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From the Archives: Vonnegut on Writing and Censorship.

Author Kurt Vonnegut. Perhaps his most famous book, the anti-war novel"Slaughterhouse Five," has been rereleased in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition (Delacourte Press). Based on Vonnegut's own experiences during the Dresden firebombing during the Second World War, the novel was a cultural icon at the height of popular protest against the war in Vietnam. (REBROADCAST FROM MAY, 1986.)

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Other segments from the episode on April 8, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, April 8, 1994: Interview with Philip Levine; Interview with Kurt Vonnegut; Interview with Grace Paley; Obituary for Marlon Riggs.
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18:21

From the Archives: Poet Philip Levine On "What Work Is."

Poet Philip Levine. He's considered one of this country's pre-eminent poets, but before he turned to poetry he worked for years at factory jobs. The images of those early days continue to influence his writings. Levine's collection of poems "What Work Is." won 1992's National Book Award. His new memoir is "Bread of Time" (Knopf). (Rebroadcast from 7/22/91).

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04:51

From the Archives: Author Grace Paley.

Writer Grace Paley. Born in the Bronx in 1922, she's written three highly acclaimed volumes of short stories. Paley was actively involved in the feminist and anti-war movements, and regards herself as a "somewhat combative pacifist and a cooperative anarchist." Her "Collected Stories" have just been released by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. (Rebroadcast from 3/26/92).

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05:57

Remembering Marlon Riggs.

We pay tribute to Professor and filmmaker Marlon Riggs, who died Tuesday. His film about gay black sexuality, "Tongues Untied," unleashed a storm of controversy for its graphic content; it was used by Senator Jesse Helms (Republican, North Carolina), to argue against government grants to the arts. Another RIGGS film was "Color Adjustment," a critique of prime time TV's myths and messages on American race relations. RIGGS was on the faculty of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. (Rebroadcast of 7/11/1991)

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01:05:56

Novelist Kurt Vonnegut on Writing, Science, and Being an Atheist in a Foxhole.

Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most prominent of contemporary novelists. His work often contains paradoxes and explores ideas from his science background. Vonnegut was also a P. O. W. in Dresden during the U.S firebombing of the city, an experience that was a subject in his novel "Slaughterhouse-Five." Vonnegut's works have often been banned, and he is active in a movement of writers to defend free speech rights in the U. S. and abroad. He recently traveled abroad as a representative of the organization PEN to report on intellectual freedom in Eastern Europe.

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Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

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This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

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