Location:
Santa Monica, CA
Networks:
KCRW
Description:
Intellectual, accessible, and provocative literary conversations.
Twitter:
@kcrw
Language:
English
Contact:
1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 310-450-5183
Email:
bookworm@kcrw.com
Episodes
Friends of Michael
9/20/2023
Longtime friend and editor of Bookworm, Alan Howard, returns to host this episode, the last of 10 shows to journey through Bookwormâs 33 years and offer a retrospective look at Michaelâs accomplishments on behalf of writers and readers. For decades Michael has read almost all of a writerâs work, not just the book which has been most recently published. Howard has watched writers glow as they realize that theyâve been seriously witnessed by the ultimate Bookworm. All of the writers on todayâs show have become friends of Michaelâs and of Bookworm. Weâll hear from rock band Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael), Art Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly, Ann Beattie, Susan Sontag, and Dennis Cooper.
Duration:00:54:57
Chapter 9: Grief and Loss
9/13/2023
Close friend of Michael Silverblattâs 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, Michaelâs first words were, âWhat are you reading?â It was a question that brought Howard back to literature. Over the years, Michael did the same for thousands of listeners. With Bookworm, he was determined to return literary fiction and poetry to the center of the zeitgeist. In the process, he faced the realities of loss and grief. In conversation after conversation with writers he was forging collegial friendships with, loss itself was a frequent topic of those friendships and conversations. Weâll hear from Marilynne Robinson, Joan Didion, Jim Krusoe, Steve Erickson, Dave Eggers, and Mary Ruefle.
Duration:00:40:06
Poetry
9/8/2023
Poet, author, and co-founder of The Song Cave, Alan Felsenthal guest hosts this episodeâs focus on poetry. As a close friend and mentee of Michael Silverblattâs, Felsenthal recalls Michaelâs revelation that he had trouble finding his way into poetry until he had several formative experiences, including one he described in 2019 during a Walt Whitman tribute. Weâll hear from that tribute with poet Pattiann Rogers reading Whitman. Weâll also hear from poets John Ashbery, Coral Bracho, Forrest Gander, and Lucille Clifton.
Duration:00:34:36
The Story of America, Pt. 3
8/30/2023
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 publication of his first book ââ a critically acclaimed memoir whose title he calls, "obnoxious." They formed a friendship over 22 years of conversation. This episode, the third in a series to examine what novelist Russell Banks called the Story of America, is guest-hosted by Eggers. Weâll hear excerpts of Bookworm shows that discuss this story from E.L. Doctorow, Valeria Luiselli, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Gore Vidal.
Duration:00:33:53
The Story of America, Pt. 2
8/23/2023
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 publication of his first book ââ a critically acclaimed memoir whose title he calls, "obnoxious." They formed a friendship over 22 years of conversation. In this episode, Eggers picks up the thread through what novelist Russell Banks called the Story of America. Weâll hear from Edward P. Jones, HonorĂ©e Fanonne Jeffers, and Marilynne Robinson as they speak about slavery, race, and history.
Duration:00:31:56
The Story of America, Pt. 1
8/16/2023
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 three-part episode on the story of America, as told through literary fiction. Over the decades Michael Silverblatt spoke with hundreds of writers about America â its foundation, its history, its challenges, and its culture. This episode reveals the story of America as the story of race. Weâll hear from David Foster Wallace, Russell Banks, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, William H. Gass, Joan Didion, and Claudia Rankine herself.
Duration:00:37:18
The Confederacy of Bookworms
8/9/2023
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 culture that explores the blurry lines between perceived high culture and what we think of as popular culture. In this episode, Corey takes us through excerpts of Bookworm conversations with lauded boho rocker Patti Smith, writer and brilliant wit Fran Lebowitz, and outré filmmaker John Waters. Each of these rebel artists has left a mark on our national culture and all of them are serious readers, making up a confederacy of Bookworms.
Duration:00:28:32
The Nobel Laureates, Pt.2
8/2/2023
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, âIn the field of literature produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction.â Michael Silverblatt spoke with eight Nobel Prize laureates. In part 1 of the Laureates show, we heard from four of them. In this second part, weâll be hearing excerpts from: Kazuo Ishiguro, Mario Vargas Llosa, Doris Lessing, CzesĆaw MiĆosz, and Robert Hass speaking about Milosz.
