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"Rabbit at Rest" Brings an American Life to a Close

Writer John Updike recently completed his Rabbit series. He says that, while elements of his life show up in the protagonist Harry Angstrom, the books were never meant to be autobiographical.

11:05
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Other segments from the episode on October 17, 1990

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Octobrer 17, 1990: Interview with L.J. Davis; Review of three albums by Randy Weston; Interview with John Updike; Obituary for Art Blakey.
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06:15

Three Musical Portraits by Pianist Randy Weston

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the jazz musician's new albums. Weston spent a spent a decade in Tangiers; Whitehead says you can hear the percussive influence of West African music in his performances.

Review
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03:02

Remembering Art Blakey

Fresh Air remembers hard bop drummer Art Blakey with an interview excerpt from 1979. Blakey passed away yesterday at the age of 71.

Obituary

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03:56

John Updike Brings Rabbit to Rest

Book critic John Leonard reviews the fourth, and final installment in John Updike's Rabbit novels, Rabbit at Rest. Leonard says the first book was nearly perfect; this one is too concerned with capturing every aspect of the 1980s -- whether or not those references serve the story.

Review
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45:58

Novelist John Updike.

Writer John Updike. His new novel, "Toward the End of Time" (Knopf) is a chronicle of one man's life in America in the year 2020. Updike will read passages from the novel and answer questions posed by an audience in addition to the regular interview. Updike is the author of over forty volumes of work, and has received two Pulitzer prizes, the American Book Award, and two National Book Critic's Circle Awards. (Interview recorded at and for The Free Library of Philadelphia)

Interview

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52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

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43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

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