CBS Sunday Morning – Author John Irving has mined his personal history and obsessions as the starting point for such acclaimed works of fiction as “The World According to Garp” and “The Cider House Rules.” Now 80, he has published his first novel in seven years, “The Last Chairlift,” a tale of sexual politics and ghosts. He talks with correspondent Rita Braver about inspiration, Charles Dickens, and acceptance.
Tag Archives: Interviews
Shakespeare & Company: Author William Boyd On His Book ‘The Romantic’
Soldier. Farmer. Felon. Writer. Father. Lover.
One man, many lives.
Born in 1799, Cashel Greville Ross experiences myriad lives: joyous and devastating, years of luck and unexpected loss. Moving from County Cork to London, from Waterloo to Zanzibar, Cashel seeks his fortune across continents in war and in peace. He faces a terrible moral choice in a village in Sri Lanka as part of the East Indian Army. He enters the world of the Romantic Poets in Pisa. In Ravenna he meets a woman who will live in his heart for the rest of his days. As he travels the world as a soldier, a farmer, a felon, a writer, a father, a lover, he experiences all the vicissitudes of life and, through the accelerating turbulence of the nineteenth century, he discovers who he truly is. This is the romance of life itself, and the beating heart of The Romantic.
Culture Preview: The New Review – October 2, 2022
Britain in Crisis – The Activists Fight Back
Paul Theroux – The Novelist and Travel Writer Interviewed
Stewart Lee – Birdwatchers: it’s time to take on the Tories
Writer-director Martin McDonagh on his bad early plays, enjoying a quiet home life with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and his latest film – a friendship breakup movie starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson Interview by @msmirandasawyer (@DREWANTHONYSMTH)
Books: Kirkus Reviews – September 15, 2022 Issue
An Athlete and Activist Shares His Story With Kids
Here is the truly amazing thing that few people besides Tommie Smith remember about his gold medal–winning 200-meter run in the 1968 Olympics: He broke the world record in just under 20 seconds on one good leg.
‘The Rushdie Affair,’ Back in the News
As we were editing our Sept. 15 issue in mid-August, news broke that author Salman Rushdie had been attacked at a lecture in western New York state. The story sent shock waves through the literary community—a stark reminder that violence can lurk in the corners of literary debate. Rushdie is the author of many works of fiction and nonfiction and is most celebrated for his 1981 novel, Midnight’s Children, a kaleidoscopic epic of Indian life after independence that won the Booker Prize as well as two subsequent honors, the Booker of Bookers in 1993 and the Best of the Booker in 2008.
Art & Architecture: The ‘Ex Of In House’ In New York
Today Architectural Digest brings you two hours north of New York City to Rhinebeck, NY for an in-depth look at a home that feels like an inhabitable work of art. Architects Steven Holl and Dimitra Tsachrelia explain the design philosophy and inspiration behind their secluded, off-grid “architectural wonder in the woods,” breaking down the intent behind each design choice and how they work together to create a uniquely meditative but stimulating space.
Literary Interviews: ‘The Magnolia Palace’ Author Fiona Davis (Frick Museum)
Fiona Davis, author of THE MAGNOLIA PALACE, discusses art, history, and writing with Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator at The Frick Collection.
They speak in the Fragonard room at Frick Madison, the temporary home of The Frick Collection.
About THE MAGNOLIA PALACE Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City’s most impressive Gilded Age mansions.

Get the book: https://bit.ly/3LEA7kU
The Magnolia Palace
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Book of the Month Pick • Apple Books’ Best Books of January • January LibraryReads Hall of Fame
Italian Views: Tuscan Villa Bramasole Tour With Author Frances Mayes
A tour of the countryside villa Bramasole in Cortona, Italy, with author Frances Mayes. Chef Silvia gives a cooking lesson using local ingredients, and a jeweller talks about Tuscany’s goldsmithing tradition.
Shakespeare & Company: ‘The Sinner And The Saint’ Author Kevin Birmingham
New Books: ‘South To America’ By Imani Perry
In her new book “South to America,” author Imani Perry seeks to change how people view the American South and, thus, the country’s history as a whole. Jeffrey Brown spoke with Perry, who traveled through the southern regions of the U.S. and explored the complexities and misperceptions she found along the way.
Profiles: Frank Gehry’s ‘Playful Architecture’
At 92, famed architect Frank Gehry is not resting on his substantial laurels. The designer behind such landmarks as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, talks with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker about his creative process, and how aerospace technology has enabled him to turn his playful ideas into reality.
