The Story Talks Back: Recent Episodes

David Stanton

Everything we touch, think about, or experience turns into a story. The power of stories in our lives is almost unfathomable; we must question, dissect, and celebrate them to understand ourselves. Join us for a continuing journey into stories as a way of thinking, remembering, and being.

TSTB pays a return visit to the remarkable Dani Shapiro -- author of eleven books, as well as host and creator of the hit podcast Family Secrets. Her most recent novel, Signal Fires, was named a best book of 2022 by Time Magazine, Washington Post, Amazon, and others, and is a national bestseller. The paperback edition of Signal Fires will publish in October, and Dani is currently working on a television adaptation of the book.

Shapiro is also the author of a series of moving, insightful memoirs – most recently Inheritance, which became an instant New York Times best seller and was named a best book of 2019 by Vanity Fair, Wired, and others. Both Signal Fires and Inheritance were winners of the National Jewish Book Award.

Dani’s book on the process and craft of writing, Still Writing, has just been reissued on the occasion of its tenth anniversary.

Author photo: Beowulf Sheehan

fiction #novelists #novels #timelessfiction #stargazing #healingtrauma #specialchildren #greatjewishwriters #signalfires #carolynforche #inheritance #familysecrets #dnadiscoveries #biologicalparents #stories #storytelling #storytellers

Over 20-plus years, Dani Shapiro made a name for herself as a best-selling author of deeply revealing and unforgettable memoirs -- including "Slow Motion," "Hourglass," "Devotion," and "Inheritance."

But in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Shapiro discovered a forgotten manuscript for an unfinished novel in her office closet -- and her return to fiction, which had been her career focus early on, became essential. The result was "Signal Fires," a wonderfully intimate novel that spans more than two decades and takes us inside the hearts -- and into the well-kept secrets -- of three intertwined families.

In this excerpt from our forthcoming full interview with Shapiro -- her second visit to The Story Talks Back -- she talks about the very different demands and opportunities in writing fiction versus memoir, and reveals how the two inform each other in her work.

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In her early twenties, Yaffa Lerea found her calling, working at the heart of storytelling as a film and television editor. Starting her career at a post-production facility by day while taking a night course in film production at New York University, Lerea discovered her passion for editing. Since then she has been an editor on numerous films and TV series, including Ken Burns’ award-winning “Baseball,” CNN’s “The Movies,” "The Sixties," and “The Eighties,” “Project Runway,” MTV’s “The Real World,” and “Twin Towers,” which won an Academy Award as Best Short Documentary.

In just the past two years, Lerea produced CNN’s “’Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen” and co-edited “Shot in the Arm,” a documentary about the anti-vaccine movement. She was also an editor on Amazon’s “Making the Cut” and “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.” Lerea spoke to TSTB from her home in Santa Monica, California.

Photo of Yaffa -- during editing of Ken Burns' "Baseball" -- by Stephanie Berger.

stories #storytelling #storytellers #film #filmediting #editors #documentary #postproduction #hollywood #fiulmschool #moviemagic #kenburns #baseball #MTV #projectrunway #roadrules #academyaward #ishtar #NYU

In a career of over 30 years, Yaffa Lerea has truly honed her craft as a story shaper through film editing. From her work on early episodes of MTV's "The Real World" to her efforts on Ken Burns' seminal "Baseball" documentaries, Lerea has become a sought-after video storyteller in her own right. But how did she get her start? It was all about being in the right place at the right time -- namely, a post-production house in 1980s New York City. There she encountered every kind of filmmaker, from the most obscure to Martin Scorsese, and began to develop her own approach to film and storytelling. Check out this excerpt from our forthcoming full interview with Yaffa Lerea.

filmmaking #filmediting #videoediting #documentary #documentaries #kenburns #woodyallen #martinscorsese #storytelling #storytellers #stories

TSTB shares its full interview with acclaimed science writer, editor, and film producer Timothy Ferris. In this wide-ranging discussion, Ferris reflects on his early career with Rolling Stone magazine, his transition to science writing, his friendship with Stephen Hawking -- including his role in developing the physicist's classic "A Brief History of Time" -- his collaboration with Carl Sagan on the Voyager project, and his lifelong passions for stargazing and music.

The author of a dozen books, Ferris has been called “the best science writer of his generation” by The Washington Post. His bestsellers The Whole Shebang and Coming of Age in the Milky Way have been translated into fifteen languages and were named by The New York Times as among the leading books of the twentieth century.

A former editor of Rolling Stone magazine, Ferris has published over 200 articles and essays in The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Harper’s, Scientific American, Vanity Fair, and other periodicals. His three PBS documentary films — "The Creation of the Universe," (1986), “Life Beyond Earth” (1999), and “Seeing in the Dark” (2007) — have been seen by over twenty million viewers.

Ferris produced the Voyager phonograph record, an artifact of human civilization containing music and sounds of Earth launched aboard the twin Voyager interstellar spacecraft. Now exiting the solar system, the Voyagers are the most distant probes ever created by humans.

Ferris has received the American Institute of Physics prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His works have been nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He is currently an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

sciencewriting #rollingstone #rollingstonemagazine #writing #writingprocess #writingtips #revision #timothyferris #theuniverse #cosmology #astrophysics #thewholeshebang #stephenhawking #carlsagan #Voyager

A founding writer and editor at Rolling Stone magazine, Timothy Ferris profiled rockers like Todd Rundgren and Sly Stone before finding his own groove in the world of science.

Over the past 40 years, Ferris has written best sellers like "Coming of Age in the Milky Way" and "The Whole Shebang" and produced three groundbreaking PBS documentaries, including "The Creation of the Universe." He also was the creative visionary behind the Voyager "golden discs" -- compilations of Earth's music and natural sounds on LP-like records that were installed on the Voyager spacecraft.

In this preview of our forthcoming full interview with Ferris, he talks about the struggle to find just the right words to inspire himself and his readers.

sciencewriting #rollingstone #rollingstonemagazine #writing #writingprocess #writingtips #revision #timothyferris #theuniverse #cosmology #astrophysics #thewholeshebang #stephenhawking #carlsagan #Voyager

Born in London, Gered Mankowitz established his first photography studio in 1963, at age 17, as the British rock and blues movements were about to explode. He started working with the Rolling Stones soon after, touring the US with the then-fledgling band and producing several of their early album covers. Mankowitz quickly became a sought-after rock lensman, capturing timeless images of major stars from the 1960s through today – Jimi Hendrix, The Yardbirds, Traffic, Marianne Faithful, Elton John, Free, Kate Bush, Eurythmics, George Harrison, Paul McCartney & Wings, Sparks, Sade, Oasis, and countless others.

Mankowitz has continued to work in the music business, as well as contributing to many leading magazines and also taking prize-winning advertising photos. In 2013, he published a retrospective book – Gered Mankowitz: 50 Years of Rock and Roll Photography; and he was Executive Producer of the six-part TV series “Icon: Music Through the Lens,” which aired on PBS in 2020.

