Books & Literature

African-American sociologist Terry Williams. He's the coauthor of Growing Up Poor, a highly-praised analysis of the effects of poverty that persists through several generations. His new book, The Cocaine Kids, is the story of a teenage drug ring. Since 1982 he has spent much of his time hanging out with teenage cocaine dealers in cocaine bars, after-hours clubs, discos, restaurants, crack houses, on street corners and at family gatherings and parties. What emerges is a portrait of the urban cocaine business. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Literary agent Richard Curtis. He's represented many bestselling authors, and has written some award-winning fiction of his own. He was the first president of the Independent Literary Agents Association, and he writes "Agent's Corner," a column for Locus magazine. His new book is called Beyond the Bestseller: A Literary Agent Takes You Inside the Book Business. It's an insider's guide to the literary world that includes discussion of literary agencies, advances, fees, royalties, expenses, and other advice for authors. (Interview with Sedge Thomson)

Writer and naturalist David Rains Wallace. His new book, Bulow Hammock: Mind in a Forest, chronicles his lifelong intrigue with the wild beauty of Bulow Hammock, a subtropical woodland near Daytona, Florida. Wallace is also the author of The Klamath Knot, The Turquoise Dragon, The Wilder Shore, and Idle Weeds. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Book Critic John Leonard reviews "Christopher Unborn," the new novel by Carlos Fuentes.

Writer Pico Iyer. His book Video Night in Kathmandu explores the subtle and often humorous Westernization of the Far East. Iyer, who reported for Time Magazine for four years, found the West's influence in mohawk haircuts in Bali, six Filipino girls doing a perfect rendition of a Madonna hit, Japan's baseball mania and a Chinese cafeteria that served dishes like "Yes, Sir, Cheese My Baby," and "Ike and Tuna Tuner." Video Night in Kathmandu has just been published in paperback. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Songwriter Fred Koller. He's one of Nashville's top songwriters. His songs have been recorded by Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Edmunds and Hank Williams Jr. He has also collaborated with John Prine, John Hiatt and Pat Alger. But in his book How to Pitch and Promote Your Song, Koller guides the novice songwriter through the music business, with tips on how best to present your songs. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Shelley Winters. With two Oscars and well over 100 films to her credit, Winters is a star in the classic Hollywood mode. But she is almost as well known for her off-screen adventures and irrepressible life style that made her a staple in the gossip columns.

Outdoorswoman and veteran river guide Kathleen Meyer. Her new book How to Shit in the Woods, examines in a non-Victorian way the hows and wheres of personal hygiene in the great outdoors. Behind the book's humorous tone and anecdotes is a serious issue - human waste, if not properly disposed, pollutes rivers and streams. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Book critic John Leonard reviews The Afternoon of a Writer, by Austrian novelist Peter Handke.

Reporter and novelist Ron Taylor. For the last 20 years, Taylor has reported on California agriculture, focusing on the life of farm laborers. Taylor was the first reporter to focus on Cesar Chavez, the migrant laborer who spearheaded the movement for a farm workers union with highly publicized work stoppages and boycotts of California produce. Taylor has written three books on the subject of farm labor: Sweatshops in the Sun, The Kid Business, and Chavez and the Farm Workers.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews The Real Thing, by Miles Orvell. Corrigan says the book is one of those works that attempts to explain just about everything in terms of one theory. Orwell's theory is that American culture has been driven by the tension between imitation and the desire for authenticity.

Writer Phillip Hoose. In his new book, Necessities: Racial Barriers in American Sports, Hoose examines the role of blacks in sport, from why there has never been a black Olympic swimmer to the continued use of racial information by the scouting agencies that survey high school basketball players. Hoose began the book after the furor sparked by baseball executive Al Campanis' remark on national TV that blacks lacked `the necessities' to manage a major league baseball or football team. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Poet Mark Halliday returns to Fresh Air to read one of his latest works. Halliday, an English professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has published several books of poetry. The most recent is titled Little Star.

Writer John McPhee. He's a classic example of a "writer's writer," one whose style is endlessly studied and mimicked, and whose effortlessness in moving between subjects as diverse as Alaskan geology, oranges, and birch-bark canoes is the envy of every freelancer. He's worked at The New Yorker magazine since the late 60s and is one of its most popular contributors.

Political writers Jack Germond and Jules Witcover. Their new book, Whose Broad Stripes and Bright Stars? is an examination of last year's Presidential election. In particular, the book focuses on the degree to which behind-the-scenes `handlers' determined the election's tone and outcome. The book also explores how the process of picking a president has changed in the 30 years that they have covered national politics. Germond and Witcover write the only nationally syndicated daily column devoted to politics.

Writer Daniel Stern. Stern's written nine novels, and he's just published his first book of short stories. It's called Twice Told Tales, and it pays homage to works by Hemingway, Freud, Lionel Trilling, Henry James, and E.M. Forster. Stern has also been a professional cellist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, an English professor, and the head of advertising for one of the TV networks.

Book Critic John Leonard reviews Nice Work, the new novel by David Lodge. It's a comedy about the clash of cultures between a college professor and a factory worker.

Writer and performer Bobbie Louise Hawkins. In addition to her poetry and prose, Hawkins is an artist, playwright and actress. Her books include One Small Saga, Back to Texas, Frenchy and Cuban Pete, Almost Everything. Her new book, My Own Alphabet, is a collection of stories, essays and memoirs. Hawkins also tours with Terry Garthwaite and Rosalie Sorrels in a performance that combines jazz, story-telling and folk music.

Myra Lewis. In 1958, when she was only 13 years old, Myra married rock star Jerry Lee Lewis, who was also her second cousin. The public controversy over that marriage ruined Lewis' career for over a decade. In 1982, Myra Lewis wrote a memoir of her life with Jerry Lee Lewis, titled Great Balls Of Fire. That book is the basis of the new movie starring Jerry Lee Lewis and Winona Ryder.

Film writer Aljean Harmetz. She covers the movie industry for The New York Times, reporting on the business side of Hollywood. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of "The Wizard of Oz," Harmetz has just re-released her first book, The Making of the Wizard of Oz. In it, she details the behind-the-scenes intrigue that almost scuttled what it is probably the most popular movie ever made.