Poets & prose writers reading from their work and talking about their passions and preoccupations. Please join host, Ashley David, and her live guests Wednesdays from 4:30-5:15 p.m. or listen to archived shows from this page.

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The Archives (organized by date):
09-14-2005 09-21-2005 09-28-2005 10-05-2005 10-12-2005 10-19-2005 10-26-2005 11-02-2005 11-09-2005 11-16-2005 11-23-2005 11-30-2005 12-07-2005 12-14-2005 12-21-2005 12-28-2005 01-04-2006 01-11-2006 01-18-2006 01-25-2006 02-01-2006 02-08-2006 02-15-2006

The Archives (in alphabetical order by guest's name):

Suad Amiry--architect and former Palestinian Minister of Culture--reads from her memoir, "Sharon and My Mother-in-law," and talks about the day-to-day of living in the occupied West Bank. (original broadcast 12/21/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Neil Bartlett reads from "Who Was that Man?: A Present for Mr. Oscar Wilde" and discusses guidebooks, gay culture, and his life and work as an artist in London. (original broadcast 9/28/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate, reads from his 8th book of poems, "The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems," and talks about death, dogs, diction and other weighty matters. (original broadcast 10/19/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Lan Samantha Chang--novelist, teacher, and director of The Iowa Writers Workshop--reads from her collection of stories, "Hunger," and talks about memory, contemporary mythmaking, and "writing what you know." (original broadcast 12/14/05, engineer Jason Adam Voss)

Kwame Dawes--poet, playwright, novelist, and director of the Calabash International Literary Festival and the South Carolina Poetry Initiative--reads from "Midland," and "Wisteria," and talks about the aesthetics of Bob Marley, the power of art, growing up in Ghana and Jamaica and living and writing in South Carolina. (original broadcast 2/22/06, engineer Jason Adam Voss)

Andrew Delbanco--social critic and Columbia University professor of humanities and American studies--reads from "Melville: His World and Work" and talks about the ways in which Melville, who set the standard for the great American novel with "Moby Dick," captured the imaginative, social, and political concerns of his day, and why after a century and a half, his work continues to capture ours. (original broadcast 11/9/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Nicholas Delbanco--novelist, essayist, teacher, and chair of the Hopwood Awards committee--reads from his most recent novel, "The Vagabonds," and talks about crafting a writing life, the responsibility of mentorship, and the Avery Hopwood awards and legacy at the University of Michigan. (original broadcast 2/8/06, engineer Chaz Berret)

Jonathan Franzen--novelist, essayist, and frequent New Yorker contributor-- reads from his work and talks about taste, complacency, the "so what" question, and birds. (original broadcast 11/30/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Alice Fulton--Poet, essayist, and teacher--reads from her new book of selected poems "Cascade Experiment" and talks about the processes of circling back, beginning anew, and experimentation. (original broadcast 1/25/06, engineer Chaz Berret)

Laurence Goldstein reads from his 4th book of poems, "A Room in California," and discusses his work as poet, scholar, teacher, and long-time editor of "The Michigan Quarterly Review." (original broadcast 9/21/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Lorna Goodison--poet, painter, prose writer, and teacher--reads from her work, and talks about struggle and resistance, patience and fortitude, and about writing from and across cultural heritage. (original broadcast 1/11/06, engineer Chaz Berret)

Patricia Hampl reads her poetry and non-fiction and talks about disappearing worlds, the power and weaknesses of first person writing, and the shifting nature of memory. (original broadcast 10/5/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Melanie Lynne Hauser reads from her novel "Confessions of Supermom" and talks about an incredible Swiffer accident, chick lit, and soccer mom stereotypes. (original broadcast 9/7/05, engineer Chaz Berret) <

Roy Jacobstein, poet, physician, and international development consultant reads poems from "Ripe" and talks about political poetry, writing from outside academia, and wearing multiple hats.(original broadcast 10/26/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

John McCain--US senator and best selling author--reads from "Character is Destiny," and talks about character, inspiration, and responsibility. (original broadcast 12/7/06, engineer Chaz Berret)

Ray McDaniel reads from his forthcoming second book of poems, "Saltwater Empire," and talks about Dixie-fried poetry, predicting the future, and redemption. (original broadcast 11/2/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Sean Norton reads from his first book of poems, "Bad with Faces" and talks about journey, renunciation, and style. (original broadcast 10/12/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Patrick O'Keeffe reads from his collection of linked novellas, "The Hill Road," and talks about Ireland, change, loss, and finding his subject. (original broadcast 9/14/05, engineer Chaz Berret)

Eileen Pollack--novelist, creative non-fiction writer, journalist, and teacher--reads from the forthcoming collection of stories, "In the Mouth" and talks about truth and lies, literary vogue, and the business of writing (and learning to write). (original broadcast 11/23/05, engineer Alex Belhaj)

Jim Shepard--novelist, teacher, and "patron saint of the mal-adapted"--reads from his novel "Project X" and talks about adolescent boys, growing up, and being a writer-parent. (original broadcast 12/28/06, engineer Chaz Berret)

Richard Tillinghast--poet, critic, teacher, performer, and "Leonard Wiggins" in a James Atlas novel--reads from his work, and covers the usual bases: Southerners to Puritans, social movements to poetry. (original broadcast 11/16/05, engineer Chaz Berret)