CBC Radio: Writers & Company: Episodes
This week, Eleanor Wachtel speaks with the extraordinary, the intrepid woman on a bicycle, or with a pack animal, or on her own two feet - Irish travel writer, Dervla Murphy.
A conversation with one of Israel's finest writers and most outspoken peace activists, David Grossman. His work goes straight to the heart - whether it's fiction, or his latest book of essays, "Writing in the Dark."
This week on Writers & Company, Eleanor Wachtel speaks with two idiosyncratic and wide-ranging movie makers from England: Mike Leigh - a man with a unique style whose latest film, "Happy Go Lucky" is already a hit. And one of Britain’s best-loved actors, Michael Caine.
This week, from India and New York, Amitav Ghosh. His new novel, "Sea of Poppies" - shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize - goes to the heart of the British Empire, with a tale of intrigue and romance set on the eve of the Opium Wars.
This week on Writers & Company, four writers in Toronto for the International Festival of Authors join Eleanor Wachtel for a discussion on 'Politics in Literature.' Victoria Glendinning, Hari Kunzru, Colm Toibin, and Ronald Wright engage with the political, the personal, and the profound.
This week, Eleanor Wachtel speaks with British playwright and screenwriter, Peter Morgan. He wrote the screenplays for “The Last King of Scotland” and "The Queen." Now he tackles an American head of state in “Frost/Nixon.”
This week on Writers & Company, from Ireland, novelist, playwright and poet, Sebastian Barry. His latest book, “The Secret Scripture” was shortlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize.
This week, from England, novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard. Famous for the "Cazalet Chronicle" and almost a dozen other books, she then turned to her own life in her memoir, "Slipstream."
This week on Writers & Company, Eleanor Wachtel speaks with the Brazilian writer, Milton Hatoum. He's the prize-winning author of “The Brothers” and “Tale of a Certain Orient. ” He now has a new novel called, “Ashes of the Amazon”.
Eleanor Wachtel talks to one of the top literary critics writing today, James Wood, about his new book "How Fiction Works." Love him or hate him, they still call him the best.
This week on Writers & Company, Eleanor Wachtel speaks with Junot Diaz. From the Dominican Republic and the U.S.,his latest novel, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” won this year’s Pulitzer Prize.
Eleanor Wachtel speaks with American novelist Donald Antrim about his searing memoir, "The Afterlife."
This week, from Sarajevo and Chicago, the remarkable Aleksandar Hemon. His latest novel, "The Lazarus Project" cross-cuts between history and fiction, past and present, Europe and America.
This week on Writers & Company, on the centenary of her birth - Simone de Beauvoir. Eleanor Wachtel speaks first with documentary filmmaker Madeleine Gobeil. Then, a panel discussion with three enthusiasts - biographers and academics - about the life and work of this extraordinary French feminist, intellectual, ...
Eleanor Wachtel in conversation with a great American storyteller, Michael Chabon. From "Wonder Boys" and "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" to "The Yiddish Policeman’s Union."
Poet and novelist Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father. Adopted and raised by a white Glasgow couple active in the Communist party, she looks at Scottish society from a fresh and interesting angle.
This week, more from Scotland with novelist and journalist, Andrew O’Hagan. The award-winning author of "Be Near Me," he brings a different perspective to questions of nationalism, religion and politics.
Change is unsettling and exciting -and it’s happening in Scotland. Ian Rankin, Liz Lochhead and James Robertson tell you how and why.
Eleanor Wachtel speaks with biographer Hermione Lee about one of the great American novelists of the early 20th century, Edith Wharton. The author of "House of Mirth," "The Age of Innocence" and "Ethan Frome" was the exemplar of New York’s "Gilded Age."
This week on Writers & Company, "His Dark Materials:" Eleanor Wachtel speaks with England's Philip Pullman on innocence and experience, Greek myth, religion and adventure.