August 29, 2008
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Great writers on Great Books
Amy Tan


Great writers on Great Books
On 'To the Best of Our Knowledge' -- Toni Morrison, V.S. Naipaul, Amy Tan, Alice Walker, Sherman Alexie and Orhan Pamuk.

by Jim Fleming




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Who's the greatest writer living today? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, great writers on great books. Hear from Nobel Laureates Toni Morrison and V.S. Naipaul. And if that's not enough: Amy Tan, Alice Walker and Sherman Alexie talk about their books. Also, a conversation with last year's winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature: Turkey's Orhan Pamuk.

Sherman Alexie has written novels, film screenplays and a short story collection. He talks with Steve Paulson about being a Native American writer.

Alice Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel "The Color Purple." She talks with Jim Fleming about "Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth," her collection of poems published after September 11.

V.S. Naipaul won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. Steve Paulson speaks with him about his often controversial work which contains unflattering portraits of Islam and the developing world.

Steve Paulson also talks with 2006 Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk about living a secular life in an Islamic world. Pamuk's novels include "Snow," from which we hear a reading.

Amy Tan talks with Anne Srainchamps and recalls how her mother used to believe the spirits of their ancestors dwelled inside the computer. How else could Amy know all the family secrets?

Toni Morrison won the Nobel Prize in 1993. Her novels include "Sula," "Song of Solomon," and "Love." She talks with Steve Paulson about the unintended consequences of the Civil Rights movement.

"To the Best of Our Knowledge" is an audio magazine of ideas - two hours of smart, entertaining radio for people with curious minds.

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© Copyright 2008, PRI


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