Author William Kennedy, explains how he came up with the title for his book, "Riding the Yellow Trolley Car: Selected Nonfiction." Also in the interview, Kennedy talks about other writers: Patrick Kavanagh, James Joyce, Bernard Malamud and J.P. Donleavy.

In this two part program, Studs first talks with the American novelist William Styron before a series of readings at the Newberry Library, and later, he discusses the literature of North and South America with the Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Lies, violence and history repeating itself are all topics covered in Russell Banks' book, "Affliction." Banks points out that his novel is about the men's complicated attempt to transcend their burdens.

Robert Coover's "John's Wife" is about a made-up town, with its various townspeople and their interactions with one another and with John. What's also brought up is the fact that the wife has no name, mostly because John's wife does not exist.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Discussing "The Sportswriter" (published by Random House Vintage) with the author Richard Ford.

Discussing the novel "Wildlife" (published by Atlantic Monthly Press) with the author Richard Ford.

Discussing the book "Women With Men: Three Stories" (published by Knopf) with the author Richard Ford.

Discussing the book "Sweetbitter: A Novel" (published by Penguin Books) with the author Reginald Gibbons.

Content Warning: This conversation includes racially and/or culturally derogatory language and/or negative depictions of Black and Indigenous people of color, women, and LGBTQI+ individuals. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion. Almost all the characters in Robert Kotlowitz's book, "The Boardwalk" are fictitious with the exception of Teddy, a Jewish, 14-year-old boy, who Kotlowitz explains is Robert Kotlowitz.

Discussing the book "The Broken Cord" (published by Harper & Row) with the author Michael Dorris.

Michael Dorris' book, "A Yellow Raft in Blue Water," is about 3 Native American women: Rayna, Christine and Ida. Dorris said when he started to write the book, he didn't know where it would end up. He further explained that Rayna was originally Raymond but that Dorris liked the character better as a woman.

Discussing the novel "Cooler By The Lake" (published by Farrar, Strauss & Giroux) with the author Larry Heinemann.

Discussing the novel "Paco's Story" (published by Farrar, Strauss & Giroux) with the author Larry Heinemann.

Discussing the book "Closing Time" with the author Joseph Heller. "Closing Time" was written as a sequel to his popular novel "Catch-22".

James Mills, a novelist and journalist, talks to Studs about his book "Report to the Commissioner". Mr. Mills and Studs discuss the story and Mr. Mills goes in depth into the process of police detectives working a case. Studs plays an excerpt of a Chicago policeman talking about working on the tactical squad on the police force. The policeman tells of how they go into a neighborhood as civilians to stop crime.