Books in the Literary Conversations Series series

Though a well-regarded physicist Carl Sagan is best-known as a writer of popular nonfiction and science fiction and as the host of the series Cosmos. In interviews and profiles, Sagan discusses with verve a wide variety of topics - the environment, nuclear disarmament, religion, politics, extraterrestrial life, astronomy, physics, robotics.

Across two decades of intense creativity, David Foster Wallace (1962-2008) crafted a remarkable body of work that ranged from unclassifiable essays, to a book about transfinite mathematics, to vertiginous fictions. Whether through essay volumes (A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Consider the Lobster), short story collections (Girl with Curious Hair, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Oblivion), or his novels (Infinite Jest, The Broom of the System), the luminous qualities of Wallace's work recalibrated our measures of modern literary achievement. Conversations with David Foster Wallace gathers twenty-two interviews and profiles that trace the arc of Wallace's career, shedding light on his omnivorous talent.Jonathan Franzen has argued that, for Wallace, an interview provided a formal enclosure in which the writer "e;could safely draw on his enormous native store of kindness and wisdom and expertise."e; Wallace's interviews create a wormhole in which an author's private theorizing about art spill into the public record. Wallace's best interviews are vital extra-literary documents, in which we catch him thinking aloud about his signature concerns--irony's magnetic hold on contemporary language, the pale last days of postmodernism, the delicate exchange that exists between reader and writer. At the same time, his acute focus moves across MFA programs, his negotiations with religious belief, the role of footnotes in his writing, and his multifaceted conception of his work's architecture. Conversations with David Foster Wallace includes a previously unpublished interview from 2005, and a version of Larry McCaffery's influential Review of Contemporary Fiction interview with Wallace that has been expanded with new material drawn from the original raw transcript.

Over the course of the twenty-one interviews included in the volume, Billy Collins discusses such topics as discovering his persona; why poetry is so loved by children but often met with anxiety by high school students; and his experience composing a poem to be recited during a joint session of Congress on the first anniversary of 9/11.

Over the course of the twenty-one interviews included in the volume, Billy Collins discusses such topics as discovering his persona; why poetry is so loved by children but often met with anxiety by high school students; and his experience composing a poem to be recited during a joint session of Congress on the first anniversary of 9/11.

Besides being one of America's most celebrated living authors, George Saunders is also an excellent interview subject. In the fourteen interviews included in this volume, covering nearly twenty years of his career, the Booker Prize-winning author provides insight into his writing process and craft, alongside nuanced interpretations of his own work.

Diane di Prima was one of the most important American poets of the twentieth century, and her career is distinguished by strong contributions to both literature and social justice. This volume presents twenty interviews ranging from 1972 to 2010 that chart di Prima's intellectual, spiritual, and political evolution.

Although recognized for founding National Review, hosting television's Firing Line, and being one of the principal architects of the American conservative movement, William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008) was also a prominent literary figure. Conversations with William F. Buckley Jr. features interviews from 1970 to 2005, in which Buckley holds court on a variety of subjects.

Brings together eighteen interviews with a world-renowned fiction writer. Ranging from his 1994 literary debut, Fishing the Sloe-Black River, to a previously unpublished interview conducted in 2016, these interviews represent the development as well as the continuation of McCann's interests.

The interviews contained in Conversations with Dave Eggers suggest the range of Eggers's pursuits - a range that is reflected in the variety of the interviews themselves. To read the interviews in sequence is to witness Eggers's rapid evolution.

The famously private Sam Shepard gave a significant number of interviews over the course of his public life, and the interviewers who respected his boundaries found him to be forthcoming on a wide range of topics. The selected interviews here begin in 1969 when Shepard was twenty-six and end in 2016, eighteen months before his death.

The famously private Sam Shepard gave a significant number of interviews over the course of his public life, and the interviewers who respected his boundaries found him to be forthcoming on a wide range of topics. The selected interviews here begin in 1969 when Shepard was twenty-six and end in 2016, eighteen months before his death.

The first collection of interviews with the groundbreaking Choctaw author, whose genre-bending works take place in the US Southeast, Oklahoma, and beyond American borders to bring Native American characters and themes to the global stage.

The first collection of interviews with the groundbreaking Choctaw author, whose genre-bending works take place in the US Southeast, Oklahoma, and beyond American borders to bring Native American characters and themes to the global stage.

These conversations with Russell Banks span a period of over thirty years, from 1976 with the publication of his first novel, Family Life, and his first collection of short stories, to 2008 with The Reserve. Most date from the late 1990s on when Banks became 'Hollywood's Hottest New Property'.

