43 min listen
Shelby Foote, Arthur Golden and Carol Shields: Literary Pursuits
FromWhat It Takes®
ratings:
Length:
60 minutes
Released:
Dec 1, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Three remarkable novelists, from very different backgrounds, peel back the curtain on how they write, why they write, and what they write. Arthur Golden is the author of Memoirs of a Geisha, the only book he's written, and a longtime bestseller. He describes why he rewrote the book three times before he got it right, and explains how he successfully gave voice to a character so unlike himself. Carol Shields is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Stone Diaries, and many other novels and plays. She talks about why she chose to write almost exclusively about the domestic lives of ordinary women, illuminating their struggles and triumphs. And Shelby Foote is the noted author of novels about the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, including Shiloh. He became best-known for his three volume history of the Civil War, and his appearance throughout Ken Burns' documentary on the same subject, but he always considered himself a novelist first and foremost. He talks here about his tumultuous life in the Mississippi Delta, and how adversity shaped him as a writer.
Released:
Dec 1, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Carol Burnett: Laughter and Reflection: Whether you grew up watching The Carol Burnett Show, or your parents did, this comedian, actress, singer and writer is someone you want to get to know better. Burnett broke new ground when she launched her own television variety show in 1967 (hosting was still a man's game in those days). And she kept Americans laughing for the next 11 years. She had a huge influence on the comedians that followed in her footsteps, including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Kristin Wiig. In this episode she talks about her very humble beginnings and dysfunctional family, her mysterious benefactor, her breakthrough role on Broadway, and the path that finally landed her in the medium she loved best - television. She also describes the moment she knew that making people laugh was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. by What It Takes®