Writing

Andre Dubus III He's the son of writer Andre Dubus, and he's recently come out with his first novel, a coming of age story called "Bluesman." Dubus continues to work construction and write on the side. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. He was the first African to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature (in 1986), and he's been called Africa's "finest writers." He is a dramatist, poet, novelist, critic, and political writer. Some of his works have been banned by Nigerian regimes. He's gone into exile several times and has been imprisoned for political protests. He's written 21 books, including "Myth, Literature, and the African World," and his autobiography, "Ake': The Years of Childhood." (Ventura books).

Novelist Joyce Carol Oates. The prolific writer has penned 23 novels, in addition to plays, poems, short stories and criticism. Her new novel is called "Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang,"(Dutton) about a group of high school girls who form a violent gang in upstate New York during the Fifties. Their mission is violence against men. Oates is a professor of humanities at Princeton University. Her previous book is the critically acclaimed "Black Water," nominated for the 1992 National Book Critics Circle Award.

Maureen Corrigan has a review of "The Art of Fiction," novelist David Lodge's collection of 50 essays of literary criticism, published by Viking.

Writer Edward Bunker. Bunker wrote the crime fiction classic "No Beast So Fierce," which first came out in 1973, about a former criminal trying to go straight. The book has been out of print since 1986, and has just been reissued. It was the basis of the film Straight Time, which starred Dustin Hoffman. Bunker spent almost 20 years in jail himself, and used his experiences as the basis of his book. He's also written 2 other novels, many essays, and screenplays for Straight Time and The Runaway Train.

Writer Thom Jones was a boxer in the Marines in the mid-1960s. He was supposed to ship out to Vietnam, but he suffered an epileptic seizure, which he believes was caused by too many punches to the head. So instead of shipping out, he was thrown out. The rest of his unit did go to Vietnam, where they were ambushed and killed. Jones turned to writing, but couldn't get anything published, so he became a high school janitor. He is finally experiencing literary success this year with the publication of his collection of short stories "The Pugilist At Rest" (Little, Brown).

An author at the pinnacle of the espionage genre, Le Carre has written such classics as "Smiley's People", "Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy", and "The Russia House". Le Carre has shifted his gaze to the Gulf War and international arms dealers in his new novel "The Night Manager."

Abu-Jaber's first novel "Arabian Jazz" is now out. It explores the lives of two sisters in upstate New York, the children a Jordanian father and an American mother.

For 45 years, Bowles has been writing novels, stories, essays, poetry and autobiography. He started out as a composer, studying with Aaron Copeland. Bowles was friends with Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas, and later became a "resident guru" for several generations of American writers including Tennesee Williams and William Burroughs. Since 1947, he's lived in Tangier, Morocco. Best known for his novel "The Sheltering Sky," he has a new anthology, called "Too Far From Home."

Richard is of cajun, creole and French descent. His award winning collection of short stories is called "Ice at the Bottom of the World". His new novel "Fishboy" is about a boy's sea journey, "replete with ghosts, sea creatures and violent shipmates". Richard's prose style has been singled out for praise, with one critic hailing the novel as "an eloquent fever dream".

Writer and criminal defense lawyer, Alfredo Vea, Jr. He's just written his first book, a novel, "La Maravilla." It's based on his own life growing up in the desert outside of Phoenix, where Mexican, Indian, Spanish, and Afro-American influences converged.

Barnhardt is getting a lot of press and praise for his new novel, "Gospel," an 800-page saga about a present-day search for a lost gospel. It's been described as an "intellectual detective novel. . . written on the grand scale." Barnhardt's first novel was "Emma Who Saved My Life."

Tolkin wrote the novel, "The Player," a satirical look at Hollywood which was made into a film by Robert Altman. He also wrote and directed the film, "The Rapture." His newest work is a novel, "Among the Dead."

Stegner died today. We remember him with a rebroadcast of our April, 15, 1992 interview, which coincided with the publication of his book "Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs."

Hall has been an actor, a private detective and a screenwriter -- he wrote the horror movie C.H.U.D. Now he is a novelist, writing mysteries featuring Stanley Hastings, a failed actor turned detective.

Price wrote and produced the new movie "Mad Dog and Glory," which stars Robert Deniro, Bill Murray and Uma Thurman. His most recent novel is the best seller, "Clockers." Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times wrote "the signal achievement of "Clockers' is to make us feel the enormous power of these giants that are drugs, alcoholism, poverty." Price also wrote the screenplays for "The Color of Money," "Sea of Love," and Martin Scorcese's section of "New York Stories."

Elkin has been called "one of the most entertaining stylists in contemporary American fiction." His novels include, "The MacGuffin," "The Magic Kingdom," and others. His latest collection of of novellas is "Van Gogh's Room at Arles." Elkin was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis twenty years ago. He'll talk about his writing and his life and how it's changed since the disease has progressed.

Roth is best known for his books "Goodbye, Columbus" and "Portnoy's Complaint." Since the publication of his first book, Roth has been controversial for his treatment of Jewish themes. Some readers think his satirical take is anti-Semitic. His novel "Portnoy's Complaint," a sexual autobiography of a young lawyer, was labeled obscene by some because of its descriptions of masturbation and sexual conquest.

Neely has brought a strong African-American female voice to the genre. The heroine of her debut book, "Blanche on the Lam," is Blanche White, a 40-year old housekeeper with big thighs, a wry sense of humor, and a jaundiced view of the rich. Blanche is on the lam from a 30-day jail sentence for a bad check; she can hide in plain sight, because of her invisibility as a black housekeeper. One reviewer writes though the book works well as a crime novel, it's "less about a mysterious murder. . .

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "Flaubert - Sand: The Correspondence," translated by Francis Steepmuller and Barbara Bray. It's a collection of the more than 400 letters between French writers Gustave Flaubert and George Sand.