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05-08-09: Agony Column Exclusive Podcast : Alan Cheuse, Three Books : Three Books by James D. Houston: 'Snow Mountain Passage', 'Bird of Another Heaven' and 'Where the Light Takes Its Color from the Sea'

It's been just three weeks since we lost Jim Houston, a writer I was privileged to call a friend. Alan Cheuse knew Jim as well, and it seemed to me only right that he and I share some of our thoughts on three of his books; 'Snow Mountain Passage', 'Bird of Another Heaven' and 'Where the Light Takes Its Color from the Sea.'

Sorrow and joy, good mixers. There's so much joy to be found in the work of Jim Houston, such life, that it's possible for moment to know that he lives on in every word he wrote and every word we read. Here's a link to my conversation with Alan Cheuse about three books by the late, great, Jim Houston.



05-07-09: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Peter Beagle Interviewed at SF in SF, Saturday, April 18, 2009 : "The more fantastic a story is, the more I try to ground it."

It’s always a pleasure to see Peter Beagle. He's a superb writer and reader, as the story he read at the last SF in SF shows. But he's also a natural raconteur, with an easygoing, rolling speaking style and, helpfully to me, a love of my NPR affiliate, KUSP, where he once worked as a DJ.

I have to admit that I was particularly taken by Peter's reading of 'Oakland Dragon Blues' at the most recent SF in SF. There was just something about his smooth combination of humor, surrealism and a sweet, intellectual fondness for the literary aspects of fantasy that really worked for me. We had a great time talking about his forthcoming books and his story. You can hear the interview by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



05-06-09: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Dick Lupoff Interviewed at SF in SF, Saturday, April 18, 2009 : "The manuscript even disappeared"

The last time I saw Lupoff was at one of my earliest shows for KUSP, when I did the "Small Press Round Table" (/agony/news/2004/07-12-04.htm#071204). It may be almost five years, but it seems like almost nothing. For me, the signature Lupoff work is 'Lovecraft's Book,' from Arkham House, which, as it happens is a sort of bowdlerized version of a much longer work. But Lupoff's appeal and abilities are a lot larger than this. He and I talked about his trilogy of tales, 'Terrors,' 'Visions' and 'Dreams.' Reader DJB wrote to mention that some of the stories therein can also be found in the Golden Gryphon collections 'Claremont Tales I' and 'Claremont Tales II.' Little does anyone know that some of my earliest book-searching explorations involved riding my bicycle from Covina to Claremont (some 15 miles) to go to the incredibly exotic (at the time) "Claremont Mall," where I could find a Pickwick Books that just might stock some of those Bantam Adult Fantasy titles edited by Lin Carter, the ones I couldn’t find in the wire rack of my local Lucky grocery store. But in one of those great bits of luck we interviewers occasionally encounter, I even got Lupoff to talk on mic about his experiences in the stone age of computing, working with the punch card behemoths. You can wind back the clock by following this link to the MP3 audio file.


05-05-09: Agony Column Podcast News Report : SF in SF Panel Discussion with Terry Bisson, Richard Lupoff and Peter Beagle, April 18, 2009

"Would you call these stories fantasy or science fiction?"


Talk about eternal questions! Once the writers have read their work at SF in SF, Terry Bisson gives 'em enough of a break to grab a drink, then sits them down and starts firing off the sort of questions that have no answer.

As you might expect the question of genre is indeed one of those questions that have no answer, but instead can summon forth a lot of commentary from writers who make their living selling genre fiction. For writers like Peter Beagle and Dick Lupoff, who write work that inhabits a sort of middle ground, the question of genre is indeed a tough question, and pertinent to their actual bottom line. Science fiction is not such a big seller, while fantasy is. To hear Beagle, Bisson and Lupoff duke it out over whether 'Oakland Dragon Blues' and 'T-Shirts' are fantasy, science fiction or something else entirely, just follow this link to the MP3 file.



05-04-09: A 2009 Interview With Andrea N. Richesin, Karen Joy Fowler and Ann Marie Feld : "She has just said to me the words, I think, every mother in her wildest dreams or most terrified nightmares does not wish to hear, which is, 'I've decided to write a memoir...'"