Photos by Gered Mankowitz are used with his permission and may not be captured or reproduced. Website: www.mankowitz.com.

rockicons #rocknroll #rockmusic #photography #rockphotography #rocklegends #sixtiesicons #seventiesicons #jimihendrix #rollingstones #therollingstones #mickjagger #keithrichards #eltonjohn #katebush #lionheart #oasis #celebrityphotography #photographer #rockphotographer #stories #storytelling #storyteller

In the 1960s and '70s, British photographer Gered Mankowitz worked with some of rock's greatest stars at the peak of their creative powers. In the mid-1960s, he served as the Rolling Stones' "official" photographer, and he took now-classic shots of Jimi Hendrix, Kate Bush, Free, Traffic, The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, and dozens of other artists. In this excerpt from our forthcoming full interview, Mankowitz tells how his own collaborative approach evolved, and how he learned to help sometimes-shy musicians project the "stories" they wanted their audiences to see. #photography #rockphotography thesixties #rollingstones #theseventies #hendrix #jimihendrix #traffic #jeffbeck #jimmypage #yardbirds #katebush #lionheart #thekickinside

TSTB shares an insightful and candid discussion with Garrett Hongo -- celebrated poet, memoirist, and audio writer. Born in Volcano, Hawai’i, Hongo grew up in Kahuku and in Los Angeles. His poetry collections are Yellow Light, The River of Heaven – which received the Lamont Poetry Prize and was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize – and Coral Road. His most recent book is 2022’s The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo. His other non-fiction includes The Mirror Diary and Volcano: A Memoir of Hawaiʻi. Hongo’s work has been recognized with fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Fulbright Program (Italy), and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2022, he received the Aiken Taylor Award for lifetime achievement in poetry. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, where he is Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Oregon.

In this conversation, Hongo discusses the formative stories -- told and concealed -- of his family history; the stereotyping and condescension he has sometimes faced in academic settings; and his enduring passion for great music and sound.

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A Pulitzer Prize finalist and former Guggenheim fellow, Garrett Hongo is one of the country's most respected writers of Asian descent, gifted at both verse and memoir. And, as an educator and scholar since the 1970s, he has witnessed both sides of the diversity movement and cultural awakening -- with Asian American authors gaining new visibility, but also facing resentment and outright prejudice. In this excerpt from our forthcoming full interview with Hongo, he speaks candidly about his experiences as a student and professor in academic environments that remained (and usually remain) predominantly white and sometimes openly suspicious of "other" literatures. #asianamerican #asianamericanlit #academicdiversity #literarydiversity #asianamericanpoetry #americanwriters #pulitzerprize #guggenheimfellow #hawaii #hawaiianwriters #stories #storytelling #storytellers #DEI #academicprejudice #academicdiversity #racisminacademia #poets #poetrylovers #memoir

In the 1970s, John Gardner was a star in the world of literary fiction, often mentioned in the same breath as Norman Mailer, John Updike, and Kurt Vonnegut. He won huge acclaim for his 1971 novel, Grendel, a post-modern retelling of the Beowulf legend. And in 1976, he won the National Book Critics Circle Award for October Light, the story of two elderly Vermont siblings waging a war of wills inside their ramshackle home.

Gardner was also a leading force in the movement to establish creative writing in college curricula. For over 20 years, he taught writing at universities across the country, providing crucial early guidance to Raymond Carver, Charles Johnson, and many other notables. Gardner published early works by Joyce Carol Oates, William Gass, and others in MSS, the literary magazine he founded in the early 1960s and revived almost 20 years later. And his two books on craft and the writing life, The Art of Fiction and On Becoming a Novelist, are now considered classics.

But as quickly as Gardner’s star had risen, it began to fall. In 1978, he published “On Moral Fiction,” a literary manifesto in which he criticized many of the most famous writers of his generation. Decrying “tinny” and “commercial” fiction, Gardner called for writing that affirms life. A year earlier, Gardner also faced charges of plagiarism, over his book-length biography of Chaucer.

Born and raised in rural Batavia, New York, Gardner was the oldest of three children and his parents’ favorite; but his life changed forever on a fateful day in April 1945. Gardner, then 11, was driving a tractor pulling a cultipacker, a large device for flattening soil, with his 6-year-old brother, Gilbert, riding on back. The tractor stopped suddenly, but the cultipacker kept moving, and Gilbert was thrown beneath the steel rollers. Gardner was haunted by the tragic accident throughout his life, retelling the events in his powerful short story “Redemption.”

In August 1982, Gardner was a lead instructor at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference in Middlebury, Vermont — an elite gathering where he had taught many times before. I interviewed Gardner in two sessions at the conference — conversations that would become his last interview. On September 14, 1982 — just four days before he was to be married for the third time — Gardner died in a still-mysterious motorcycle accident on a country road not far from his Pennsylvania home.

Sections of my conversations with Gardner appear in this tribute – enhanced but still sometimes difficult to hear – as well as new interviews with some of the people who knew Gardner best. In order of appearance, they are:

Novelist and educator Ron Hansen, author of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and "Hitler’s Niece"
Susan Thornton, Gardner’s fiancée when he died and author of the memoir "On Broken Glass: Loving and Losing John Gardner"
Joel Gardner, John’s son and creator of the documentary film about his father, "Sunlight Man"
Carolyn Forche, award winning poet and memoirist, whose books include "The Country Between Us" and "What You Have Heard Is True"
Liz Rosenberg, Gardner’s second wife and co-editor with him of the journal MSS … She has published over 35 books, including poetry collections, young adult fiction, and children’s picture books.

We have made every attempt to enhance the interview segments with Gardner, but you may need to turn up your volume to hear them

At the age of 22, Glenn Gould burst onto the global music scene – an instant star, thanks to his virtuoso recording of a then-obscure Bach work, “The Goldberg Variations.” And from the beginning, Gould was not just a musician, but a character who might have stepped from the pages of a novel – cheerfully eccentric, an admitted hypochondriac who wore scarves in the summertime, and a loner who preferred to sleep during the day and work through the night.

Doing things differently seemed to make life more interesting for Gould’s restless mind. He chose an often-surprising repertoire – and, after a relatively short touring career, gave up concerts altogether in 1964, an extraordinary decision that placed him on an almost singular path among classical artists. He invented a fascinating and challenging form of radio documentary, which he called contrapuntal radio, and produced numerous programs for the CBC in this format. He won four Grammy Awards during his lifetime, composed his own string quartet, and wrote dozens of essays.

In 1982, not long after recording a widely praised re-interpretation of “The Goldberg Variations” – and just two days past his 50th birthday – Gould suffered a devastating stroke. He died about a week later, on October 4th. It was the end of singular life, career and story.

In this special edition of The Story Talks Back, Gould’s friend and collaborator, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Tim Page, talks to us about Gould as story and storyteller – recalling his face-to-face interview with Gould just weeks before the pianist’s death, as well as their hours-long phone conversations, Gould’s prescient desire to give listeners more control in the creative process, and much more.

Page is the editor of The Glenn Gould Reader, an indispensable collection of the pianist’s written work, and the author of Parallel Play. He has also edited an anthology of the great critic Virgil Thomson and published a biography of the New York novelist Dawn Powell, almost single-handedly reviving interest in her work.

Page is a dean among classical music critics, with notable stints at The Soho Weekly News, Newsday, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, where he won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 1997. He is an Emeritus Professor of Musicology at the University of Southern California and continues to write about music and culture for The Washington Post and other publications.

Photo of Gould courtesy of Sony Classical.

