Channel 192As of June 1, 2007, this page will no longer be updated. Please visit our new site to access newly added programs. Channel 192 is curated by Jack MacRae, editor of the Henry Holt imprint Jack MacRae Books, who says that most bookstores, especially the leviathan Borders and Barnes and Noble, are not interested in books. So he and his wife, gallerist Paula Cooper, opened their own, 192 Books on 10th Avenue in Manhattan. Like bookstores of old, 192 houses a collection that is a very personal reflection of its owners. |
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Volume 19: Carl Safina, Voyage of the Turtle - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast October 30, 2006 Ecologist and author Carl Safina reads from and discusses his 2006 release, Voyage of the Turtle: Search for the World's Last Dinosaur (Henry Holt & Co.). The book follows a global journey on oceans and coasts in pursuit of Earth's last warm-blooded monster reptile. Safina is also Co-Founder and President of Blue Ocean Institute, an international nonprofit conservation organization headquartered in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, with an office in Hawaii. Recorded May 25, 2006 at 192 Books in New York City. |
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Volume 18: Gay Talese, A Writer's Life - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast October 16, 2006 Gay Talese is an Italian American writer, who wrote for The New York Times and Esquire in the 1960s. He is often credited for inventing the genre of literary journalism, or revolutionizing what the genre meant. In the 1960s he wrote two famous pieces establishing the form for Esquire, on Frank Sinatra and Joe Dimaggio. His most recent work is an autobiography entitled A Writer's Life. On June 1, 2006, Talese read from A Writer's Life at 192 Books. (54 minutes) |
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Volume 17: Wayne Koestenbaum, Best Selling Jewish Porn Films - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast October 9, 2006 Wayne Koestenbaum is a poet and critic whose work deals primarily with the social and mental conditions of gay Americans. He has written on subjects like opera, Jackie Kennedy, and Andy Warhol. On May 2, 2006 he read selections from his most recent work, a book of poetry with the whimsical title Best Selling Jewish Porn Films. Koestenbaum received his B.A. from Harvard University and his PhD from Princeton. Currently, he is a professor at the City University of New York. Recorded at 192 Books in New York City. (35 minutes) |
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Volume 16: PEN World Voices - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast October 2, 2006 This segment features a group of international writers chosen as part of the PEN World Voices Festival, the annual celebration by the PEN American Center. The festival showcases authors from around the world. Tonight's readers, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Felicitas Hoppe, Milton Hatoum, Lydie Salvayre, Eloy Urroz, and Ayu Utami read from selections of their works, both in their native tongues and in English translation. Channel 192 is hosted by Jack Macrae and 192 Books in New York City, where this event was held on April 29, 2006. PEN is an organization with a mission to promote internationalism through literature, by encouraging cultural exchange and literary translation. (72 minutes) |
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Volume 15: Alan Bennett, Untold Stories - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast September 25, 2006 One of England's best-known literary figures, author and actor Alan Bennett reads and comments on his 2006 collection, Untold Stories (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) some of his finest and funniest writing that includes a poignant memoir of growing up in Leeds and bits from his celebrated diary. Other works by Bennett include Writing Home, Beyond the Fringe, and the play The History Boys. Recorded at 192 Books on April 28, 2006. (40 minutes) |
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Volume 14: William Benton, Marmalade and Madly - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast September 11, 2006 William Benton reads and comments on his most recent book, the fictional novel Madly (Shoemaker and Hoard). He also delves into his poetry with Marmalade, published in 1997. His poetry has been featured in such publications as The New Yorker and the Paris Review. This recording is from April 11th, 2006, at 192 Books in New York City. (31 minutes) |
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Volume 13: George Stevens, Jr. and Andrew Sarris, Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood's Golden Age - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast August 28, 2006 Discussion and observations surrounding the book Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood's Golden Age which brings together interviews of master moviemakers from the American Film Institute's renowned seminars. The book is edited-with commentaries-by George Stevens, Jr. who is joined here by friend and critic Andrew Sarris for this event on April 17, 2006 at 192 Books in New York City. George Stevens, Jr., is an award-winning writer, director, and producer, and founder of the American Film Institute. Andrew Sarris is one of the most influential film critics of the last 40 years. He now writes for the New York Observer and is on the faculty of Columbia University. He is best known for his work as film critic on the Village Voice, the York City weekly newspaper, in the 1960s and 1970s. (1 hour 13 minutes) |
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Volume 12: Deborah Eisenberg, Twilight of the Superheroes - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast August 7, 2006 Deborah Eisenberg reads and comments on her collection of stories, Twilight of the Superheroes. The stories reveal the abstract absurdity as well as the pain of human relationships and delve into the devastating truth that, even after an apocalypse, people still have to lie in the beds they've made, unable to sleep. Recorded at 192 Books in New York City, on March 27, 2006. Born in 1945, Eisenberg grew up in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka. She is the author of an acclaimed monograph on the paintings of Jennifer Bartlett, Air: 24 Hours and her collections of short stories include Transactions in a Foreign Currency, Under the 82nd Airborne and All Around Atlantis. She has also written for The New Yorker, Bomb, and The Yale Review. She is currently a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia. |
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Volume 11: Mary Gaitskill, Veronica - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast June 26, 2006 From an event recorded March 16, 2006 at 192 Books, Mary Gaitskill, author of Bad Behavior (a collection of short stories including The Secretary, which was later a movie with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal) reads and comments on her new book, Veronica. (33.5 minutes) |
