Showing results by publisher "92nd Street Y" in All Categories

Garrison Keillor, host of A Prarie Home Companion and best-selling author of The Book of Guys, Lake Wobegon Days, and Wobegon Boy, discusses the meaning of Lake Wobegon in his books.

Anthony Bourdain, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Eric Ripert are all well established, accomplished chefs; they share their early cooking experiences, what influenced their cooking styles, and what made them want to be chefs forever. Bourdain is the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles, the author of the best-selling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and the host of the popular Food Network series, A Cook's Tour.

Mr. Rushdie, the author of Midnight's Children, The Satanic Verses and The Ground Beneath Her Feet, reads from his newest novel, Shalimar the Clown.

Nationally syndicated radio talk show host Dennis Prager - described in Jewish Week as "one of the three most interesting minds in American Jewish life" - offers compelling arguments in favor of Judaism, developed over many years of speaking to people from virtually every religion and culture.

Steve Martin is a celebrated writer, actor, and performer. His film credits include The Jerk, Father of the Bride, and Parenthood, as well as Roxanne, L.A. Story, and Bowfinger, for which he also wrote the screenplays. He has won an Emmy for his television writing and three Grammys for his recordings.

Joyce Carol Oates called Joan Didion "an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time." Ms. Didion is the author of the novels Play It as It Lays and The Last Thing He Wanted, the essay collections Slouching Toward Bethlehem and The White Album, and the memoirs Where I Was From and The Year of Magical Thinking.

Dubbed "the poet laureate of medicine" by The New York Times, Dr. Oliver Sacks is one of the great medical writers and storytellers of our time. He has transformed our understanding of the human mind and restored narrative to a central place in the practice of medicine. His best-selling books, including Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, and An Anthropologist on Mars, entertain, enlighten, and inspire his many fans around the world.

The recently passed award-winning author of the memoirs Angela'a Ashes and 'Tis discusses his writing, his life, and teaching as a profession. He reads from Teacher Man: A Memoir.

Billy Collins, former United States poet laureate, and Garrison Keillor, host of A Prairie Home Companion, return to the Y to read favorite poems from their new anthologies 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day (Mr. Collins) and Good Poems for Hard Times (Mr. Keillor).

Gene Wilder, one of the great comic actors of our time, discusses the art of acting, the search for love, the experience of marrying Gilda Radner, and other personal events that have shaped who he is today. Wendy Wasserstein is a playwright and winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony award for best play for The Heidi Chronicles.

This event took place on March 22, 2005.

Legendary folk singer and political activist Joan Baez made her first New York concert appearance at the 92nd Street Y in 1960. She now returns for an in-depth interview that explores her extraordinary musical career and her longstanding commitment to nonviolence.

Susie Essman, star of the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Joy Behar, co-host of The View, discuss Susie's career and personal life, all with a healthy dose of sarcasm, at New York's 92nd Street Y.

Some of America's most prominent Jewish entertainers talk about their Jewish identity (or lack of one) in a panel discussion at New York's 92nd Street Y. Speakers include Jason Alexander, Leonard Nimoy, and Kyra Sedgwick. These are just some of the personalities featured in the new book Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish by Abigail Pogrebin.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks with Jan Crawford Greenberg on his career in the court system, his shift in ideology from radical to conservative, and his opinions on affirmative action and the limits of the power of the court. Clarence Thomas is a graduate of Yale University Law School and the author of My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir.

One of the key figures of the Beat movement in San Francisco in the 1950s, Lawrence Ferlinghetti has been the co-owner of City Lights Books since 1953. The first poet laureate of San Francisco, he is the author of more than 30 books of poetry, including A Coney Island of the Mind, The Secret Meaning of Things, A Far Rockaway of the Heart, and How to Paint Sunlight: Lyric Poems and Others, 1997-2000.

Regarded as one of hip-hop's most insightful artists, Mos Def has shaped a career that transcends genres. His groundbreaking collaboration with fellow rapper Talib Kweli in Black Star; his distinctive and daring solo work, and his acting, both in film and theater, have earned him Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe and NAACP Image Award nominations.

As the founder of Righteous Babe Records, the award-winning recording artist Ani DiFranco has never let her career succumb to "business as usual". Her music - rhythmically percussive guitar playing, insistent vocals, and a willingness to address both sexual and social politics - defies neat categories.

Anne Carson is "the most exciting poet writing in English today", said Michael Ondaatje. Carson, an essayist and classicist, is the author of many collections and translations, including Decreation, The Beauty of the Husband, Eros the Bittersweet, and Autobiography of Red. Her translations of four plays by Euripides are collected in Grief Lessons. Carson returns to the Poetry Center to perform her pieces "Cassandra Float Can" and "Lecture on Pronouns".

What can Judaism teach us about sexuality, love, and relationships? In this visit to New York's 92nd Street Y, Rabbi David Wolpe explores how Judaism both complements and contradicts the assumptions of popular psychology while discussing the ways Jewish tradition leads us beyond the purely physical.

Ken Follett uses his gift for storytelling to present a detailed account of the thriller's place in history and literature. Follett is the author of more than a dozen best-selling novels, including Eye of the Needle, The Pillars of the Earth, and Whiteout. He is also president of the Dyslexia Institute, a member of the National Literacy Trust, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.