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Marking the 90th birthday of the late, great Canadian pianist and media artist Glenn Gould, we offer this preview of our forthcoming interview with Tim Page -- a journalist and radio host who became Glenn's close friend. Shortly before Gould's death at age 50, Page traveled north to take part in a discussion with him -- occasioned by the pianist's now classic 2nd version of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" -- that became Gould's last interview. In this excerpt from our full interview about Gould as story and storyteller, Page reveals that the pianist was quite savvy about his image and had no trouble leaning into his sometimes-eccentric nature if it meant engaging an audience more fully.

glenngould #glenngouldanniversary #timpage #canada #canadians #goldbergvariations #bach #greatpianists #eccentricity #autism #autismspectrum #aspergers #stories #storytellers #columbiamasterworks

Photo: Fred Plaut / Sony Music Entertainment

On September 14, 1982, the celebrated novelist and critic John Gardner died in a still-mysterious motorcycle crash on a remote Pennsylvania road. In the 11 years leading up to that moment, Gardner had seen his fame skyrocket — with the publication of his masterful short novel "Grendel" — and then decline again almost as rapidly.

He had become a legendary teacher of creative writing, authoring two now-classic guides to the craft. He had also been accused of plagiarism and offended many of the most famous writers of his day with his 1978 diatribe "On Moral Fiction."

Less than three weeks before his death, TSTB host David Stanton recorded two conversations with Gardner at the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference in Middlebury, Vermont. These would become his last interview. In an upcoming tribute episode of The Story Talks Back, TSTB will share excerpts from those conversations, as well as interviews with some of the people who knew him best, including his son, Joel; his fiancée at the time of his death, Susan Thornton; and his friend, colleague and student Ron Hansen — now a celebrated novelist in his own right. Take a listen to this preview -- Gardner speaks first, and please lean into your speaker to be sure you’ll hear him ….

Photo credit: Joel Gardner

stories #storytellers #storytelling #creativewriting #masterteacher #mentor #mentoring #publishing #novelists #greatnovelists #fiction #fictionwriting #interviews #grendel #beowulf #sunlightdialogues #saulbellow #kurtvonnegut #bernardmalamud #breadloaf #breadloafwritersconference #onmoralfiction #tragedy #tragicdeath #motorcycle #motorcycleaccident #newyorkstate #newyork @BinghamtonUniversity @Southern Illinois University - Chancellor @Bennington College

In this first interview of our third year, TSTB pays a return visit to the person who kicked things off for us in 2020 -- award-winning author Dean Sluyter. A grateful student of Eastern and Western sages in several traditions, Sluyter has completed numerous pilgrimages and retreats in India, Tibet, Nepal, and the West. He has also taught meditation since 1970, from maximum security prisons to the Guatemalan rainforest. Sluyter's latest book, "The Dharma Bum's Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics," reflects his lifelong exploration of the awakening process as well as his years as a prep school English teacher. His other books include "Fear Less," "Natural Meditation," "The Zen Commandments," and "Cinema Nirvana." #meditation #enlightenment #yoga #easternphilosophy #easternclassics #stories #storytelling #buddhistmeditation #dharmastories #greatgatsby #madmagazine #alfredeneuman #thecatinthehat #drseuss #marktwain #huckleberryfinn #frederickdouglass

In our first interview of TSTB's third year, we return to the writer who got us started -- the wonderfully engaging author, meditation teacher, and dharma storyteller Dean Sluyter. In his latest book, "The Dharma Bum's Guide to Western Literature," Sluyter draws on over four decades of teaching -- and even more years of dharma studies -- to surface enlightenment lessons in everything from "Huckleberry Finn" to "The Cat in the Hat." in this unforgettable anecdote, Sluyter tells how he learned his first dharma lesson from the inimitable Alfred E. Neuman, the sublimely dorky "idiot mascot" of MAD Magazine. #madmagazine #alfredeneuman #stories #storytellers #enlightenment #enlightenmentlessons #dharma #dharmalessons #deansluyter #meditation #wisdomteaching

In this session, TSTB talks to legendary psychiatrist Dr. Bertrand Cramer. Born in 1934 in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Cramer moved to New York City at age 26 and graduated from the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. A pioneer in child and infant psychiatry, Dr. Cramer has maintained a private practice for the past 27 years. He has authored eight books, including "The Earliest Relationship" — co-written with Dr. T. Berry Brazelton — and "The Scripts Parents Write and the Roles Babies Play." His 100 or so articles include "Evaluating Mother-Infant Psychotherapies" and "The Transmission of Womanhood from Mother to Daughter." He has taught at Harvard University and Geneva University Medical School and currently lives in Switzerland. In this interview, Dr. Cramer talks about his childhood in Switzerland and his experiences with his own parents and family. He talks about his work studying Munchausen syndrome, his observations on the complex relationships of mothers and children, and his recent studies of children experiencing gender dysphoria. #psychiatry #childpsychiatry #infantpsychiatry #childpsychology #mothersandbabies #mothersanddaughters #tberrybrazelton #familydrama #familysecrets

Note: The opinions expressed by our guests are not necessarily those of The Story Talks Back or David Stanton.

Now 88 years old, Dr. Bertrand Cramer is one of the world's most respected child and adolescent psychiatrists. With his book "The Scripts Parents Write and the Roles Children Play," Dr. Cramer delivered breakthrough insights on the power of family stories to influence childhood development. He also collaborated with best-selling author and fellow psychiatrist T. Berry Brazelton on the now-classic work "The Earliest Attachment: Parents, Infants, and the Drama of Early Attachment." In this excerpt from our forthcoming full interview with Dr. Cramer -- who lives in Switzerland -- he talks about the inherent connect between psychiatric practice and stories -- a link that can be traced all the way back to Freud. #psychiatry #psychiatric #childpsychiatry #childhoodfears #parentsandchildren #parentsandkids #familystories #attachment #childhood #sigmundfreud #carljung #stories #storytelling #storytellers #tberrybrazelton #bertrandcramer

Photo credit: Booknode

TSTB talks to artist filmmaker Toby Amies. Based on the South Coast of England, Amies makes long and short films about the creative process in what he calls “a vain attempt to compensate for his inability to come to terms with time and its passage.” He is the director of the award-winning 2012 documentary “The Man Whose Mind Exploded,” and the widely praised 2022 film “in the Court of the Crimson King” — a revealing exploration of the extraordinary British prog rock band King Crimson and its 50-year history. Amies reports that he is hoping for an Autumn worldwide release of the Crimson movie, which Chris Willman of Variety has said is "about as good as rock documentaries get.” #kingcrimson #progrock #robertfripp #billbruford #johnwetton #documentary #documentaryfilmmaker #documentaryvideo #musicdocumentary #musicvideo #progressiverock #progressiverockmusic #toyahwilcox #bobbywilcox

Toby Amies' "In the Court of the Crimson King" is already being celebrated as a classic among rock music documentaries -- and it hasn't even been officially released. Amies spent months following legendary guitarist Robert Fripp and his latest incarnation of the extraordinary music collective known as King Crimson -- now more than five decades old. The film is a singularly personal and truly engrossing look at a band from the inside, with revealing commentary from over 20 past and present members. Throughout the movie, Amies is a welcome, unifying presence -- his off-camera voice posing sometimes-uncomfortable questions, always to the viewer's benefit. In this brief excerpt from our forthcoming full interview, Amies describes his instinctive, spontaneous approach to documentary storytelling. #kingcrimson #inthecourtofthecrimsonking #robertfripp #documentaries #directors #documentarydirectors #rockdocumentaries #progrock #progressiverock #storytelling #storytellers #stories #filmmakers #filmmakersoncraft

TSTB interviews Dr. Judith Ruskay Rabinor --- clinical psychologist, author, speaker, and writing coach. She is supervisor at The Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia and a consultant to The Renfrew Center Foundation.