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Volume 10: Bernard Cooper, The Bill From My Father - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast June 5, 2006 Bernard Cooper reads and comments on his 2006 memoir, The Bill From My Father (Simon & Schuster) in which he recalls his unique father who once sent him an itemized bill for the cost of his upbringing ($2 million). Cooper's 1996 Truth Serum is the funny, wise, and admired book that revolves around his effort to use sodium pentothal to suppress gay feelings. Recorded by WPS1 at 192 Books in New York on March 14, 2006. (33.5 minutes) |
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Volume 9: Alice Greenaway and Kiran Desai - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast May 22, 2006 Two authors read from and comment on their work in a public event held at 192 Books on March 7, 2006. White Ghost Girls (Atlantic) by Alice Greenaway is a haunting story about two American sisters growing up in Hong Kong. Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss revolves around an orphaned teenage Indian girl living in Nepal. (36.5 minutes) |
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Volume 8: Julian Barnes, Arthur & George - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast May 8, 2006 Author Patrick McGrath hosts a public interview and reading by Julian Barnes. The theme is Barnes' novel Arthur & George, a real-life tale of turn-of-the-century British crime and punishment featuring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Born in Leicester, England, in 1946, Julian Barnes is the author of two books of stories, two collections of essays, nine previous novels and other efforts. Barnes has also published four crime novels under the pseudonym of Dan Kavanagh. In France, he is the only writer to have won both the Prix Medicis and the Prix Femina. Patrick McGrath is the author of the stories Blood and Water and Other Tales, and six novels including The Grotesque; Spider, Asylum, and Port Mungo. This event, produced by 192 Books in New York City, took place around the corner from the 10th Avenue store at Paula Cooper Gallery, on Jan. 27, 2006. (41.5 minutes) |
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Volume 7: Verlyn Klinkenborg, Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast May 1, 2006 Author Verlyn Klinkenborg reads from and comments on his book Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile (Knopf 2006). With a naturalist's eye, Klinkenborg tells the story of a tortoise from the perspective of the tortoise himself. Or itself. A wry and carefully observed tale of eight adventurous days outside the safe confines of Klinkenborg's garden. Recorded at 192 Books on March 1, 2006. (42 minutes) |
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Volume 6: Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast April 17, 2006 Author Siri Hustvedt reading from her collection of essays A Plea for Eros, followed by husband Paul Auster reading a short story that was published in The Red Notebook (and later reprinted in Collected Prose) and from The Brooklyn Follies. This event recorded by WPS1 at 192 Books in New York City on Feb. 14, 2006. |
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Volume 5: Carolyn Burke/Lee Miller, A Life - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast March 27, 2006 Author Caroline Burke reads from and discusses her book about the life and work of Lee Miller (1907-1977); the extraordinary and controversial beauty, fashion model, Surrealist muse, assistant and model of Man Ray, Vogue photographer, war photographer, sexual bohemian, and much more. Recorded by WPS1 during her appearance at 192 Books in New York on Jan. 17, 2006. (50 minutes) |
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Volume 4: Arthur Japin, In Lucia's Eyes - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast March 13, 2006 Arthur Japin has acted on stage, screen and television for many years, at one point even singing as a soloist at the Dutch National Opera. He has also written award winning stage and screenplays, and has published books and two volumes of short stories. In this recording, introduced by 192 Book's Jack MacRae, Arthur Japin reads and discusses his latest work, In Lucia's Eyes. The inspiration for this perfectly plotted, wonderfully romantic historical novel lies in Casanova's memoirs, all seen through eyes of the woman who first broke Casanova's heart. Japin takes the reader on an entrancing journey from the canals of Amsterdam to those of Venice, painting a glorious portrait of the eighteenth century with all its contradictions of reason and instinct, wit and sensuality, head and heart. Recorded at 192 Books in New York on Jan. 19, 2006. (45 minutes) |
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Volume 3: Vija Celmins & Eliot Weinberger, The Stars - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast January 30, 2006 Artist Vi ja Celmins and the poet, translator and critic Eliot Weinberger present their collaborative book entitled The Stars, devoted to the night sky, with 3 prints by Celmins and an mythopoetic charting of the night sky by Weinberger composed of a catalogue of descriptions of the stars from around the world. Text appears in English, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, and Maori. Recorded at 192 Books on Jan. 12, 2006. (30 minutes) |
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Volume 2: Salman Rushdie, Shalimar the Clown - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast December 19, 2005 Author Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Verses, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, The Moor's Last Sigh) reads from and discusses his 2005 novel Shalimar the Clown. The book tells the story of Max Ophuls, his killer, his daughter, and a fourth character who links them all. It was shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Novel Award. Rushide also speaks about his process, his research methods and has a surpising explanation for his choice of the main character's name. This event was sponsored by 192 Books and held Nov. 4, 2005 at the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York. Jack Macrae introduces the program. (1 hour) |
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Volume 1: Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking - listen | listen with RealPlayer First broadcast November 14, 2005 Jack Macrae introduces Joan Didion who reads from her newest book, The Year of Magical Thinking. Didion's most acclaimed works include the essay collections Slouching toward Bethlehem (1968) and The White Album (1979). She also published four novels, the first, Run River, in 1963, the same year she married her lifelong partner, writer John Gregory Dunne. The Year of Magical Thinking is Didion's collection of 88 days of grief-filled writing following Dunne's death in December of 2003 and the death of her daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne, a year and a half later. Recorded Oct. 24, 2005 at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York. (32.5 minutes) |
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