2017 Interviews – LIVING WRITERS

2017 Interviews

  • Joy Harjo
    From the archive 2017 Joy Harjo talks about Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings and Crazy Brave (W.W. Norton).  We talk about perceived power, flying, stories and the saxophone, and debut her latest song! Joy Harjo gave the Second Annual Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr. Lecture in Native American Studies. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-03-15-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio Original airdate: March 15, 2017
  • Will Schwalbe
    From the archive: 2017 Will Schwalbe reads from Books for Living published by Knopf (2017). We talk about joy, connecting books to moments in your life, the 80s, and MMMBop.For more on this author, click here! http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-03-08-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio Original recording date: March 9, 2017
  • MARCH: Congressman John Lewis with Andew Aydin and Nate Powell
    From the archive: 2017 Rest in power, John.   Join us for a special program featuring a conversation with Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell about their trilogy MARCH.  We also hear stories and memories from people who marched with Congressman John Lewis on Edmund Pettus Bridge March 7, 1965.   http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-12-14-170001-EST.mp3 Download …

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  • Celeste Ng
    From the archives: Celeste Ng reads from her novel Little Fires Everywhere (Penguin Press 2017). We talk about creating suspense, Shaker Heights, and shifting perspectives.   http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-10-12-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio Original air date: October 12, 2017
  • Chris Van Allsburg
    Guest host Amanda Uhle speaks with Chris Van Allsburg, author/illustrator of 19 books for children and illustrator of three more. Mr. Van Allsburg came to Ann Arbor recently to promote the newest Jumanji film, which had its Michigan premiere as a fundraiser for Hospice of Michigan and Arbor Hospice. They talk about his creative process, the journey from …

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  • Gregory Pardlo
    Gregory Pardlo reads from his book of poems Digest (Four Way Books 2014), winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize. We talk about translation, community, Richard Wright and Air Traffic.   http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-12-07-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio
  • Derek Peterson
    Derek Peterson talks about his books Creative Writing (2004), Ethnic Patriotism and the East African Revival (2012) and his current projects funded by his MacArthur Fellowship. We talk about building stories, archival preservation, Mountains of the Moon University, Idi Amin and Ugandan radio. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-11-30-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio
  • Lorna Goodison
    In May of this year Lorna Goodison became the Poet Laureate of Jamaica. In a conversation from December 2014, we talk about how place has influenced her poems – from sunshine and salt to Michigan’s own snowy streets. We talk about Lorna coming to Michigan, her time and friends here and beyond.  We also talk …