Dr. Rabinor is the author of "The Girl in the Red Boots: Making Peace with My Mother" … "A Starving Madness: Tales of Hunger, Hope and Healing" … and "Befriending Your Ex After Divorce: Making Life Better for You, Your Kids and Yes Your Ex." She offers psychotherapy on-line for individuals, couples and families and conducts groups for binge eaters, clinicians and writers.

mothersday #motherlove #motherstruggles #mothersanddaughters #psychotherapy #psychoanalysis #thetalkingcure #newyorkcity #NYCtherapists #mothersday2022 #understandingmoms #difficultmothers

Dr. Judith Rabinor is the author, most recently, of the powerful memoir "The Girl in the Red Boots: Making Peace with My Mother." As a psychotherapist practicing in New York City, Dr. Rabinor has made mother/daughter relationships one of her specialties -- but she still faced big challenges in coming to terms with the complex legacy of her own Mom. In this timely excerpt from our forthcoming full interview, Dr. Rabinor talks about coming to terms with her mother's refusal to acknowledge negative feelings of any kind -- an emotional armor that felt almost impenetrable at times. #mothersday #motherlove #motherstruggles #mothersanddaughters #psychotherapy #psychoanalysis #thetalkingcure #newyorkcity #NYCtherapists

TSTB interviews Bianca Stone -- gifted poet, visual artist, creator of 'poetry comics, and educator. Her brand-new verse collection, What Is Otherwise Infinite, has been featured on NPR and in The New York Times and has been called "extraordinary" by The Washington Post. Stone is also the author of The Mobius Strip Club of Grief (2018) and Someone Else's Wedding Vows (2014), as well as A Little Called Pauline (2020), a children’s book with text by Gertrude Stein. Stone teaches poetry and is Creative Director at the Ruth Stone House in Vermont. #stories #storytelling #storytellers #poetry #poetrylovers #poems #poetrycollections #poetrycomics #graphicnovels #biancastone #annecarson #ruthstone #vermont #vermontpoets #vermontartists

Bianca Stone is a gifted poet, visual artist, and creator of 'poetry comics who affirms and celebrates life even as she acknowledges its dark, desperate moments. Her brand-new verse collection, What Is Otherwise Infinite, has been featured on NPR and hailed as "extraordinary" by The Washington Post. She is also the author of The Mobius Strip Club of Grief (2018) and Someone Else's Wedding Vows (2014). In this excerpt from our forthcoming full conversation with Stone, she talks about searching for the best words to convey an experience, and why the heart of storytelling lies in the connections between storytellers and their audiences. #stories #storytelling #storytellers #poetry #poetrylovers #poems #poetrycollections #poetrycomics #graphicnovels #biancastone #annecarson #ruthstone

TSTB interviews the legendary Jack Rabid -- music writer and critic extraordinaire. Hailed as the “godfather of punk rock journalism,” Rabid is the founder, editor, and publisher of New York music magazine The Big Takeover, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2020. His writing has appeared in Interview, the Village Voice, Creem, Spin, Paper, Trouser Press Record Guide, and Musichound, and he hosts "The Big Takeover Show" on realpunkradio.com every Monday at noon. Over the years, Rabid has interviewed and profiled artists from Radiohead to the Kinks to the Clash and championed hundreds of up-and-coming artists. He is also a drummer who has played with the bands Leaving Trains, Even Worse, Last Burning Embers, and Springhouse. Rabid lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Mary, and their children Jim and Caroline. #punk #punkrock #punkrockstories #stories #storyteller #storytelling #alternativerock #rockjournalists #bands #bandstories #sexpistols #theclash #radiohead #thesmiths #thekinks #thepretenders #musicstories #musicjournalists

At the age of 18 -- while still in high school -- Jack Rabid founded "The Big Takeover," a magazine devoted to the alternative music that had become his obsession. Over 40 years later, TBT (as its known by fans) has become a powerful force on the rock/punk landscape, and Rabid has become a legend in his own right. In this excerpt from our forthcoming interview, Rabid tells how his love of rock music began even before kindergarten, and why punk music was and is his central focus as a writer, publisher, and fan. #tbt #thebigtakeover #punkrock #punkmusic #alternativerock #alternativemusic #fanzines #magazinepublishing #magazinewriting #musicinterviews #jackrabid

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TSTB shares a wide-ranging interview with Richard Kostelanetz, a powerful presence in New York's avant-garde literary and art scenes for several generations. Born in New York City in 1940, Kostelanetz has published more than fifty books of criticism, cultural history, and creative work, in addition to editing over three dozen anthologies. Relentlessly experimental and productive, Kostelanetz is a “force of one” in the New York City avant garde scene – creating “visual poetry,” “audiotapographies,” “foreshortenings,” “kinetic writings,” and works in dozens of other obscure, fascinating, and sometimes self-created genres. His more conventional works include a 700-page “Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes”; an intimate history of the Soho, New York, arts scene; and rich anthologies by or about John Cage, E. E. Cummings, Philip Glass, Virgil Thomson, and other writers and composers. Kostelanetz has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, The Fund for Investigative Journalism, the Pulitzer Foundation, and others. Dubbed ‘“the Bibliomaniac of Ridgewood” by The New York Times, Kostelanetz lives in a converted factory building in Queens that he calls “Wordship” – surrounded by over 25,000 books, hundreds of videotapes, and his own artwork. He opens a section of his home as a bookshop on the last Sunday of each month. At the beginning of our interview, Kostelanetz continues an earlier train of thought about an artist who interests him. He also speaks to his assistant, Andrew Morinelli, at several points in our conversation. #richardkostelanetz #johncage #virgilthomson #eecummings #avantgarde #avantgardesoho #avantgardeNYC #eastvillageart #greenwichvillage #soholofts #loftliving #sohogalleries #experimentalfiction #experimentalwriting #digitalpublishing #digitalpress

Since the 1960s, Richard Kostelanetz has been a distinctive voice for experimentation in poetry, fiction, and criticism. The author or editor of over 100 books, Kostelanetz has been an integral part of the New York City avant-garde scene for several generations, working in a seemingly inexhaustible variety of boundary-crossing genres -- among them “visual poetry,” “audiotapographies,” “foreshortenings,” and “kinetic writings.” He has also published anthologies and analyses of composer/author John Cage, critic Virgil Thomson, poet e e cummings, and many others. In this excerpt from our forthcoming full-length interview with Kostelanetz, he talks about the path of discovery he has followed as an artist and entrepreneur. #richardkostelanetz #johncage #virgilthomson #eecummings #avantgarde #avantgardesoho #avantgardeNYC #eastvillageart #greenwichvillage #soholofts #loftliving #sohogalleries #experimentalfiction #experimentalwriting #digitalpublishing #digitalpress

