Showing results for "Biography Today" in Art & Literature

A memoir is only a slice of a life. This "questory" (quest + history) covers more than the beloved cake-eating hippo. Not Just a Piece of Cake is a candid memoir of the realistic process of the process of creativity, via anecdotes.

Generoso Pope, Sr., an Italian immigrant, arrived in New York in 1906 with only pennies in his pocket. He got a job shoveling sand, but through his intelligence, he worked his way up to become the biggest provider of cement, just as it was becoming the key material for building. Gene Pope, Jr., was his father’s choice to inherit and run the business, but Gene’s mother and two brothers forced him out, and he found himself penniless and on his own. With a loan from his godfather, mobster Frank Costello, Gene bought the New York Enquirer. He renamed it the National Enquirer.

Sexism in Narnia? Or Screwtape? Or amongst the Inklings? Many critics have labelled C.S. Lewis a sexist, even a misogynist. The younger Lewis was criticized for a mysterious living arrangement with a woman, but his later marriage to an American poet, Joy Davidman, became a celebrated love story. As a writer he, along with J.R.R. Tolkien, formed a legendary literary group, the Inklings - but without women. In this collection of short essays, opinion pieces, and interviews, academics and writers come together to investigate these accusations.

It’s tough being an author these days, and it’s getting harder. But, as Jason Boog shows in a rich mix of history and politics, this is not the first period when writers have struggled to scratch a living. Between accounts of contemporary layoffs and shrinking paychecks for authors and publishing professionals are stories from the 1930s when writers, hard hit by the Great Depression, fought to create unions and New Deal projects like the Federal Writers Project.

For All of Us, One Today is a fluid, poetic story anchored by Richard Blanco’s experiences as the inaugural poet in 2013, and beyond. In this brief and evocative narrative, he shares for the first time his journey as a Latino immigrant and openly gay man discovering a new, emotional...

Hear a fascinating discussion between author Michael Davis and narrator Caroll Spinney, the man (and voice) behind two of America's most iconic children's characters—Bird Bird and Oscar the Grouch. Listeners will learn about Spinney's contributions to the creation and history of the media masterpiece and pop culture landmark TV series, Sesame Street. Spinney also discusses, among other things, recollections of his early days on TV, the creation of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, and, of course, working with Muppet's creator Jim Henson.

Tim Cockey is the best-selling author of Backstabber, the latest in his celebrated mystery series, and the creator of the inimitable undertaker/Detective Hitchcock Sewell. In this half-hour interview, Cockey discusses a variety of subjects, including his entry into the mystery-writing world, how he creates his characters, and the importance of his hometown of Baltimore in his novels.

Imagine sitting down across a gaming table from Jon Finkel, better known as Jonny Magic. Listen as author David Kushner and Jon discuss Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids, the jaw-dropping zero-to-hero chronicle of a fat, friendless boy from New Jersey who found his edge in a game of cards and turned it into a fortune!