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Bookworm

A must for the serious reader, Bookworm showcases writers of fiction and poetry - the established, new or emerging - all interviewed with insight and precision by the show's host and guiding spirit, Michael Silverblatt.

After 21 years, Bookworm has a new theme -- two, in fact! Replacing the familiar “You are a Human Animal,” is “I Am A Bookworm,” an original composition by the idiosyncratic rock-pop group, Sparks, At the end of the show, a second Sparks composition, “Where Would We Be Without Books.” Curious? Check out the lyrics!

Photo credit: Marc Goldstein

Bookworm listeners are invited to participate in the first ever KCRW BOOKWORM BOOK CLUB, hosted on Facebook. Click here, log in to Facebook, and locate the "Ask to Join Group" link at the top right of the facebook page!

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UPCOMING SHOWS

Ayad Akhtar: American Dervish

Ayad Akhtar on coming-of-age as a Muslim in Milwaukee. We discuss the nature of cultural understanding and misunderstanding, sexual and spiritual awakening. more >>

Edmund White: Jack Holmes and His Friend

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RECENT SHOWS

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Most everyone has a skeleton in the closet. Wayne Koestenbaum talks about those gruesome and hideous moments most of us would rather not remember. more >>

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Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage

Leibovitz's first photo book of objects and landscapes is a triumphant array of iconic images. We talk about her opinions on light, digital imagery and distilling time. more >>

Ismet Prcic: Shards

This first novel follows the narrator who just happens to be named Ismet Prcic from Bosnia to America, from a radical theater group to a creative writing program. more >>

Dennis Cooper: The Marbled Swarm

Dennis Cooper on the inarticulate emotions that underlie the razzle-dazzle of secret corridors, lush language, brutality and desire. more >>

Jonathan Lethem: The Ecstasy of Influence

Autobiographical essays and Jonathan Lethem on his favorite books, spending time with James Brown and the writer's role as public intellectual. more >>

Peter Gizzi: Threshold Songs

This book of poetry is the product of great grief in Peter Gizzi's life: the death of his mother, his brother and his best friend... more >>

Paul La Farge: Luminous Airplanes

Paul La Farge on his innovation of the novel form. His new novel, though it is published between covers, only represents one third of the book. The other two-thirds... more >>

Stephen Greenblatt: The Swerve

The true story of the historical detective whose work uncovered the 1000 year-old poem that shook the early Christian world and marked the beginning of the Renaissance... … more >>

Joan Didion: Blue Nights

After the deaths of husband and daughter, Joan Didion wrote the most personal and poetic book of her impressive career... more >>

Jeffrey Eugenides: The Marriage Plot

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides on his new novel, in which he learned to "do" character. more >>

W.S. Merwin: The Shadow of Sirius

A rebroadcast of an engaging conversation with our great octogenarian laureate, W.S. Merwin. more >>

Ann Beattie: Mrs. Nixon

With little known about Pat Nixon, Ann Beattie decided to write a novel in the form of a writer's manual, she used Mrs. Nixon as a model of how to create a character. more >>

Tony D'Souza: Mule

Tony D'Souza reveals the life events that led him to write a novel about a solid, middle-class kid who becomes a drug mule... more >>

Lawrence Weschler: Uncanny Valley

The veteran contributor to The New Yorker and McSweeney's distills his knowledge about how to structure the essay—from cultural comedies to political tragedies. more >>

More Past Shows

Program Details

Host

Michael Silverblatt

Bookworm Michael Silverblatt is the guy authors go to when they want a serious literary conversation about their writing, because Michael reads everything they’ve ever written, often surprising the authors with insights about their work that they themselves hadn’t realized.

Find Michael on Facebook

Schedule

Live

National Syndication:

See complete station list

Produced by

Connie Alvarez

Tapes & Transcripts

A CD copy of Bookworm is available by calling 888-600-5279.

Transcripts of Bookworm are not available.

Click the Full Details link to read an excerpt from the featured book.

FYI