TSTB interviews the extraordinary Julie Lythcott-Haims -- author of the best-selling "How to Raise an Adult"; "Real American" -- a powerful poetic memoir of Black biracial life in white American spaces; and "Your Turn," a wise perspective on being an adult in today's complex world. Lythcott-Haims talks to us about becoming a source of white discomfort and confusion during her Midwest childhood; finding her voice -- and rediscovering her traumatic past -- through writing; and using her compassion and intelligence to help people come to terms with their experiences. #stories #storytellers #storytelling #memoir #adulthood #beinganadult #howtoraiseanadult #yourturn #realamerican #AfricanAmerican #Black #Blacklife #Blackstories #biracial #biraciallife #biracialstories #biracialidentity #Blackchildhood #racism #racialprejudice #socialjustice #racialequality #socialequality #martinlutherkingjr #civilrights #civilrightsmovement #blacklivesmatter

Born to a white English mother and African-American father, Julie Lythcott-Haims came to the US as a child and quickly discovered the powerful, enigmatic force of American racism. She beautifully -- and forcefully -- records this and other indelible life experiences in her celebrated memoir, "Real American." In this clip from our forthcoming interview with Lythcott-Haims, she talks about her inescapable feeling of being an "other" in a seemingly homogeneous racial landscape. #realamerican #julielythcotthaims #racism #USracism #racialidentity #biracial #biracialidentity #biracialexperience #biracialboomers #themulattotrope #beingtheother #racematters #prejudice #whiteracism #whitesupremacy #mlk #malcolmx #blacklivesmatter

In this candid and wide-ranging interview, a veteran actor reveals the secrets of great Hollywood storytelling -- in front of the camera and behind. In a career spanning four decades, Michael Horton acted in dozens of TV-land’s most celebrated series, including “Murder, She Wrote,” “MAS*H,” “Taxi,” “Hill Street Blues,” “LA Law,” and “ER." He also gave voice to characters in numerous animated series and appeared in over 2,000 TV and radio commercials. On stage, Horton has appeared in several of Shakespeare’s plays at the famed Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and many other theatres. Most recently he has been co-host of the Digital Production Buzz podcast and is organizer and moderator for the Creative Pro User Group, which brings together thousands of behind-the-scenes Hollywood professionals to share tips and accomplishments. #hollywood #acting #actingstories #filmstories #hollywoodstories #actingsecrets #actingtips #greatactors #shakespeare #shakespeareanactors #behindthescenesmovies #behindthescenestv #classiccommercials #TVcommercials #TVstories #classicTVshows #MASH #murdershewrote #ERshow #LALaw #hillstreetblues #startrek #movieeditors #movieediting #belowtheline #IATSE #makeupartists #onsetstories #filmdirectors

As an actor, Michael Horton appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies across a career that spanned four decades -- from "MAS*H" to "Hill Street Blues" to "Star Trek: Voyager." But in recent years he has devoted himself to helping Hollywood's behind-the-scenes professionals, facilitating a recurring "meetup" in which editors, set designers, make-up artists, and others share tips and simply get to know each other. In this excerpt from our forthcoming interview with Horton, he talks about the importance of these crucial storytellers to the making of movies, TV shows -- and even commercials. #hollywood #hollywoodstories #moviestories #moviemagic #moviemaking #moviemakers #acting #editing #finalcutpro #makeupartists #setdesigners #hollywoodstrike #hillstreetblues #mash #startrekactors #startrekvoyager #murdershewrote #columbo #IATSE #AMPTP #filmeditors #filmproducers #stories #storytelling #storytellers

Is it possible that the most important months of your life -- the stories that have been shaping you ever since -- took place before you were born? Laura Uplinger is an educator and scholar focusing on our prenatal and peri-natal lives -- before and just after we were born. In this new interview, she explores how our awareness of and need for stories is part of us even before birth, and how stories all around us when we are small influence us in profound ways. Over more than 30 years, Uplinger has conducted workshops and presentations at conferences in Europe, North America and South America. She served for eleven years on the board of directors of APPPAH, the Association for Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology and Health. Currently, she is vice president of Brazil’s National Association for Prenatal Education, or ANEP. Uplinger received a degree in Applied Psychology from the Sorbonne and has been a student of the spiritual teachings of Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov, for several decades. #prenatallife #prenataleducation #perinatallife #perinatalexperience #womblife #wombpsychology #prenatalwisdom #mothersandbabies #babies #beforebirth #psychology #appliedpsychology #sorbonne #aivanhov #prenatalcare #doula #midwife #birthcenter #waterbirth #calmbirth #naturalbirth #motherandbaby #traumaticbirth #prebirthtrauma #childhoodtrauma #prenatalcounseling

TSTB interviews Dani Shapiro -- the author of Inheritance, which became an instant New York Times best seller in January 2019. In this touching and insightful dialogue, Shapiro talks to a friend of 40+years -- TSTB host David Stanton -- about the extraordinary ways her own story has been disrupted, reinvented, and ultimately made whole again. She tells how stories and storytelling "saved her" in difficult times, and how she naturally assumed the role of observer and recorder of her world.

Shapiro's other books include the memoirs Hourglass, Still Writing, Devotion, and Slow Motion, as well as five novels. In February of 2019, Shapiro launched an original podcast, Family Secrets, which recently surpassed a remarkable 20 million downloads. Produced by iHeartMedia, the series features stories from guests who—like Shapiro — have uncovered life-altering secrets from their families’ pasts.

Shapiro has taught at Columbia and New York universities and has led writing workshops around the world. She is also cofounder of the Sirenland Writers Conference in Positano, Italy. Shapiro lives with her family in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

danishapiro #memoir #storyteller #storytelling #stories #spiritualstories #marriagestories #devotion #hourglass #slowmotion #falsememory #lostparents #dnasurprises #dnatests #dnatestresults #familysecrets #secretparents #secretsrevealed #biologicalparents #podcasts #podcasthost #iheartmedia #oprah #oprahwinfrey #soulsunday #sharonsalzberg #genealogy #DNAtests #DNAsurprises #ancestrydotcom #genealogysurprises #DNAprivacy #genetics #genetictesting #dnadiscoveries @geneticdiscoveries

In her nationwide best seller Inheritance, Dani Shapiro tells how her most fundamental sense of self -- the story of her own life -- was upended. Secrets held for decades unraveled in a matter of hours, and she learned that her feeling of being an outsider in her orthodox Jewish family was rooted in fact. This extraordinary experience has given Shapiro a front-row seat on the interplay of story, identity, and self-knowledge -- yielding sometimes painful but also liberating insights that she shares in this excerpt from our forthcoming full interview. Shapiro's other memoirs include Devotion, Slow Motion, and Hourglass, and she is the host of the iHeart Media podcast Family Secrets, which recently surpassed 20 million downloads. #familysecrets #inheritance #danishapiro #lostfamilies #dna #genetics #familyhistory #memoir #dnarevelations

A pianist, visual artist, and educator, Jane Stanton (1921 - 2008) was the mother of TSTB creator and host David Stanton. In this program honoring what would have been her 100th birthday (August 2, 2021), Jane is remembered by three of her former students and colleagues -- talking about her passion for empowering students (especially women), her compassion as a friend and confidante, and her infectious love of music, from Debussy to Sinatra. #pianists #keyboardists #educators #greatteachers #inspiringteachers #musiceducators #musicteachers #graphicartrists #fashionartists #beveridgewebster #carlosbuhler #defalla #albeniz #debussy #newjerseyfederationofmusicclubs #sububanmusicstudyclub #caldwelluniversity #montclairstateuniversity

When Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor -- a Harvard trained brain scientist -- suffered a massive stroke in 1996, the experience set her on a journey of discovery that would touch people of all kinds and in all parts of the world. Her 2008 TED Talk was the first to go viral (it's now been seen by over 26 million people), and her best-selling book, My Stroke of Insight, continues to inform and inspire people with its extraordinary revelations about the brain and consciousness. Her latest book, Whole Brain Living, explores the four distinct "characters" that reside in everyone's brain -- and in this moving interview, she reveals how storytelling has been essential to her success as a scientist, and how each of us is biologically hard-wired to see the world through the lens of story. #stories #storytelling #storytellers #scientists #brainscience #braininjury #stroke #strokerecovery #strokestories #strokesurvivors #mystrokeofinsight #tedtalks #brainhemorrhage #brainfunction #drawingontherightsideofthebrain #STEM #STEMstories #STEMresearch #bestsellers

In her breakthrough 2008 TED Talk -- the first viral video in that now-storied series -- Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor took her audience on a remarkable journey. With passion and a powerful engagement, she told the story of her severe brain hemorrhage -- an incredible tale recounted in her New York Times best-seller My Stroke of Insight -- and what it taught her about life, intelligence, and the brain. Throughout her story, Dr. Taylor was deeply committed to bringing her audience along at every step -- even though it forced her to be painfully vulnerable about her experience. In this excerpt from our forthcoming interview, she talks about the importance of respecting and moving audiences in storytelling -- and how their simple presence can elevate your narrative. #mystrokeofinsight #strokestories #neurology #brainscience #braininjury #bestsellers #stories #storytellers #storytelling #TIMEinfluentialpeople #jillboltetaylor #TEDtalk #TEDtalks #oliversacks

TSTB interviews Gary Husband, a unique "dual virtuoso" at home in many musical styles and settings. With an equal mastery of both keyboard and drums, Gary Husband has collaborated with a who’s-who of celebrated musicians in modern jazz and progressive rock. He has toured and recorded with John McLaughlin, Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, and Allan Holdsworth, and has also worked with the likes of Chick Corea, Robin Trower, Sir George Martin, Al Jarreau, and Quincy Jones.

Husband is currently in preparations for recording his 12th solo album, “One, ” and is creating a new electric album with guitarist Alf Terje Hana. Husband also appears -- playing both keyboard and drums -- on John McLaughlin’s upcoming album “Liberation Time.”

#stories #storytelling #storytellers #fusionjazz #jazzmasters #milesdavis #allanholdsworth #johnmclaughlin #jeffbeck #cream #jackbruce #musicalinterviews #virtuosos #composers #drummers #keyboardists

We are thrilled to share this excerpt of our forthcoming interview with Gary Husband, the virtuoso British drummer and keyboardist who has collaborated with a who's-who of fusion jazz and progressive rock -- from Jeff Beck and Jack Bruce to John McLaughlin and Allan Holdsworth. Here Husband explores differences between composing and improvising in musical storytelling -- and the "power of 3's" in songwriting. Look for our full conversation with Gary in the near future! #stories #storytelling #allanholdsworth #johnmclaughlin #jeffbeck #cream #jackbruce #musicalinterviews #virtuosos #composers #drummers #keyboardists

TSTB interviews T. Coraghessan Boyle -- the author of twenty-eight books of fiction, including Descent of Man, Water Music, World’s End (which won the PEN/Faulkner Prize), The Road to Wellville, Drop City, The Women, TC Boyle Stories, and Outside Looking In. His work has been translated into more than two dozen languages, and his fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, and many other publications. Since 1978 he has been a member of the English Department at the University of Southern California, where he is Distinguished Professor of English. He currently lives near Santa Barbara with his wife and three children. #tcboyle #tcoraghessanboyle #story #storyteller #stories #storytelling #fiction #creativewriting #satire #sarcasm #shortstories #novels #comedians #humorists #rocknovelists #franklloydwright #LSD #cannabis #cannabisfiction #marijuananovels #awardwinningfiction #californiawriters #lawriters #HudsonRiverwriters #HudsonRiverfiction #NewYorkState #NewYorkwriters

T. Coraghessan Boyle -- the author of 28 remarkable and completely distinctive books of fiction -- has a powerful perspective on the need for #stories. In this excerpt from our forthcoming interview with Boyle, he tells how stories have helped him come to terms with life's absurdity -- and turn it into a lifelong dialogue with the process of #storytelling. #tcboyle #tcoraghessanboyle #shortstories #novels #absurdism #existentialism #modernfiction #metafiction #creativewriting #writingmentors #wellville #franklloydwright #environmentalism #cannabis @usc @tcboyle

An interview with Bob Minkin, whose photographs have documented four decades of rock music. His special focus has been on Blues musicians, the Punk scene of the late 1970s, and “Jamband” music typified by the Grateful Dead. He has photographed thousands of concerts, and his work has appeared in countless music publications and books, as well as on CD and record album covers. Minkin has published three elegant collections of his images -- Live Dead, The Music Never Stopped, and Just Jerry. A graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, Minkin now lives with his family in Marin County, California, and continues to document the music scene there and across the country. To learn more about his work, go to www.minkinphotographystore.com. #gratefuldead #deadheads #deadphotos #deadandcompany #jerrygarcia #jerrygarciaband #bobweir #phillesh #rockphotos #concertphotos #hottuna #jormakaukonen #barrymitterhoff #phish #terrapincrossroads

Bob Minkin has become one of rock music's most respected photgraphers -- documenting thousands of concerts with indelible images seen around the world. His most powerful connection is to the Grateful Dead, the legendary "jam" band he has photographed -- in all of its manifestations -- since the 1970s. In this excerpt from our forthcoming interview, Minkin talks about discovering rock music as a teenager and the growth of his special love for the Dead.

Photo: Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, by Bob Minkin

A revealing interview with Brazilian-born poet and fiction writer Ananda Lima. Her poetry collection Mother/land (Black Lawrence Press, 2021) won the 2020 Hudson Prize. She is also the author of the chapbooks: Translation (Paper Nautilus, 2019, winner of the Vella Chapbook Prize), Amblyopia (Bull City Press – INCH series, 2020), and Tropicália (Newfound, 2021 winner of the Newfound Prose Prize). Her work has appeared in The American Poetry Review, Poets.org, Kenyon Review Online, Gulf Coast, Poet Lore, The Common, and elsewhere. She has an MA in Linguistics from UCLA and an MFA in Creative Writing in Fiction from Rutgers University, Newark. #anandalima #poetrylovers #fictionwriters #shortstories #poems #surrealism #sciencefiction #amblyopia #lazyeye #stories #storytellers #creativewriting #fictionworkshops #tropicalia #cannibalism #latinamericanfiction #brazil #expatriates #brazilianwriters #brazlilianfiction #brazilianpoetry #claricelispector #americanpoetryreview #kenyonreview

Brazilian-born author Ananda Lima has already established remarkable -- and remarkably different -- styles in her fiction and poetry. New story collections like "Tropicalia" rest on sometimes-surreal premises, such as a hospital orderly who becomes addicted to snacking on tiny humans. But Lima's poems reflect more of her everyday world, including the struggles with amblyopia (a.k.a. "lazy eye") that she and her young son share. This excerpt from our forthcoming full interview explores Lima's view of her approaches to fiction and verse. #anandalima #poetrylovers #fictionwriters #shortstories #poems #surrealism #sciencefiction #amblyopia #lazyeye #stories #storytellers #creativewriting #fictionworkshops #tropicalia #cannibalism #latinamericanfiction #brazilianwriters #brazlilianfiction #brazilianpoetry #claricelispector