Duration:00:28:32
The Nobel Laureates, Pt.1
8/2/2023
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, âIn the field of literature produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction.â Michael Silverblatt spoke with eight Nobel Prize laureates. In part 1 of The Nobel Laureates, weâll be hearing from four of them: Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, Orhan Pamuk, and Seamus Heaney.
Duration:00:28:32
The Arc of Bookworm
7/26/2023
This episode takes us through the arc of Bookwormâs existence: Michael started the program with worries about the future of literature, found hope in the up-and-coming new writers, and proceeded to highlight authors of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and geographies.
Duration:00:29:00
Michelle Huneven: âSearchâ
5/12/2022
Los Angeles-based author Michelle Huneven joins Evan Kleiman to discuss her latest book, âSearch.â In this engaging and funny literary fiction novel, main character Dana Potowski writes a memoir that describes the steps of her Unitarian Universalist Church congregationâs year-long search for its new minister and the challenges they encounter.
Duration:00:28:59
Natalia Molina: âA Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Communityâ
5/5/2022
Natalia Molina tells the story of Nayarit, her grandmotherâs Mexican restaurant, a space that became a cherished hub for immigrants and the LGBTQ community in Echo Park.
Duration:00:29:01
Emily Skillings and John Yau: John Ashberyâs âParallel Movement of the Hands: Five Unfinished Longer Worksâ (Re-air)
4/28/2022
Editor/poet Emily Skillings and poet/critic John Yau speak about an iconic poet of the 21st century, John Ashbery, and his posthumous book, âParallel Movement of the Hands: Five Unfinished Longer Works.â
Duration:00:29:01
Rita Dove: âPlaylist for the Apocalypseâ (Re-air)
4/21/2022
Rita Doveâs new book of poetry, âPlaylist for the Apocalypse,â goes in many different historical and personal directions.
Duration:00:29:01
Robert Jones, Jr.: âThe Prophetsâ (Re-air)
4/7/2022
The debut novel of Robert Jones, Jr., âThe Prophets,â is lyrical prose about the dimensionality and interiority of people.
Duration:00:29:00
Paul Tranâs wildly impressive debut poetry book, âAll the Flowers Kneelingâ
3/31/2022
Paul Tran says that poetry can live on a page. This show discusses the abundant life in their debut poetry book, âAll the Flowers Kneeling.â Tran joins guest host Shawn Sullivan to explore the bookâs four sections as well as its notes.
Duration:00:28:31
Tobias Wolff on Harry Crewsâ âA Childhood: The Biography of a Placeâ
3/24/2022
Writer Tobias Wolff speaks about a dark book that remains loving, Harry Crews 1978 classic âA Childhood: The Biography of a Place.â Wolff wrote the foreword to its Penguin Classics re-release, which joins a number of Crewsâ works in the series.
Duration:00:28:31
Tao Linâs âLeave Societyâ shifts the authorâs perspective to love and kindness
3/17/2022
Acclaimed novelist, poet, and essayist Tao Lin (âTaipei,â âShoplifting from American Apparelâ) speaks about growing as a writer, and growing his idea of himself in a book, including his latest, âLeave Society,â about the blurred lines between life and fiction.
Duration:00:29:29
Zac Smithâs âEverything is Totally Fine,â the book that reopened Tao Linâs Muumuu House
3/10/2022
Author Zac Smith speaks about the extreme juxtaposition of the very short, dense, and clipped stories in his new book, âEverything is Totally Fine.â He says that by removing a lot of exposition, he was able to create intense emotions in a small space. His energetic and thoughtful stories of absurdity and minutiae are things that could not be said any other way, and usually donât get said. Plus, special guest Tao Lin explains why âEverything is Totally Fineâ inspired him to reopen his Muumuu House imprint after it was closed for more than ten years.
Duration:00:29:22
Brit Bennett: The Vanishing Half
3/3/2022
Brit Bennett pushes questions of race and color to their extremes in her new novel, The Vanishing Half.
Duration:00:28:27