American Writers: The Spoken Word (audio CD)

This three CD set includes recordings of 27 celebrated American writers, starting from the earliest generation whose voices survive. The majority of the recordings derive from BBC radio broadcasts, in which the writers talk about their careers, their art and their politics. From historic recordings of Gertrude Stein, Eugene O'Neill and F Scott Fitzgerald to more recent interviews with James Michener, Arthur Miller and Toni Morrison, this compilation covers novelists and playwrights at the forefront of literature in the 20th century. Most of the recordings are published here for the first time.

Reviews

'The British Library CDs are a literary goldmine'

The Guardian

'A fabulous archive collection'

The Observer

'...a must for any audio library.'

The Daily Telegraph

Track listing
DISC ONE
1. Gertrude Stein [1874-1946]
American Points of View
2. Sinclair Lewis [1885-1951]
Address from the 1940 Writers’ Committee for Roosevelt Conference
3. Anita Loos [1888–1981]
Interview with Anita Loos
4. Raymond Chandler [1888-1959]
Playback Dr No
5. Eugene O’Neill [1888-1953]
Extract from O’Neill: Long Day’s Journey into Night
6. Henry Miller [1891-1980]
Bookshelf
7. Pearl Buck [1892-1973]
Speech at Gallaudet College
8. James Thurber [1894-1961]
Interview with James Thurber
9. F Scott Fitzgerald [1896-1940]
Shakespeare: Othello [extract]
10. Thornton Wilder [1897-1975]
Talk on Gertrude Stein and Emily Dickinson
11. Vladimir Nabokov [1899-1977]
Interview with Vladimir Nabokov

DISC TWO
1. John Steinbeck [1902-1968]
Interview with John Steinbeck
2. Isaac Bashevis Singer [1904-91]
A Story No-one Else can Tell
3. Lillian Hellman [1905-84]
Omnibus: Lillian Hellman
4. James A Michener [1907-97]
Bookshelf
5. Eudora Welty [1909-2001]
A Curtain of Green
6. Tennessee Williams [1911-83]
Frankly Speaking
7. Mary McCarthy [1912-1989]
Monitor
8. William S Burroughs [1914-97]
Interview with William S Burroughs

DISC THREE
1. Ralph Ellison [1914-1994]
Interview with Ralph Ellison
2. Saul Bellow [1915-2005]
The Arts in Scotland
3. Arthur Miller [1915-2005]
Kaleidoscope
4. Patricia Highsmith [1921-1995]
Kaleidoscope
5. James Baldwin [1924-1987]
The World of Books
6. William Styron [1925-2006]
Styron’s Choice
7. Gore Vidal [born 1925]
Kaleidoscope
8. Toni Morrison [born 1931]
Interview with Toni Morrison