Karen Joy Fowler, Andrea N. Richesin, & Ann Marie Feld
...In this case, I'd signed up to talk to four writers. Alas, pretty early on, Joyce Maynard sent her regrets. I arrived at Capitola Book Café ready to interview three writers and was greeted by two; Karen Joy Fowler and Andrea N. Richesin ("Call me Nicki.") Anne Marie Feld, they told me was not going to be able to make it either. For me that was good news in that I was wondering whether I'd even be able to fit the four of us in that tiny office I use for interviews at Capitola Book Café. But it did mean a loss of variety in voices, and I had prepped for Feld. Which proved to be helpful, as she surprisingly showed up while I was standing there. And once again, I was glad I'd thought a bit about fitting four folks into that office.

Turns out it was pretty easy, and the interview was really wonderful. Fowler's often acerbic humor, Richesin's precision and Feld's warmth minimized my task. I barely had to nudge them to get them to talk. Feld spoke to her mother's mental illness, Fowler her daughter's independence and Richesin provided background, context and overview. All three were mothers of daughters, and you could sense the sort of mental telepathy, especially having crammed them in one small room. This (not surprisingly) turned out to be kind of an action-packed interview. You can get yourself in that small room by following this link to the MP3 audio file.


New to the Agony Column

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Erik Larson : " "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

03-01-15: Commentary : William Ury on Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents : To the BATNA, Robin!

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William Ury : ...he proceeded to shout at me for approximately 30 minutes..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 198: William Ury : Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents

02-22-15: Commentary : Jennifer Senior Experiences 'All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood' : Reading Fun for the Whole Fambly!

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jennifer Senior : "...it becomes a source of enormous tension once a baby comes along..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 197: Jennifer Senior : All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood

02-09-15: Commentary : Stewart O'Nan Looks 'West of Sunset' : Twilight of the Great

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Stewart O'Nan : "...we see him as a tragedian because is life is a tragedy..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 196: Stewart O'Nan : West of Sunset

02-04-15: Commentary : Armistead Maupin Maps 'The Days of Anna Madrigal' : Swiftly Flow the Years

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Armistead Maupin : "I could see what silliness was going on while it was happening..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 195: Armistead Maupin : The Days of Anna Madrigal

01-31-15: Commentary : Christine Carter's Path to 'The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work' : Neurohabits

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Christine Carter, Ph.D. : "...a real tipping point..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 194: Christine Carter, Ph.D. : The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work

01-23-15: Commentary : Jake Halpern Pushes 'Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld' : Non-Fiction 21st Century Noir

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jake Halpern : "...he goes to Las Vegas to this debt-buyers' convention..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 193: Jake Halpern : Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld

01-19-15: Commentary : David Shields and Caleb Powell Assert 'I Think You're Totally Wrong' : The Power to Bicker

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with David Shields and Caleb Powell : "I read no book reviews any more; the level of discussion is really pedestrian." David Shields "I'm just saying it's a conflict of interest!" Caleb Powell

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 192: David Shields and Caleb Powell : I Think You're Totally Wrong

01-17-15: Commentary : Charles Todd Expects 'A Fine Summer's Day' : We Interrupt This Program...

Commentary : Charles Todd Engages In 'A Test of Wills' : The Politics of Passion and Policing

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Charles and Caroline Todd : "...let them be themselves and sort it out..." Caroline Todd "...it's more on a personal level..." Charles Todd

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 191: Charles Todd : A Fine Summer's Day

01-13-15: Commentary : Rosalie Parker Unearths 'The Old Knowledge' : The New Old World

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Ray Russell and Rosalie Parker : "I thought I'd write something for fun.." Ray Russell "..there was a side of me of that was interested in the strangeness..." Ros Parker

01-12-15: Commentary : Richard Ford 'Let Me Be Frank with You' : The Default Years

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Richard Ford : "...most of our politicians are morons..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 190: Richard Ford : Let Me Be Frank with You

01-06-15: Commentary : Bessel van der Kolk 'The Body Keeps the Score' : Human Trauma

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Bessel van der Kolk : "...being able to see what happens in the brain really helps us to understand certain things..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 189: Bessel van der Kolk : The Body Keeps the Score

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