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  • Stephen Rush
    Michigan’s own Stephen Rush reads from Free Jazz, Harmolodics, and Ornette Coleman (Routledge 2017).  We talk about the principle of human equality, enlightenment, unison, and interviewing Ornette Coleman. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-11-09-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio
  • Karen Dionne
    Karen Dionne reads from The Marsh King’s Daughter (Putnam 2017). We talk about writing a psychological suspense, fairy tales, and the UP. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-11-02-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio  
  • David Lagercrantz
    David Lagercrantz reads from The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye (Knopf 2017), the latest in the Lisbeth Salander series. We talk about continuing Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Series, being a board member of PEN in Sweden, what our parents want for us, and, briefly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-10-26-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio  
  • Douglas Trevor
    Douglas Trevor reads from his latest collection of stories The Book of Wonders (six one seven books 2017).  We talk about Radiohead, putting together a book of connected stories, invention, the number 9, melancholy and wonder. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-10-19-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio  
  • Nancy Pearl
    Nancy Pearl reads from her novel George & Lizzie (Touchstone 2017).  We talk about imagining characters into life, carrying an unfinished poem within you, and being America’s Librarian. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-10-05-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio To head to Nancy Pearl’s website, click here!  
  • Claire Messud
    Claire Messud reads from her novel The Burning Girl (Norton 2017).  We talk about friendship, young narrators, stories within stories and what we can’t know about others. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-09-28-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio photo credit: Ulf Andersen
  • Jill Darling
    Jill Darling reads poems from a geography of syntax (Lavender Ink 2016).  We talk about lyric intervention, topography, Gertrude Stein and movement. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-09-21-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio To learn more, click this link to head to the writer’s website.
  • Maile Meloy
    Maile Meloy reads from her novel Do Not Become Alarmed published by Penguin Random House.We talk about shifting perspectives, revisions after readers, the intrigue within conversations, and pirates. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-09-06-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio To visit this author’s website, click here!
  • Mike Stax
    Mike Stax, editor/publisher of Ugly Things magazine and the author of Swim Through The Darkness speaks with Frank Uhle about folk/rock and psychedelic music, fanzine publishing, and private investigators. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-08-30-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio
  • Billy Bragg
    Billy Bragg talks about his book Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World published by Faber & Faber. We talk about how skiffle fits into musical history–US and UK.  We also talk about research and stories, obsession and inspiration.  And fidget spinners. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-08-23-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio
  • Gail Offen
    Gail Offen, co-author of Iconic Restaurants of Ann Arbor talks with Amanda about eateries of the past and present, how restaurants are part of shaping communities, memorable meals, only-in-Ann Arbor treats (the fragel!), how liquor laws changed Ann Arbor dining, and reliably delicious icons like Zingerman’s and Old Town. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-08-16-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio
  • Courtney Maum
    Courtney Maum, author of the novels I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You and Touch, talks with Amanda about the fine art of predicting the future, the declining state of human interaction, and the importance of your sense of smell. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-08-09-170001-EDT.mp3 Download for podcast To visit author’s site, click here!  
  • Oneita Jackson
    Detroit writer Oneita Jackson, author of Letters from Mrs. Grundy and Nappy-Headed Negro Syndrome joins guest host Amanda Uhle for a conversation about manners, grace, and customer service – with a special emphasis on cab drivers. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-08-02-170001-EDT.mp3 Download podcast
  • Frances Stroh
    This show and the next has a special focus on Detroit, in part to mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 uprising.  Frances Stroh, author of Beer Money, talks about her family’s beer empire and their legacy. We talk memoir, money, families, art, and shifting perspectives on real life facts. We talk beer. And of …

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  • Lynn Crawford
    Detroit novelist and arts writer Lynn Crawford talks about visual art, Detroit, families, fashion, and food. Lynn is the author of Shankus & Kitto A Saga, Solow, Blow, Fortification Resort (a selection of art related sestinas) and the novels Simply Separate People and Simply Separate People Two. She is a Kresge Literary Arts Fellow and a 2016 Rauschenberg Writing Fellow. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-07-19-170001-EDT.mp3 Download For …

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  • Doree Shafrir
    Guest host Amanda Uhle talks with Doree Shafrir, Senior Culture Writer at Buzzfeed and author of the novel Start Up, which skewers startup culture and tackles workplace sexual harassment, the ever changing role of the internet in relationships, and work life balance across generations. We also talk Bill O’Reilly, feminism, and what movie plots and novel plots …

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  • Erin and Philip Stead
    Philip and Erin Stead, Caldecott-winning writer/illustrators of A Sick Day For Amos McGee and the forthcoming Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine talk with guest host Amanda Uhle about writing and illustrating children’s books, working with the ghost of Mark Twain, artistic inspiration, and more. Download podcast
  • Hilary Gustafson
    Hilary Gustafson of Literati Bookstore talks about her picks for great summer reading by the lake shore or here in town, as well as the latest happenings at the shop. Also, as we say hallo to summer, I’d like to welcome Amanda Uhle as guest host for Living Writers with Frank Uhle engineering.  Stay tuned …

