Monthly Archives: July 2020

Podcast

K.L. Cook, THE ART OF DISOBEDIENCE & A Quarantine Poem

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We spend the hour with writing teacher K.L. Cook, talking about about the art and craft of writing and his book, The Art Of Disobedience: Essays on Form, Fiction, and Influence.

In the book’s essays, he explores why secrets are at the heart of every story; why point of view is perhaps the most important decision a fiction writer can make and why disobedience to the rules is the critical secret sauce to great writing.

We also read a poem by Jessica Salfia about quarantine in the age of Covid19.

Writer’s Voice — in depth progressive conversation with writers of all genres. On the air since 2004. Rate us on iTunes or whatever podcast app you use!
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Podcast

Larry Tye, DEMAGOGUE & Ellen Meeropol, HER SISTER’S TATTOO

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With Trump’s paramilitary goon squads assaulting peaceful protestors in American cities, things are looking pretty grim for democracy in America.

But Joe McCarthy biographer Larry Tye is optimistic. He says: “The lesson of Joe McCarthy and our other demagogues is that they fell even faster than they rose — once America saw through them and reclaimed its better self.“

We talk with Larry Tye about his acclaimed new book, Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy.

Then, a novel that asks the question: how do we balance the risks of political protest with the consequences, especially when those protests turn violent? Ellen Meeropol tells us about her new novel, Her Sister’s Tattoo.

It’s about two sisters whose lives are marked by the choices they make during an antiwar demonstration in 1968. Meeropol uses history to explore the personal dimension of activism —and the thorny intersection of sibling loyalty and political beliefs.

Writer’s Voice — in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Rate us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts!

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Web Extras

The Fracking Ban Law

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Jim Walsh

America’s small businesses are facing hardship because of a dramatic, unexpected loss of business due to the COVID19 pandemic. But it’s come to light that the Trump administration has pushed to allow billions in CARES Act funds to pay off the debt of the fossil fuel industry—debt incurred way before the current pandemic.

Some in Congress are working to prevent that, as well as other bailouts of Big Oil and Gas underway by the administration. It’s called the ReWind Act and those proposing it say it’s needed to keep the Trump administration from using the CARES Act to transfer enormous amounts of wealth from taxpayers to oil companies.

They hope to include the ReWind Act in the new CARES Act package being worked on now. The Act has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Francesca spoke with Jim Walsh of Food and Water Watch about the proposed legislation. He’s a Senior Energy Policy Analyst for Food & Water Watch.

Podcast

Stephanie Kelton, THE DEFICIT MYTH, Books Picks & Poetry by Meg Fisher

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We talk with Stephanie Kelton about her book, The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy.

We also have some summer reading picks that you can enjoy at the beach or poolside. And Francesca reads some poems by western Massachusetts poet Meg Fisher. Continue reading →

Podcast

Emma Copley Eisenberg, THE THIRD RAINBOW GIRL & Diane Gilliam Fisher, Kettle Bottom

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Today, we hear two stories about Appalachia, a region that’s long been subject to exploitation and prejudice.

First, we talk with Emma Copley Eisenberg about her book The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia. It’s about the killing of two young women in West Virginia in 1980, how cultural bigotry against the region kept the murders from being solved — and the trauma inflicted on the community as a result.

Then, we re-air our 2004 interview with Diane Gilliam Fisher about her wonderful poetry volume Kettle Bottom. It’s about the West Virginia Mine Wars of the 1920s. Continue reading →

Podcast

Jennifer Steil, EXILE MUSIC & L. Annette Binder, THE VANISHING SKY

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In today’s show, we discuss two novels about World War II, told from very differing perspectives.

First, Jennifer Steil tells us about her novel Exile Music. It’s the story of a young girl who flees to Bolivia with her family after the Nazis annex Austria in 1938.

Then, a rare depiction of the war from the point of view of an ordinary German family as their lives and society crumble around them: we talk with L. Annette Binder about her novel The Vanishing Sky.

Writer’s Voice — in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Rate us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts!
Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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