Music performance by Oscar Brown, Jr.

Many of the great 20th century poets were published for the first time in Poetry Magazine. Among the poets discussed here are Robert Frost, e e cummings, Wallace Stevens, Ogden Nash, Richard Wilber, Gwendolyn Brooks, and W.H. Auden.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Rose Styron and Studs read works by exiled writers and performers and discuss Amnesty International.

Discussing "Sweet Will: Poems" (published by Atheneum) with poet Philip Levine.

Reading from "Selected poems" (published by Atheneum) and "On the Edge" (Stone Wall Press) with the author, poet Philip Levine.

Having grown up in an ever-changing industrial Detroit, Philip Levine believes that his poetry comes from an urge to memorialize details that might otherwise be lost.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Discussing the book of poetry "The Garden of Earthly Delights" with poet Paul Carroll, winner of the 1985 Chicago Poets Award.

Ntozake Shange discusses her play, "for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf." She goes on to discuss her advocacy for more Black authors and poets, especially in experimental artistic endeavors.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

When talking about his book, "Chi-Town," Norbert Blei said all the communities in Chicago offer everyone the groups' separate ethnic cultures. Blei also talks about riding the Douglass Park El and the old man sitting on a bench, who he encounters at Grant Park. Lastly, Blei talks about writers who have influenced him.

Nelson Algren discusses his short story, "How the Devil Came Down Division Street," the art of writing, and writers of the Beat Generation.

Studs Terkel interviews composer Ned Rorem. They discuss Rorem's childhood, music, poetry, languages, and religion.

The graphic designer turned poet shares some insight into her creative process, especially in the collections, Cry of the Peacocks, The Moonlit Upper Deckerina, and Ordinances.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations

N. Scott Momaday, a Kiowa author and poet, discusses his collection of poetry in "The Presence of The Sun" and Native American history. Momaday also talks about horses, Native American shields, Billy the Kid, and Native American culture.

Mike Forrest, Beulah Garrick, and Donald Moffat discuss and read the writings of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Forrest, Garrick, and Moffat are all cast members of "The Hostage," a play by Brendan Behan.