Author Interviews on Fresh Air

What a lovely, serendipitous gift it is when one is driving, turns on the radio, and hears the voice of a favorite writer! When this happens, it is highly likely that she program in question is NPR's Fresh Air, with its interviews by the wonderful Terry Gross. Gross also interviews musicians, artists, filmmakers, actors, and other intriguing people. But the greatest pleasure for me is her conversations with authors. Although I do not listen to the program regularly, I have -- with great delight -- stumbled upon interviews with Jhumpa Lahiri, John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Jane Smiley, and several other writers. A year or two ago I ran across Gross' published collection of her interviews with 39 people in the arts, "All I Did Was Ask" (Hyperion, 2004). The interview subjects included Eric Clapton, Jodie Foster, Chris Rock, Sonny Rollins, Chuck Close, and Dustin Hoffman, among other artists, musicians, and actors; all were fascinating interviews. But best of all, of course, were the interviews with authors John Updike, James Baldwin, Mary Karr, Andre Dubus, Nick Hornby, Maurice Sendak, and Carol Shields. For those of you who don't already know Fresh Air and Terry Gross, I highly recommend both the radio show and the book.