New Letters on the Air

Poet Tracy K. Smith On Exploring Space And The Abyss

Angela Elam — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:04:58 +0000

Poet Tracy K. Smith, winner of the 2002 Cave Canem Prize for her collection, The Body's Question, reads from her Pulitzer Prize winning work, Life on Mars, at the Fall 2012 Midwest Poets Series.

Author Thomas Fox Averill

Angela Elam — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:12:13 +0000

It was 38 years ago when author Thomas Fox Averill heard the song "Tennessee Stud." He enjoyed the lyrical story of courtship, love, and fugitive life so much, that he used the song's plot and mood to write the novel rode.

A Kansas City Interview With Evan S. Connell

Angela Elam — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:10:13 +0000

In memory of acclaimed author Evan S. Connell, who passed away on January 10, 2013, New Letters on the Air brings you this 1991 interview by former New Letters on the Air host, Rebekah Presson.

Poets Off The Page

Angela Elam — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:25:08 +0000

This edition of New Letters on the Air features very different approaches to intertwining poetry and music, resulting in equally different performances.

Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco

Angela Elam and Stephanie Hughes and Jamie Walsh — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:06:42 +0000

During the President’s inauguration ceremony on Monday, Richard Blanco delivered a poem written especially for this occasion. At age 44, he is not only the youngest, but the first Latino and openly gay poet to have this honor.

Poet Tony Barnstone

Angela Elam — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:52:52 +0000

Tony Barnstone, son of poet, translator, and scholar Willis Barnstone and visual artist Elli Barnstone, was surrounded by great works of art, literature, and philosophy as a child, and like his sister, Aliki, followed in his father's footsteps.

Evan S. Connell On 'Mr. and Mrs. Bridge'

Laura Spencer and Frank Morris and New Letters on the Air — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:52:37 +0000

Kansas City native Evan S. Connell died Thursday at the age of 88. His fiction and non-fiction works were wide-ranging, but he was probably best known locally for his two novels, "Mrs. Bridge" and "Mr. Bridge," about a fictional well-to-do Kansas City family.

Fiction Writer Anne Enright

Angela Elam — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:23:33 +0000

Winner of the first ever Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction in 2012, Irish author Anne Enright talks about her often darkly humorous approach to writing about love, desire, death, and family.

Fiction Writer Jim Shepard

Angela Elam — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:00:35 +0000

Acclaimed fiction writer Jim Shepard is the author of six novels and several short story collections, including Like You'd Understand Anyway, winner of the 2008 Story Prize and a National Book Award finalist.

New Letters on the Air: U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Kansas City, MO – In honor of the start of her second year as the 16th U.S. Poet Laureate, we present this encore interview with Kay Ryan. Sometimes seen as a poetry outsider, the California poet has spent her life teaching remedial English in Marin County, rather than making her living in the academic world of creative writing.

Poet Michelle Boisseau Explores Time and Family History in New Work

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:09:00 +0000

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Kansas City, MO – A Sunday in God-Years, a new collection of poetry by Michelle Boisseau, takes its title from the notion that within geologic time, human history happens in the blink of God's eye.

Playwright James Still Shaped by Years at KU

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:36:00 +0000

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Kansas City, MO – Kansas playwright James Still hasn't lived in this area in years, but his plays make regular appearances here and throughout the U.S. He has a new one about Abraham Lincoln, opening at the Ford Theatre in D.C. in February for the 200th birthday anniversary; but tonight (Friday, January 30), another play, The Velvet Rut, receives its world premiere right here in Kansas City at the Unicorn Theatre.

New Letters on the Air: Chanukah Tales

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Kansas City, MO – Poet Marilyn Kallet reads from her book, One for Each Night: Chanukah Tales and Recipes, that she wrote for families to share in lean times.

Book Critic Mixes Poetry and Music

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:08:00 +0000

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Kansas City, MO – You may know John Mark Eberhart from The Kansas City Star, where he's the Book Editor, or as one of the Book Doctors on The Walt Bodine Show. What you may not know is that Eberhart is also a poet.

New Letters Wins Pushcart Prize for Fiction

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Kansas City, MO – New Letters, the quarterly literary magazine based at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has garnered another prestigious literary award.