Society & Culture

TV critic David Bianculli previews the premiere of "I'll Fly Away," the drama series set in the south at the time of the civil rights movement. It used to air on NBC; PBS has just picked it up and added tonights episode to it.

Novelist Mary Gordon. Her most recent book, "The Rest of Life" (Viking), is a compilation of three novellas. She explores the delicate love affairs that shape the lives of three women. Gordon's a feminist and a Catholic and often explores those themes in her writing. She has written four other novels as well as a collection of short stories. Gordon teaches at Barnard College.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Morning After," by Katie Roiphe. (Little, Brown).

Lawyer, professor, and former nominee to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Lani Guinier. Guinier's nomination was withdrawn by President Clinton, after Republicans and Democrats started to question her views, as expressed in her academic writings, labeling her a "racial separatist," and the "quota queen." Guinier talks with Terry about her views, her work with the NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational fund to amend the the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and how she was misunderstood and misrepresented during the nomination process.

Professor Patricia Turner, of the African American Studies department at University of California, Davis. Her new book "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (U. of California Press) examines the historical and social ramifications of rumor in African American culture. From Ku Klux Klan-owned clothing and cigarette companies to a military conspiracy to infect Africans with AIDS, she looks at the role of legend and rumor, finding it has long been a feature of the community.

Commentator Gayle Pemberton on the importance of African-American magazines.

Law Professor Catherine MacKinnon. She's well known for her feminist take on legal issues, and she's just written a new book called "Only Words." (Harvard University Press) She argues that as long as sexual harassment, pornography and hate speech are protected by the First Amendment, equality will only be a word, not a reality. MacKinnon pioneered the legal claim for sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. She now teaches at the University of Michigan Law School.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "The Joy Luck Club," the movie adaptation of the Amy Tan novel.

Children's book writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak. He's been at it for over 40 years. His books are classics: "Where the Wild Things Are," "In the Night Kitchen," and others. They are "unsentimental fantasizes" (LA Times Magazine), challenging the belief that children should be protected from their fears and anxieties. In all, Sendak has illustrated 80 children's books (19 of which he wrote).

A new young poet and short-story writer Sherman Alexie. He's a 26 year-old Native American who grew up on the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Washington State.

Writer Anne Lamott tells us about her real-life nightmare defending single motherhood on national TV.

Commentator Gayle Pemberton remembers the "Birmingham Bombing", which killed four young girls and galvanized support for the Civil Rights Movement.

Actor James Earl Jones. His is one of the distinctive voices of our time, yet few people know he fights a stutter; Jones' stage work off-Broadway in Jean Genet's "The Blacks" and Athol Fugard's "The Blood Knot" lead to a Broadway success in "The Great White Way", for which Jones won a Tony. His work in August Wilson's "Fences" won him another. It took one day to record the voice track for Darth Vader in "Star Wars": a performance which lead to many other commercial voice-over projects.

Palestinian-American Naseer Aruri. He's a professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He's the author of a number of books, his latest is"Occupation: Israel Over Palestine," in it's second edition (1989), which was selected by Choice magazine as one of the "Outstanding Books for 1984/85." Aruri has written many articles on human rights, the Palestine question, Lebanon, Islam, and U.S. policy in the Middle East in scholarly journals and weekly magazines.

Novelist Amy Tan. Her debut novel, "The Joy Luck Club," was a huge critical and commercial success, and it earned Tan a nomination for the National Book Award. It's now been made into a movie. Tan and Ron Bass wrote the screenplay. Marty will talk with Tan and Bass about making "The Joy Luck Club" into a movie. Ron Bass also wrote the screenplay for "Rain Man" for which he won an Academy Award. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Terry talks with two authors of children books which were once part of the reading list for the Rainbow curriculum in the New York Public schools. The two books were controversial, and removed from the list, because they dealt with children of gay parents. Leslea (Les-LEE-ah) Newman is the author of "Heather has Two Mommies," and Michael Willhoite wrote "Daddy's Roommate." (Both books are published by Alyson Publishers, Boston, Mass).

Bioethicist George Annas and Director of the Law, Medicine & Ethics Program, Boston University Schools of Medicine, Public Health and Law. "Standard of Care," (Oxford University Press) is his new book which examines how the law has shaped medical practice. ANNAS believes the law has a bigger impact on medical ethics than does philosophy or medicine. For instance, he says because doctors are afraid of litigation, they often don't use sound medical judgement.

Two poets, married to one another, coming to grips with illness and mortality: Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon. Hall's new memoir of life on his New Hampshire farm and his "absorbedness" with writing are the subject of his new book "Life Work" (Beacon Press). Halfway through its completion, Hall was diagnosed with liver cancer; the following surgery and recovery provided rich material for his work and Kenyon's: a new book of poems entitled "Constance" (Graywolf Press).

Writer Cynthia Heimel is a columnist for The Village Voice, and a witty observer of what goes on between men and women in this society. Her books include, "Sex Tips for Girls," "Enough About You," and "If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?" Her latest book is "Get Your Tongue out of my Mouth, I'm Kissing You Goodbye!" (Atlantic Monthly Press). The book begins with an intro by her son, Brodie, who Heimel has written about in her columns. Terry will talk with Cynthia and Brodie Heimel.

Atlanta-based writer, performance artist, and award-winning playwright Pearl Cleage. She's also a columnist for the Atlanta Tribune," and, more importantly, a "third-generation black nationalist feminist." She has a new book of essays, "Deals with the Devil: And other Reasons to Riot," (Ballatine Books). One of her columns, "Mad At Miles," is about her anger at Miles Davis for his "violent crimes against women," about our willingness to forgive the sins of a genius, and the violence done to black women by black men.