Michael Lackey

Conversations with Jay Parini - Literary Conversations Series Michael Lackey

Brief Description: "This book contains the most important interviews with Jay Parini, who is best known for his 1990 The Last Station, a multi-perspective novel about Leo Tolstoy's last year. But he has also published numerous volumes of poetry; biographies of William Faulkner, Robert Frost, and John Steinbeck; novels; and literary and cultural criticism. Parini's work is valuable not just because of its high quality and intellectual range. It is crucial for understanding late-20th and early-21st century literature more generally, as Parini not only engages in a lively conversation with other prominent writers, but also was close friends with so many of these authors. He has openly written poems in conversation with such writers as Robert Penn Warren, Gore Vidal, Jorge Luis Borges, and others. He has had an ongoing conversation with many literary friends over the years--Alastair Reid, Seamus Heaney, Anne Stevenson, Ann Beattie, Julia Alvarez, Peter Ackroyd, A. N. Wilson, and countless others. His life often seems like a seminar table, with friends gathered, talking, trading stories. These interviews will give scholars a more comprehensive understanding of his work as a poet, scholar, public intellectual, literary critic, intellectual historian, biographer, novelist, and biographical novelist. More importantly, these interviews will contribute to our understanding of the history of ideas, the condition of knowledge, and the state of literature, which Parini has played an important role in shaping"--Table of Contents: Introduction -- Chronology -- The Poets-Strangers on the Edge of Town / Tony Cannella / 1977 -- Jay Parini Interview with Don Swaim / Don Swaim / 1990 -- Interview with Chris Bohjalian / Chris Bohjalian / 1997 -- Jay Parini Interview: Robert Frost: A Life / Brian Lamb / 1999 -- An Interview with Jay Parini / Paul Holler / 2006 -- Writer's Craft: Floating Ideas with Literary Legend Jay Parini / Mike Ives / 2007 -- Jay Parini's The Last Station: Tolstoy's Final Year / Ramona Koval / 2007 -- Jay Parini on Why Poetry Matters / Mitch Wertlieb / 2008 -- The Books That Changed America / Tom Ashbrook / 2008 -- After Words: Jay Parini, Promised Land / Sam Tanenhaus / 2008 -- Interview with Jay Parini / Shelagh Shapiro / 2010 -- Reflections on Biographical Fiction / Michael Lackey / 2012 -- The Uses of History in the Biographical Novel: A Conversation with Jay Parini, Bruce Duffy, and Lance Olsen / Michael Lackey / 2012 -- Self-Interview: JP talks to Jay Parini / Jay Parini / 2013 -- Index. Marc Notes: Includes index.; This book contains the most important interviews with Jay Parini, who is best known for his 1990 The Last Station, a multi-perspective novel about Leo Tolstoy's last year. But he has also published numerous volumes of poetry;biographies of William Faulkner, Robert Frost, and John Steinbeck;novels;and literary and cultural criticism. Parini's work is valuable not just because of its high quality and intellectual range. It is crucial for understanding late-20th and early-21st century literature more generally, as Parini not only engages in a lively conversation with other prominent writers, but also was close friends with so many of these authors. He has openly written poems in conversation with such writers as Robert Penn Warren, Gore Vidal, Jorge Luis Borges, and others. He has had an ongoing conversation with many literary friends over the years--Alastair Reid, Seamus Heaney, Anne Stevenson, Ann Beattie, Julia Alvarez, Peter Ackroyd, A. N. Wilson, and countless others. His life often seems like a seminar table, with friends gathered, talking, trading stories. These interviews will give scholars a more comprehensive understanding of his work as a poet, scholar, public intellectual, literary critic, intellectual historian, biographer, novelist, and biographical novelist. More importantly, these interviews will contribute to our understanding of the history of ideas, the condition of knowledge, and the state of literature, which Parini has played an important role in shaping--; Provided by publisher.; Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher;resource not viewed. Publisher Marketing: Jay Parini (b. 1948) is best known for his novel about Leo Tolstoy's last year, "The Last Station," which has been translated into more than twenty-five languages and made into a Hollywood film. But he has also published numerous volumes of poetry; biographies of William Faulkner, Robert Frost, and John Steinbeck; novels; and literary and cultural criticism. This book contains the most important interviews with the former Guggenheim fellow; a former Fowler Hamilton Fellow at Christ Church, Oxford; and a former fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of London. Parini's work is valuable not just because of its high quality and intellectual range. Parini's life and writings often seem like a seminar table, with friends gathered, talking and trading stories. He has openly written poems in conversation with writers he knew personally: Robert Penn Warren, Gore Vidal, Jorge Luis Borges, and others. He has, in his own life, kept an ongoing conversation with many literary friends over the years--Alastair Reid, Seamus Heaney, Anne Stevenson, Ann Beattie, Julia Alvarez, Peter Ackroyd, A. N. Wilson, and countless others. These interviews offer a more comprehensive understanding of Parini's work as a poet, scholar, public intellectual, literary critic, intellectual historian, biographer, novelist, and biographical novelist. More importantly, these interviews will contribute to our understanding of the history of ideas, the condition of knowledge, and the state of literature, all of which Parini has played an important role in shaping.

Contributor Bio:  Lackey, Michael Michael Lackey has more than 35 years of professional theatre and music experience. He is a theatre veteran of more than 40 productions, and has performed with four companies of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, doing over 3,500 performances and playing the title role more than 200 times. Michael has been heard on national television as announcer for skating specials on NBC and USA Network TV, as well as in several commercials.