logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2020
27m 1s

Clarence Major Reads Billy Collins

WNYC STUDIOS AND THE NEW YORKER
About this episode

Clarence Major joins Kevin Young to read “Downpour,” by Billy Collins, and his own poem “Hair.” Major’s recent honors include a PEN Oakland Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award in the fine arts from the Congressional Black Caucus foundation. 

Up next
Sep 30
Bruce Smith Reads Mary Ruefle
Bruce Smith joins Kevin Young to read “Open Letter To My Ancestors” by Mary Ruefle, and his own poem “The Game.” Smith, the author of eight poetry collections, including the forthcoming “Hungry Ghost,” has received awards from the Academy of American Poets and the American Academ ... Show More
40m 40s
Aug 15
Garrett Hongo Reads Charles Wright
Garrett Hongo joins Kevin Young to read “T’ang Notebook” by Charles Wright, and his own poem “On Emptiness.” Garrett Hongo is the author of several books of poetry and nonfiction, including “Ocean of Clouds” and “The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo.” He's received fellowships f ... Show More
42m 4s
Jul 23
Sasha Debevec-McKenney Reads Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Sasha Debevec-McKenney joins Kevin Young to read “Hammond B3 Organ Cistern,” by Gabrielle Calvocoressi, and her own poem “Kaepernick.” Debevec-McKenney is the author of the new poetry collection “Joy Is My Middle Name.” She was a Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow at the Univers ... Show More
38m 47s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2021
Douglas Stuart Reads Kevin Barry
Douglas Stuart joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “Fjord of Killary,” by Kevin Barry, which appeared in a 2010 issue of the magazine. Stuart’s first novel, “Shuggie Bain,” won the Booker Prize in 2020. 
54m 12s
Jan 2022
Kevin Barry Reads V. S. Pritchett
Kevin Barry joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “A Family Man,” by V. S. Pritchett, which was published in The New Yorker in 1977. Barry is a winner of the International Dublin Literary Award and the author of six books of fiction, most recently the story collection “That ... Show More
51m 11s
May 2022
Two nonfiction books... that just won Pulitzer Prizes!
The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the country for writers... and last year's winners were just announced this week. So today, we're looking back at two nonfiction authors whose books won the accolade. First, journalist Andrea Elliot speaks to Jane Clyson ... Show More
20m 38s
Dec 2021
Will Mackin Reads George Saunders
Will Mackin joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “The Falls,” by George Saunders, which was published in The New Yorker in 1996. Mackin’s first book, “Bring Out the Dog,” was published in 2018 and won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection. 
56m 8s
Feb 2021
Edward Carey
Edward Carey discusses ‘The Swallowed Man’ (Riverhead, Jan. 26), an author-illustrated retelling of ‘Pinocchio’ from Geppetto’s point of view: “A deep and grimly whimsical exploration of what it means to be a son, a father, and an artist” (Kirkus). Then our editors offer reading ... Show More
53m 12s
Aug 2019
'Pick up the book and read': Canadian poets on the legacy of Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison's literary and academic career was honoured with a Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her writing explored, celebrated, questioned and critiqued the space of black lives in America, up until her death on Monday at the age of 88. Today ... Show More
19m 24s
Jun 2022
Ada Calhoun
Ada Calhoun joins us to discuss Also a Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me (Grove, June 14). Kirkus: “Art critic Peter Schjeldahl's daughter takes a shot at finishing her father's derailed biography of Frank O'Hara and ends up writing a fascinating memoir….A wonderfully convolu ... Show More
41m 2s
Oct 2022
Madeleine Thien Reads Yoko Ogawa
Madeleine Thien joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “The Cafeteria in the Evening and a Pool in the Rain,” by Yoko Ogawa, translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder, which was published in The New Yorker in 2004. Thien’s books include the novels “Dogs at the Perimeter” ... Show More
1h 10m