Each volume of WRITERS OF TODAY is a dialogue between noted literary critic Walter Kerr and one of the best-known writers of the era. Produced in the 1950s, these programs provide rare profiles of these men as they discuss contemporary literature and society at the time of their own writing peaks.
Auden bemoans the declining role of the poet in society and increasing mechanization of form, yet believes poetry is more personal than ever. He explains that the problem lies in the grand scale of modern events. How, for instance, might a poem about World War II be written? In defining what makes a poet, Auden says "If one is stimulated by arbitrary restrictions, that person may be a poet."
O'Connor defends the often-maligned short story, arguing that a proper short story cannot "be developed" into a longer work because novels revolve around an individual's relationship to society, and how that individual integrates into it. O'Connor also points out the different uses of time in the long and short forms, and goes on to defend greater objectivity in writing, as he feels that mastery of the visible universe will ultimately result in its illumination.
Miller expounds his views on the role of theater in society, contending that that the play is "the last way the human race has to face itself without any intervening machinery," that movies and television are "filtering out the intimacy of human contact." He envisions the playwright as an "ordinary citizen... who can organize things dramatically."
Librarian of Congress, FDR Cabinet Member, and Pulitzer Prize Winner, MacLeish shares his concerns about abstract poetry. "An abstraction remains an abstraction - you don't know anything but that formula." Of his drive to write poems, he states simply "Man I am, Poet must be."
Warren focuses on the creative process of writing. He discusses with Kerr the search for Identity which is ubiquitous in his novels and poems as a metaphor for writing itself. The fundamentals of fiction - place, characters, story - are also discussed, but Warren insists that without an innate "germ," one cannot simply learn mechanics and become a writer.
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Meet the Nobel Prize-winning author of works including One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Justin Webster | 2015 | 90 minutes | Color | Spanish | English subtitles
An intimate and revealing look at Henry Miller, and his life and work through this program from the archives that originally aired on television in Quebec in 1969.
2010 | 58 minutes | Color | French | English subtitles
A charming program from over 40 years ago: Jack Kerouac talks about his childhood, writing On the Road and the origin of the word "beat."
2010 | 30 minutes | Color | French | English subtitles
From 1967, for the first time on video or DVD, a portrait of two of the most influential and controversial writers and thinkers of the 20th century. They discuss their work, lives, and the role of intellectuals in modern society.
Max Cacopardo | 2005 | 60 minutes | Color | French | English subtitles
A personal portrait of the great French writer Marguerite Duras. Made with home moves, archives, film extracts, readings, and television interviews filmed over many years.
Dominique Auvray | 2003 | 61 minutes | Color | English | English subtitles
Chronicles Ruth Stone's heroic life story as a poet, mother, and teacher, leaving no question as to why she became both a Vermont and national treasure.
Nora Jacobson | 2022 | 77 minutes | Color | English | Closed Captioned