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  • Shanna Merola
    Artist and activist Shanna Merola discusses her latest work We All Live Downwind. We talk about collage, art as activism, documentary photography, and research walls.  We also talk about her work with the National Lawyers Guild and Know Your Rights workshops. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-06-14-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio Click to visit Shanna’s website!
  • John Cheney-Lippold
    John Cheney-Lippold reads from We Are Data: Algorithms and the Making of Our Digital Selves published by New York University Press.  We talk about categorization, control and privacy.  We also talk about reconceptualizing ourselves and what it means to be a ‘dividual.’ http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-06-07-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio
  • Laura Hulthen Thomas
    Laura Hulthen Thomas reads from her debut collection of stories States of Motion published by Wayne State University Press as part of the Made in Michigan Writers Series.  We talk about place as character, process and habit.  We also talk about hope, fear and economics. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-05-31-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio  
  • George Bornstein
    George Bornstein discusses a new facsimile edition of W.B. Yeat’s classic poetry collection, The Wild Swans at Coole, published by Scribner.  We talk about George Bornstein’s introductions to the facsimile editions, this book and The Winding Stair and other Poems (1933).  We also talk about passion, a life of poems, the Nobel Prize and Ireland. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-05-24-170001-EDT.mp3 Download …

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  • Steve Hamilton
    Steve Hamilton talks about his latest Nick Mason novel Exit Strategy out with Putnam.  We talk about working in a series, screenplays, switching publishers, promises, writers groups, and the dark side of the self. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-05-17-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio To visit the author’s website, click here!
  • Keith Taylor
    Keith Taylor reads poems from his collection The Bird-while out with Wayne State University Press from the Made in Michigan Writers Series.  We talk about spring, driving to Muskegon to see the ruff, and Poets at Michigan. Download For more on this author, click here!
  • Theodoros Chiotis
    Theodoros Chiotis reads from his anthology Futures: Poetry of the Greek Crisis published by Penned in the Margins, UK (2015).  We talk about putting together an anthology of a new generation of poets, the Cavafy Archive, and graffiti. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-03-29-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio
  • Little Bang Theory: Terri Sarris, Doug Shimmin & Frank Pahl
    Little Bang Theory–Terri Sarris, Doug Shimmin and Frank Pahl– talk about their work and about the Ann Arbor Film Festival featuring the film A Page of Madness with musical accompaniment by Little Bang Theory–with Ichiro Kataoka as the benshi.   We talk about toys, stop motion, puppets and adaptation. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-03-22-170001-EDT.mp3 Download Audio For more on the band, click here!
  • Nickolas Butler
    Nickolas Butler reads from his novel The Hearts of Men out with Ecco.  We talk about a “day without women,” friendship, loyalty, heartbreak, Jim Harrison and a moral code. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-03-08-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio To head to this author’s website, click here!
  • Rebecca Solnit
    Rebecca Solnit reads from The Mother of All Questions (Haymarket Books) the final book of essays in the trilogy that began with Men Explain Things to Me.  We talk about politics, silence, language and hope. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-03-01-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio To visit the author’s website, click here!
  • Nick Tobier
    Nick Tobier reads from Looping Detroit: A People Mover Travelogue published by Maize Books, Michigan Publishing.  We talk about everyday places, elephants, monorails, Utopia Toolbox, and offering interruptions. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-02-22-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio For more on this author, click here!
  • Amanda Uhle & 826Michigan Young Writers
    Young writers from 826 Michigan read their poems and stories and talk about their writing process for WCBN’s annual fundraiser. Featuring: Josiah (age 10) & his mother, Lisa Luella (6) & her father, Luke Rasyid (14) Amanda & Megan from 826Michigan http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-02-15-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio To visit 826Michigan’s website, click here!
  • Josh Cramer
    Josh Cramer reads from The Cartoon Picayune.  We talk about comics journalism, freelancing, collaborations and community. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-02-08-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio To head to the author’s website, click this link!
  • Benjamin Paloff
    Benjamin reads from And His Orchestra published by Carnegie Mellon University Press.  We talk about David Bowie, translation, riffs and associations, structure and The Nation. http://beanball.wcbn.org/rss/Living_Writers/wcbn-living_writers-2017-02-01-170001-EST.mp3 Download Audio
  • Richard Ford
    Richard Ford reads from an anthology he edited, Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar:  Stories of Work, published by HarperCollins (2011).  All proceeds benefit 826michigan.  We talk about work and character development, and also hear a short section from Rock Springs’ “The Optimist.” https://umich.box.com/shared/static/0eou45f8xumc5r38gabasu2wi4f6xuhm.mp3 Download
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