention to the trumpeter's early years playing, recording, and living with saxophonist Charlie Parker.

Louis Armstrong grew up in poverty and was raised by a single mother. Despite his later success, he remained shy and modest until the end of his life. Biographer James Lincoln Collier looks at the jazz musician's personal and musical development in New Orleans and Chicago.

In her new memoir, Deborah Spungen remembers her daughter, who was the girlfriend of the Sex Pistols' bass player Sid Vicious. Vicious confessed to murdering Nancy, but died of a drug overdose before his conviction.