Bookworm

Friends of Michael

Longtime friend and editor of Bookworm, Alan Howard, returns to host this episode, the last of 10 shows to journey through Bookworm’s 33 years and offer a retrospective l

Chapter 9: Grief and Loss

Close friend of Michael Silverblatt’s and Bookworm editor for 30 years, Alan Howard guest hosts this episode on grief and loss. When the two met more than 33 years ago, M

Poetry

Poet, author, and co-founder of The Song Cave, Alan Felsenthal guest hosts this episode’s focus on poetry. As a close friend and mentee of Michael Silverblatt’s, Felsenth

The Story of America, Pt. 3

Prolific author Dave Eggers, founder of McSweeney's, co-founder of 826 National, and other significant projects, first met Micheal Silverblatt in 2000, upon the publicati

The Story of America, Pt. 2

Prolific author Dave Eggers, founder of McSweeney's, co-founder of 826 National, and other significant projects, first met Micheal Silverblatt in 2000, upon the publicati

The Story of America, Pt. 1

Claudia Rankine, award-winning poet and author of Citizen: An American Lyric, a book-length poem about the pernicious racism of American daily life, hosts the first of a

The Confederacy of Bookworms

Guest host Mary Corey, teacher of American history at UCLA and author of "The World Through a Monocle" about The New Yorker Magazine, teaches a course on American popular

The Nobel Laureates, Pt.2

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually since 1901 to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel,

The Nobel Laureates, Pt.1

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually since 1901 to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel,

The Arc of Bookworm

This episode takes us through the arc of Bookworm’s existence: Michael started the program with worries about the future of literature, found hope in the up-and-coming ne

Michelle Huneven: ‘Search’

Los Angeles-based author Michelle Huneven joins Evan Kleiman to discuss her latest book, “Search.” In this engaging and funny literary fiction novel, main character Dana

Natalia Molina: ‘A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community’

Natalia Molina tells the story of Nayarit, her grandmother’s Mexican restaurant, a space that became a cherished hub for immigrants and the LGBTQ community in Echo Park. 

Emily Skillings and John Yau: John Ashbery’s “Parallel Movement of the Hands: Five Unfinished Longer Works” (Re-air)

Editor/poet Emily Skillings and poet/critic John Yau speak about an iconic poet of the 21st century, John Ashbery, and his posthumous book, “Parallel Movement of the Hand

Rita Dove: “Playlist for the Apocalypse” (Re-air)

Rita Dove’s new book of poetry, “Playlist for the Apocalypse,” goes in many different historical and personal directions.

Robert Jones, Jr.: “The Prophets” (Re-air)

The debut novel of Robert Jones, Jr., “The Prophets,” is lyrical prose about the dimensionality and interiority of people.

Paul Tran’s wildly impressive debut poetry book, ‘All the Flowers Kneeling’

Paul Tran says that poetry can live on a page. This show discusses the abundant life in their debut poetry book, “All the Flowers Kneeling.” Tran joins guest host Shawn S

Tobias Wolff on Harry Crews’ ‘A Childhood: The Biography of a Place’

Writer Tobias Wolff speaks about a dark book that remains loving, Harry Crews 1978 classic “A Childhood: The Biography of a Place.” Wolff wrote the foreword to its Pengui

Tao Lin’s ‘Leave Society’ shifts the author’s perspective to love and kindness

Acclaimed novelist, poet, and essayist Tao Lin (“Taipei,” “Shoplifting from American Apparel”) speaks about growing as a writer, and growing his idea of himself in a book

Zac Smith’s ‘Everything is Totally Fine,’ the book that reopened Tao Lin’s Muumuu House

Author Zac Smith speaks about the extreme juxtaposition of the very short, dense, and clipped stories in his new book, “Everything is Totally Fine.” He says that by remov

Brit Bennett: The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett pushes questions of race and color to their extremes in her new novel, The Vanishing Half.