The Story Talks Back

Preview: David Cay Johnston on his first news story

In his forthcoming session with The Story Talks Back, Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston talks about every phase of his life and career -- from his childhood in California to his founding of the news site DCreport.org. In this moving excerpt, Johnston recalls how he got his start in journalism -- by covering the same subject that would win him a Pulitzer 40-odd years later. 

Tim Page: Stories from a passionate life of the mind

Tim Page is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, editor and critic who has forged a remarkable career from his passionate interests. As a child, he became a minor celebrity when Kodak promoted his amateur filmmaking in a commercial. His lifelong love of music led him to become a world-class critic — with the The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others newspapers. Page has written or edited more than 20 books, championing the work of pianist Glenn Gould, novelist Dawn Powell and composer Virgil Thomson. More recently, Page has written — in his book “Parallel Play” — about his discovery at age 45 that he has a form of Autism. In 2008, he founded an interdisciplinary music and journalism program at the University of Southern California, but chose to retire, after suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2015 — a life changing event from which he is still recovering. #glenngould #timpage #pulitzerprize #autismstories #autismprofiles #aspergers #dawnpowell #virgilthomson #philipglass #adaywithtimmypage @NYTImes @NYNewsday #sohoweeklynews @NPR #newoldandunexpected #interviews@washingtonpost 

Preview: How his passion for music turned Tim Page into a 10-year-old critic

When Tim Page won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1997, it was the culmination of an aesthetic journey begun when he was a smalll child. In this excerpt from our forthcoming interview, Page reflects on the origins of his passion for music -- and how it led him to become a prolific writer before he even reached junior high school.

 

Photo: Young Timmy Page with his favorite companion -- the family turntable. (Courtesy of Tim Page)

Linda Gray Sexton: In the footsteps of the gray ghost

Linda Gray Sexton is a memoirist and novelist whose books include Searching for Mercy Street and Half in Love . As the daughter of legendary poet Anne Sexton, she was immersed as a child in a world of uncertainty, manipulation, and impending loss. When her mother finally took her own life in 1974 -- after many attempts -- it left a legacy of confusion and grief that Linda Sexton has borne with courage and wisdom, despite her own struggles with mental illness. And as her mother’s literary executor, Sexton is continually re-immersed in her mother’s work and her world. She is currently at work on a new memoir and provides editorial guidance to authors of all types. #annesexton #confessionalpoets #sylviaplath #memoirs #memoirists #suicidestories #suicidesurvivors #poetry #poets 

Preview: Linda Gray Sexton on collaborating with her Mom -- and living with her ghost

In this excerpt from my interview with Linda Gray Sexton -- memoirist, novelist, and daughter of the legendary poet Anne Sexton -- she talks about how her Mom helped her discover the pleasures of creating and collaborating ... but warned her against the writer's path.

Kid Ace excerpt: Living in the real world

In this excerpt from our interview with illusionist Kid Ace, he talks about his performing identity -- and how he feels about living in the everyday world.

David Harrington: Telling stories with violin in hand

As the founder, artistic director, and first violinist of Kronos Quartet, David Harrington has played a central role in developing a musical repertoire for the 21st century and beyond. He has worked with hundreds of composers across the globe and played thousands of concerts worldwide, from Carnegie Hall to Shanghai to Sydney. Now in its 47th year, Kronos has become perhaps the most important force in new music today, exploding the boundaries of the quartet repertoire as it commissions over 1,000 compositions and arrangements. With over 60 recordings and two Grammy Awards to its credit, Kronos is both well established and iconoclastic. Through its 50 for the Future project, Kronos is also bypassing conventional publishing and artistic systems to make the music of new and well-known composers alike available to everyone.

Dean Sluyter: The dharma storyteller

Dean Sluyter is a writer, teacher, lecturer, and expert on the Buddha dharma. His books include Fear Less, Natural Meditation, Cinema Nirvana, and The Zen Commandments. He has led meditation workshops across the US and in South America and has been featured in Oprah: The Magazine and elsewhere. For over 30 years, he taught English and literature at The Pingry School in New Jersey.

Ann Herold: The editor's voice

As the Managing Editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and then Los Angeles magazine, Ann Herold worked with prize-winning writers and helped to shape hundreds of human interest features. At the University of Southern California, she schooled several generations of journalism students in the arts of copy editing, line editing, and magazine writing.  She is also a prize-winning journalist in her own right.

Kid Ace: The stories behind the illusions

Born and raised in New York City, Kid Ace has become a top touring illusionist -- virtually and in person -- and has appeared on hundreds of stages across the US, as well as TV shows such as "Bill Nye Saves the World," "The Steve Harvey Show," and "The Kelly Clarkson Show."