Joel Gardner is a filmmaker, photographer, and writer who lives in Vermont. His documentary, "Sunlight Man," tells the story of his late father, the novelist John Gardner, and their complex relationship. Joel lost his father at age 22, after a tumultuous decade in which the elder Gardner shot to fame, mentored many now-famous writers, divorced twice, published a scathing critique of modern fiction, and died in a motorcycle accident at age 49 -- just as he was hoping for a comeback. In this intimate and insightful conversation, Joel talks candidly about his Dad, the making of "Sunlight Man," and his own creative and emotional journey. #sunlightman #johngardner #joelgardner #grendel #creativewriting #fictionwriting #stories #shortstories #storytellers #writingmentors #fictionworkshops #julietaymor #theartoffiction #raymondcarver #johnupdike #williamgass #kurtvonnegut #catch22 #bernardmalamud

In an all-new panel discussion, TSTB celebrates the life and work of Ruth Lisa Schechter -- poet, activist, editor, healer, and mentor. Raised in the Bronx during the Great Depression, Schechter discovered a passion for poetry and studied with the legendary Louise Bogan. Schechter admired the freewheeling verse of Ginsberg and the confessional poets -- but she was also meticulous about craft and precise language. This emotional and revealing appreciation features world-renowned poet and visual artist Maria Mazziotti Gillan, award-winning poet and teacher Maureen Seaton, and Schechter's younger son, Bill. The session begins with an extensive account of Schechter's life and creative joruney from her son, followed by reminiscences and readings from Gillan and Seaton. #story #stories #storytelling #storytellers #poet #poetrylovers #writers #mentors #creativewriting #creativewriters #NewYorkwriters #NewYorkpoets #PatersonReview #MariaGillan #MaureenSeaton #RuthLisaSchechter #CrotonReview #CrotonNY #CrotononHudson #Patersonpoets #Bronx #Bronxwriters #Bronxpoets #allenginsberg #annesexton #sylviaplath #louisebogan

Today, Maria Mazziotti Gillan is a world-renowned poet, editor, and visual artist; but when she met the late poet Ruth Lisa Schechter, she was a "typical Italian housewife" who was just beginning her journey as a writer. In this excerpt from our forthcoming TSTB tribute to Schechter -- a panel discussion with Gillan, poet Maureen Seaton, and Schechter's son Bill -- she describes her fateful first visit to Schechter's home in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. #story #stories #storytelling #storytellers #poet #poetrylovers #writers #mentors #creativewriting #creativewriters #NewYorkwriters #NewYorkpoets #PatersonReview #MariaGillan #MaureenSeaton #RuthLisaSchechter #CrotonReview #CrotonNY #CrotononHudson #Patersonpoets

In this moving interview, philosopher and advocate Bayo Akomolafe reflects on the stories of his Yoruba culture, his Westernized Nigerian childhood, and his present-day "decolonizing journey." Raised in a Christian family, he gave up a promising academic career to pursue a life outside “the highways of the familiar.” Akomolafe is co-editor of “We Will Tell Our Own Stories: The Lions of Africa Speak!” and author of “These Wilds Beyond Our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity’s Search for Home.” He lives in India with his “life-force,” Ijeoma (or Ej), and their two children, Alethea Aanya and Kyah Jayden. #stories #storytelling #africanstories #africanstorytelling #yoruba #nigeria #nigerianculture #alternativehealing #colonialsm #postcolonialculture #bayoakomolafe #westernculture #folktales #academia #chinua achebe #thingsfallapart

Born into a Yoruba family in Nigeria, Bayo Akomolafe is a philosopher, advocate, teacher, and deep observer of our world. After graduating summa cum laude in psychology at Covenant University, he was invited to take up a lecturing position. Instead, Bayo embarked on doctoral research into Yoruba indigenous healing systems, struggling to regain a sense of rootedness to his community. In this excerpt from our forthcoming interview with Bayo, he describes discovering the stories of his people and culture as an adult -- after growing up in a post-colonial world shaped by Western values and ideas. #stories #storytelling #africanstories #africanstorytelling #yoruba #nigeria #nigerianculture #alternativehealing #colonialsm #postcolonialculture #bayoakomolafe #westernculture

In this wide-ranging interview, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon shares stories of his childhood in Northern Ireland, describes his "hunch by hunch" approach to writing, and reflects on his passion for rock music -- including his friendship and collaboration with the late Warren Zevon.

Hailed by the Times Literary Supplement as “the most significant English-language poet” born since World War II, Muldoon has won a Pulitzer Prize and dozens of other honors. His 30-plus verse collections include Quoof; Moy Sand and Gravel; Madoc: A Mystery; and 2019’s Frolic and Detour. For 10 years, beginning in 2007, he was the poetry editor of The New Yorker. Since 1987, Muldoon has been a professor at Princeton University, where he teaches poetry and songwriting. His next collection of verse, Howdie-Skelp, will be published in November 2021.

In this excerpt from his forthcoming interview with The Story Talks Back, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon looks back to the stories of his childhood in Northern Ireland. He tells how storytelling was a way of life among the farmers he grew up with -- and how a fellow altar boy kept Muldoon up to speed on the latest American movies while they waited for the "Big Show" (high mass) to begin ... #irishpoetry #irishstorytelling #paulmuldoon #pulitzerprize

An interview with Joan Jeanrenaud -- cellist with Kronos Quartet for over 20 years. From 1978 to 1999, she participated in the development and premieres of hundreds of original works -- by Philip Glass, Terry Riley, John Cage, Hamza El Din, John Zorn, Frank Zappa, and many others. She took part in the quartet’s meteoric rise and its maturing into a central player in the new music scene,. When Jeanrenaud left the quartet -- after discovering that she had early-stage Multiple Sclerosis -- she began a new journey as a composer and solo performer. Her 2008 album, Strange Toys, was nominated for a Grammy Award, and she has collaborated with a variety of performers and writers, including Fred Frith, and PC Munoz. In 2016, Jeanrenaud contributed a piece, “Knock,” to Kronos’s “50 for the Future” series. #stories #storytelling #storytellers #frankzappa #johnzorn #johncage #terryriley #hamzaeldin #overcomingdisability #multiplesclerosis #kronosquartet #cellists #inspiringstories #avantgardemusic #composers #performers

In this excerpt from her forthcoming conversation with TSTB, Joan Jeanrenaud -- longtime cellist with Kronos Quartet -- recalls working with Terry Riley in the 1970s, when he was just beginning his career as a formal composer. As Riley transitioned from a purely improvised, non-written style, Kronos played a pivotal role in shaping such classic works as "G Song" and "Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector" -- both discussed in this fasacinating clip. #@minimalism #minimalistmusic #terryriley #philipglass #experimentalmusic #stringquartet #composers #cellists #stories #storytelling #storytellers #kronosquartet

