Sister Cecelia Clegg, a Scottish Roman Catholic nun, works for peace in Northern Ireland by way of her project: "Moving Beyond Sectarianism," a workshop for Catholic and Protestant congregations to speak about their lives and their differences. In the three years she has lived and worked in Belfast, Sister Cecelia has been viewed as a British outsider to Irish Catholics as well as a Catholic outsider to Protestants.
NPR correspondent Jacki Lyden has written a memoir, entitled "Daughter of the Queen of Sheba" (Houghton Mifflin). It's a tale of her mother, who suffered from manic depression, often imagining herself as various historical and fictional characters. The book also touches on how her mother's illness influenced Jacki's fascination with "exotic" places, including the Middle East. Lyden was stationed in Baghdad as a correspondent during the Persian Gulf War.
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss. He transcribed tapes, edited and provided commentary for the new book "Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963-1964" (Simon & Schuster). When Johnson took office, he began recording his daily private conversations. This book is the first volume of transcripts and covers the aftermath of the Kennedy Assassination, the creation of the Warren Commission, the civil rights bill, and the Tonkin Gulf attack, and his thoughts about the Vietnam war. Beschloss has written three other books.
Biographer Frank McLynn and writer Richard Noll examine the life of 20th century Swiss psychologist Carl Jung in their latest biographies. Frank McLynn's work, "Carl Gustav Jung" (St. Martin's Press), touches on Jung's early career, his allegiance and later his break with Sigmund Freud, as well as Jung as a controversial figure and an icon of "new age" philosophy.
Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. She stars in the new film "Washington Square" which is based on the Henry James novella. In it she plays Catherine Sloper, a shy and unattractive woman who risks estrangement from her father who disapproves of a man she has fallen for. The character is one of a diverse many for Leigh, who has portrayed everything from a phone-sex girl in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" to a psychotic roommate in "Single White Female" to poet Dorothy Parker in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle."
Master chef Georges Perrier of the nationally renowned Philadelphia French restaurant, Le Bec-Fin. He has revealed many of his recipes in his first cookbook, "Georges Perrier Le Bec-Fin Recipes" (Running Press).
Author Don DeLillo on his new novel "Underworld." (Scribner) This 827-page work weaves in and out of the latter half of this century, incorporating modern icons such as Frank Sinatra, Lenny Bruce, and J. Edgar Hoover. The novel's first scene visits the Giant-Dodgers pennant game of October 3rd, 1951 -- also the date of the first nuclear test in the Soviet Union.
Actress and Comedian Whoopi Goldberg. She's just written "Book," (Rob Weisbach Books) a collection of life observations, insights, and Whoopi-isms in 25 vignettes. Goldberg received a Grammy for 1985's Best Comedy Album, as well as an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1990.
Director, writer, and producer Francis Ford Coppola. A five-time Oscar winner, Coppola is known for such films as "Apocalypse Now," "American Graffiti," and the "Godfather" trilogy. Coppola continues to create in other arenas, such as wine making, and a quarterly literary magazine "Zoetrope" which he publishes. He and his wife have bought and restored the Inglenook wine estate in Napa Valley. Coppola's new film "The Rainmaker" comes out in November.
Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. He died yesterday in Manhattan at the age of 73. He was one of the inventors of pop art in the 1960's, finding inspiration for his paintings in comic books and advertisements. Lichtenstein's work often replicated the heavy black outlines, bright colors and dots of a color comic strip found in a newspaper. Called by one critic the "supreme virtuoso of pop", his work was filled with constant references to high and low arts as well as to his own work. We remember him with an interview from 11/8/93.
Anita Hill has written a book entitled "Speaking Truth to Power," (Doubleday) a reflection on the events surrounding the Hill-Thomas hearings of the fall of 1991. Hill addresses her difficult overnight transformation into a public figure, as well as the way her case has affected women and the work world as a whole. Hill is currently working on another book about sexual harassment, and lectures on civil rights and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Reporter Malcolm Gladwell of the New Yorker speaks about the Spanish influenza of 1918. Gladwell's article in September 29th's New Yorker explores the medical potential of seven buried bodies stricken by this flu. Lodged in the Arctic tundra, the bodies, soon to be exhumed, may hold clues on how to prevent a similar epidemic in the future. Gladwell is the former New York bureau chief of the Washington Post. (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)
Playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Paul Rudnick. Paul discusses his new movie, "In & Out," starring Kevin Kline -- the story of a high school English teacher "outed" on national t.v. by a former student, much to the surprise of everyone. Rudnick is the author of such plays as "I Hate Hamlet," "The Naked Eye," and "Jeffrey." He also wrote the screenplay for "Addams Family Values." (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)
