town.hall.org: On this segment of HarperAudio!, we hear Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) giving his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Literature, recorded by a Havana, Cuba radio station in 1954. It is followed by a speech Hemingway gave to introduce a production of his play "The Fifth Column." The play is set in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War, where Hemingway served as a war correspondent. In both these excerpts, Hemingway displays in speech the economy of style and almost staccato structure that made him one of the most influential writers of the 20th Century.
Ernest Hemingway by ~Arrowfire on deviantART
NPR.org: December 13, 2004 · "Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. Old Marley was as dead as a doornail."
So begins A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Some say this short story, first published in 1843, transformed Christmas into a major holiday. Before A Christmas Carol, there was surprisingly little celebration during the Christmas season. After its publication, the holiday became a high point of the year. The tale has inspired movies, operas, readings and countless stage performances around the globe.
Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of this holiday classic, using a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations. He re-creates Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley's spirit and the three Christmas ghosts: Past, Present and Future. Mimi Kennedy also performs.
Produced by National Public Radio and KCRW.
Part radio doc, part interview, part spoken word art. This tracks got it all.Joe Franklin, The man credited with creating the television talk show, has hosted over 28,000 episodes of The Joe Franklin Show and has interviewed over 150,000 guests, some famous and some . . . not. From his Times Square office filled with chaos and clutter, he fields about 1,000 calls a day from hopefuls hoping to land a spot on his show. "Of course, most of them can't be on, but I hate to hurt their feelings so I never say 'good-bye.' I just hang up. So that way they feel the conversation hangs in limbo until we chat again."
Over the years, Sound Portraits producers have met some pretty impressive characters. Unbelievable characters. But the greatest of them all is Joe Franklin. Just give a call to his office (the number's listed) and you'll see: "Hello? Who's this?" he'll ask. "[Fill in your name], my friend!" he'll exclaim, as if he's known you all his life. "Listen to me closely now. Whatever you want, it's automatic. Listen, [Fill in your name] -- I'm very busy. Very busy. Call me back at three o'clock exactly. You swear? Don't forget now -- very important. Critical! God bless you." SLAM.
Producer: David Isay / Mix engineer: David Goren / Funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Photograph by Harvey Wang