Photo by Marion Ettinger, circa 1998

An interview with Carolyn Forché, who upset the polite norms of the poetic establishment in 1981 with her breakthrough poetry collection, The Country Between Us. Centered on a cycle of poems inspired by Forché’s months reporting in war-torn El Salvador, the book was named the 1981 Lamont Poetry Selection and became a bestseller among poetry collections. Almost 40 years later, Forché was a National Book Award finalist for her first full-length book of prose, a memoir of her time in El Salvador titled What You Have Heard Is True. Forché has also published three other books of poetry -- including The Angel of History, which the Los Angeles Times named the best poetry book of 1994, and In the Lateness of the World, which was published earlier this year to high acclaim. She teaches at Georgetown University, where she directs the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice. #poetry #poems #poetrylovers #poetinterviews #politicalpoetry #poetryfans #elsalvador #oscarromero #saintoscarromero #revolutionaryuprisings #dictatorships #carolynforche #margaretatwood #thehandmaidstale #mountsainthelens #indigenouswriters #littlewomen #femalepoets

Even before Carolyn Forché published her breakthrough poetry collection The Country Between Us, the book caused controversy. Featuring stark, sometimes graphic depictions of war-torn El Salvador, where Forché had traveled in the late 1970s, the manuscript seemed destined to remain in a drawer -- until the poet took a fateful all-night car ride with legendary novelist Margaret Atwood. #poetry #poems #elsalvador #margaretatwood #carolynforche #thecountrybetweenus #thehandmaidstale #politicalpoetry #oscarromero

An interview with Thomas Avino -- composer, poet, and painter with roots in the avant-garde New York City music and art worlds of the 1970s. While others were standing in line outside Studio 54, Avino was haunting the tiny clubs and lofts where Eugene Chadbourne, Arto Lindsay, and others were playing high-energy improvisational music -- an idiom that has since been absorbed into strains of mainstream classical, rock, and jazz. Avino studied saxophone with the legendary John Zorn and composition with Philip Johnston of the Microscopic Septet. In 1999, he released a beautifully crafted CD, Heart of Hearts, which is now available on Bandcamp. And, more recently, he has been creating richly evocative “story paintings” on his Instagram account, A Cool Breeze on the Chain Gang. #johnzorn #avantgardemusic #eugenechadbourne #sohoarts #greenwichvillagemusic #johncage #OCD #OCDstories #OCDprofiles #thekitchen #earinn

In his early twenties, composer and painter Thomas Avino took lessons in saxophone -- and life -- from the legendary John Zorn. A pivotal figure in New York's downtown music scene of the 1970s and '80s, Zorn was intimidating to some -- but to Avino, he offered $10 lessons that transcended music and continue to shape him today.

Zorn photo by Nick Ruechel

David Cay Johnston is a best-selling author, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and founder of DCreport.org. In a career of 50 years (and counting), Johnston has exposed corrupt LA police officers (including the city’s police chief), tracked down murderers, revealed hidden inequities in the tax code, and become a recurring thorn in the side of the 45th president. In 2001, Johnston won a Pulitzer for his probing New York Times stories on tax loopholes. His 2016 book, The Making of Donald Trump, became a national best seller. Johnston is a frequent commentator on MSNBC, CNN, and other outlets, and founded DCreport.org -- a nonprofit news service that doggedly tracks and analyzes the doings of the President and Congress. His latest book is It’s Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America. #donaldjtrump #trumpfraud #themakingofdonaldtrump #taxcode #taxloopholes #taxcheats #muckrakers #pulitzerprize @LATimes @NYTimes @DCreport

In his forthcoming session with The Story Talks Back, Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston talks about every phase of his life and career -- from his childhood in California to his founding of the news site DCreport.org. In this moving excerpt, Johnston recalls how he got his start in journalism -- by covering the same subject that would win him a Pulitzer 40-odd years later.

Tim Page is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, editor and critic who has forged a remarkable career from his passionate interests. As a child, he became a minor celebrity when Kodak promoted his amateur filmmaking in a commercial. His lifelong love of music led him to become a world-class critic — with the The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others newspapers. Page has written or edited more than 20 books, championing the work of pianist Glenn Gould, novelist Dawn Powell and composer Virgil Thomson. More recently, Page has written — in his book “Parallel Play” — about his discovery at age 45 that he has a form of Autism. In 2008, he founded an interdisciplinary music and journalism program at the University of Southern California, but chose to retire, after suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2015 — a life changing event from which he is still recovering. #glenngould #timpage #pulitzerprize #autismstories #autismprofiles #aspergers #dawnpowell #virgilthomson #philipglass #adaywithtimmypage @NYTImes @NYNewsday #sohoweeklynews @NPR #newoldandunexpected #interviews@washingtonpost

When Tim Page won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1997, it was the culmination of an aesthetic journey begun when he was a smalll child. In this excerpt from our forthcoming interview, Page reflects on the origins of his passion for music -- and how it led him to become a prolific writer before he even reached junior high school.

Photo: Young Timmy Page with his favorite companion -- the family turntable. (Courtesy of Tim Page)

Linda Gray Sexton is a memoirist and novelist whose books include Searching for Mercy Street and Half in Love . As the daughter of legendary poet Anne Sexton, she was immersed as a child in a world of uncertainty, manipulation, and impending loss. When her mother finally took her own life in 1974 -- after many attempts -- it left a legacy of confusion and grief that Linda Sexton has borne with courage and wisdom, despite her own struggles with mental illness. And as her mother’s literary executor, Sexton is continually re-immersed in her mother’s work and her world. She is currently at work on a new memoir and provides editorial guidance to authors of all types. #annesexton #confessionalpoets #sylviaplath #memoirs #memoirists #suicidestories #suicidesurvivors #poetry #poets

In this excerpt from my interview with Linda Gray Sexton -- memoirist, novelist, and daughter of the legendary poet Anne Sexton -- she talks about how her Mom helped her discover the pleasures of creating and collaborating ... but warned her against the writer's path.

In this excerpt from our interview with illusionist Kid Ace, he talks about his performing identity -- and how he feels about living in the everyday world.

As the founder, artistic director, and first violinist of Kronos Quartet, David Harrington has played a central role in developing a musical repertoire for the 21st century and beyond. He has worked with hundreds of composers across the globe and played thousands of concerts worldwide, from Carnegie Hall to Shanghai to Sydney. Now in its 47th year, Kronos has become perhaps the most important force in new music today, exploding the boundaries of the quartet repertoire as it commissions over 1,000 compositions and arrangements. With over 60 recordings and two Grammy Awards to its credit, Kronos is both well established and iconoclastic. Through its 50 for the Future project, Kronos is also bypassing conventional publishing and artistic systems to make the music of new and well-known composers alike available to everyone.

Dean Sluyter is a writer, teacher, lecturer, and expert on the Buddha dharma. His books include Fear Less, Natural Meditation, Cinema Nirvana, and The Zen Commandments. He has led meditation workshops across the US and in South America and has been featured in Oprah: The Magazine and elsewhere. For over 30 years, he taught English and literature at The Pingry School in New Jersey.

As the Managing Editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and then Los Angeles magazine, Ann Herold worked with prize-winning writers and helped to shape hundreds of human interest features. At the University of Southern California, she schooled several generations of journalism students in the arts of copy editing, line editing, and magazine writing. She is also a prize-winning journalist in her own right.

Born and raised in New York City, Kid Ace has become a top touring illusionist -- virtually and in person -- and has appeared on hundreds of stages across the US, as well as TV shows such as "Bill Nye Saves the World," "The Steve Harvey Show," and "The Kelly Clarkson Show."

Learn more about this new podcast and video interview show featuring writers, editors, musicians, illusionists, and many others.

Theme music: From "Play" by Merlijn Twaalfhoven, performed by Kronos Quartet for their Fifty for the Future series. www.kronosquartet.org.