These interviews expose the remarkable consistency of Steve Erickson's vision over time while simultaneously capturing the new threads that appear in his later fiction as they emerge in his thought. This volume will deepen readers' understanding of how Erickson's books work - and why this utterly singular writer deserves greater attention.

An outspoken advocate for the oppressed and exploited, Angela Davis has written extensively about the intersections between race, class, and gender; Black liberation; and the US prison system. This volume explores Davis's role as an educator, scholar, and activist who continues to engage in important and significant social justice work.

An outspoken advocate for the oppressed and exploited, Angela Davis has written extensively about the intersections between race, class, and gender; Black liberation; and the US prison system. This volume explores Davis's role as an educator, scholar, and activist who continues to engage in important and significant social justice work.

Offers a unique glimpse into the creative process of a major American poet, writer, editor, anthologist, and teacher. The volume probes in depth Donald Hall's evolving views on poetry, poets, and the creative process over a period of more than sixty years.

Offers a unique glimpse into the creative process of a major American poet, writer, editor, anthologist, and teacher. The volume probes in depth Donald Hall's evolving views on poetry, poets, and the creative process over a period of more than sixty years.

Spanning from the debut of A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway in 1959 to her early death from cancer in January 1965, Lorraine Hansberry's short stint in the public eye changed the landscape of American theatre. Conversations with Lorraine Hansberry is the first volume to collect all of her substantive interviews in one place.

Spanning from the debut of A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway in 1959 to her early death from cancer in January 1965, Lorraine Hansberry's short stint in the public eye changed the landscape of American theatre. Conversations with Lorraine Hansberry is the first volume to collect all of her substantive interviews in one place.

The poetry of John Berryman (1914-1972) is primarily concerned with the self in response to the rapid social, political, sexual, racial, and technological transformations of the twentieth century. Collected in here are all of Berryman's major interviews, personality pieces, profiles, and local interest items.

The poetry of John Berryman (1914-1972) is primarily concerned with the self in response to the rapid social, political, sexual, racial, and technological transformations of the twentieth century. Collected in here are all of Berryman's major interviews, personality pieces, profiles, and local interest items.

Both critically acclaimed and winner of numerous prestigious awards, Joanna Scott's unique and probing vision and masterful writing has inspired readers to adjust their perceptions of life and of themselves. This book presents eighteen interviews that span two decades and are as much about the process of reading as they are about writing.

The first collection of interviews with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Covering fifteen years of conversations, the interviews start with the publication of Adichie's first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), and end in late 2018, by which time Adichie had become one of the most prominent figures on the international literary scene.

The first collection of interviews with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Covering fifteen years of conversations, the interviews start with the publication of Adichie's first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), and end in late 2018, by which time Adichie had become one of the most prominent figures on the international literary scene.

The first interview collection with this esteemed writer. The book includes eighteen interviews that reflect on nearly five decades of work, from his first book, Long Lankin, to his novel Mrs. Osmond and memoir, Time Pieces.

From her first interview, originally published over three decades ago in her native tongue Bengali in the Calcutta journal Desh and appearing here for the first time in English, to an in-depth interview in 2007 granted specifically for this collection, this volume provides a candid look at the woman who has been called the grande dame of diasporic Indian literature.

Ever since A Hall of Mirrors depicted the wild side of New Orleans in the 1960s, Robert Stone (1937-2015) has situated novels where America has shattered and the action is at a pitch. In Dog Soldiers, he covered the Vietnam War and drug smuggling. A Flag for Sunrise captured revolutionary discontent in Central America. Children of Light exposed the crass values of Hollywood. Outerbridge Reach depicted how existential angst can lead to a longing for heroic transcendence. The clash of religions in Jerusalem drove Damascus Gate. Traditional town-gown tensions amid twenty-first-century culture wars propelled Death of the Black-Haired Girl.Stone's reputation rests on his mastery of the craft of fiction. These interviews are replete with insights about the creative process as he responds with disarming honesty to probing questions about his major works. Stone also has fascinating things to say about his remarkable life--a schizophrenic mother, a stint in the navy, his involvement with Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, and his presence at the creation of the counterculture. From the publication of A Hall of Mirrors until his death in 2015, Stone was a major figure in American literature.

Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) stands out as one of the most respected, influential authors of the twentieth century. The interviews collected here, many of which are hard to find or previously unpublished, span from 1966 to 2011. They show not only Sendak's shifting artistic interests, but also changes in how he understood himself and his craft.