New Letters on the Air

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Listening to New Letters on the Air is like eavesdropping on intimate conversations with favorite writers who reveal secrets about their creative methods, read a few favorite passages, and inspire the listener's imagination.

NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR is a weekly half-hour show that has been entertaining and informing audiences about contemporary writers and literature since 1977. Each week, the program focuses on a writer of poetry, fiction or essays, either in an intimate interview or in a public reading before an audience. Post-produced with narrative and music, NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR gives insight into the creative writing process and the universal stories that writers tell.

Each show is self-contained and undated, except for the occasional holiday or theme related program. 30- and 60-second produced promos are provided weekly on the PRSS promo satellite feeds and on Content Depot. Written promos are posted weekly on the DACS along with the timings and cues. Other distribution methods are available.

Though educational, NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR is not pedantic, and the conversation is often filled with laughter as authors discuss and read from their books. Our archive programs contain many Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners, along with recipients of other major literary awards. Recent guests include poets Sherman Alexie, Naomi Shihab Nye, Billy Collins, and Alicia Ostriker; dramatists August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Tony Kushner; essayists Meghan Daum, Susan Orlean, and David Sedaris; fiction writers Richard Russo, Jane Smiley, and Ha Jin. The program also features less-familiar but remarkable writers whose work and contributions are equally engaging.

"Most people have a creative streak, whether they're interested in writing or not," says Angela Elam, host of NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR. "I hope by exploring the writer's process and hearing work that captures the essence of our lives, the program will inspire listeners to do something creative in their own way."

Series

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5 Pieces

NOTE: ALL EPISODES CAN STAND ALONE; NO OBLIGATION TO RUN THE ENTIRE SERIES. This five-episode series of one-hour programs features 17 of the men and women who have served as United States Poet Laureates over the past four decades, from the late Howard Nemerov (1963-64) to Donald Hall (beginning 2006). These conversations and readings of poetry vary from humorous to heavy, but are always thought-provoking, and are perfect for National Poetry Month in April, though they can be used anytime.


Pieces

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NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR's Classic Series continues with "Back to the Writing Well." This time we'll hear about the influence of place and family fro...

Bought by GCR (Global Community Radio), KRZA, WNJR, WNJR, and WMUU-LP


  • Added: Jul 29, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 5
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Robin Robertson, whose known for his translations of ancient Greek works and his depiction of folktales from his native Scotland, discusses how myt...

Bought by GCR (Global Community Radio) and WNJR


  • Added: Jul 22, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: PRX default Piece image
Obama's 2009 Presidential Inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander captures African-American voices and traditions from slavery to the present in her boo...

Bought by GCR (Global Community Radio)


  • Added: Jul 15, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
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Ted Olson, a professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University, discusses how his writing has been impacted by the region's histo...

  • Added: Jul 06, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
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British writer Rupert Thomson, whose 2021 book BARCELONA DREAMING is set just before the 2008 financial crash, often writes about tough times. He ...

Bought by GCR (Global Community Radio)


  • Added: Jul 01, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
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For National Pride Month, we'll hear from 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winner Jericho Brown, who describes the joy he finds in writing poetry and how his wo...

Bought by WNMU-FM and WNJR


  • Added: Jun 22, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
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Pride Month begins with former California Supreme Court attorney, Michael Nava. The author of now ten novels in the Henry Rios mystery series, seve...

Bought by GCR (Global Community Radio), WNJR, and WMUU-LP


  • Added: Jun 10, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Rick Barot
Filipino-American poet Rick Barot started writing nonfiction. Now a poet with four award-winning books to his name, he discusses how the writing pr...

Bought by KRBD, GCR (Global Community Radio), and WJCU


  • Added: May 20, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 3
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We begin Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a conversation with lawyer-turned-poet Monica Youn. Though both her parents were born in Korea,...

Bought by KWMR, GCR (Global Community Radio), and WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass.


  • Added: May 06, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 3
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Born in Ghana and raised in Jamaica, the poet Kwame Dawes is the editor of Nebraska's literary magazine, PRAIRIE SCHOONER, and the 2021 successor t...

Bought by GCR (Global Community Radio) and WNJR


  • Added: Apr 15, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2