Book Public

Book Public: 'Unsayable' by Michael Cunningham

Michael Cunningham, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours, discusses his new book, Unsayable: A Life in Writing, and the mysteries of memory, imagination and storytelling.

Book Public: 'The Typing Lady' by Ruth Ozeki

In this interview, Ruth Ozeki talks about writing stories, publishing a story collection at age 70, the supremely skilled ways she can write about a range of characters in diverse places, the trunk full of ideas around stories and loss and, of course, typing.

Book Public: 'Descanso for My Father' by Harrison Candelaria Fletcher

In this episode, Book Public host Yvette Benavides shares a reflection on an essay collection that explores grief and how we make meaning from loss.

Book Public: 'The Things We Never Say' by Elizabeth Strout

What are the mysteries behind the quiet routines of one Artie Dam, a high school history teacher in Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel? The Things We Never Say explores isolation and the painful, fragile truths we keep hidden because we don't have the words to talk about them. And yet, this luminous novel gives us a lexicon of loneliness that challenges the fundamental idea that we can never truly know each other. Turns out, the beauty is in trying.

Book Public: 'A History of Heartache' by Patrick Strickland

Patrick Strickland discusses his story collection "A History of Heartache." These are stories set in North Texas that chart the small moments of grace, and the almost insurmountable mistakes boys inherit. These are gritty, sometimes violent stories, but there is a tenderness, too, and the knife’s edge here bends toward a kind of hope.