Story Archives of 'Writers on a New England Stage'

Tracy Kidder tells true stories. He is one of the masters of the narrative non-fiction genre. He’s won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for works which combine fine writing with solid reporting, often from places we would never choose to go.

Tracy Kidder’s new book, Strength In What Remains, tells the story of a young African medical student who narrowly escapes civil war and the Rwandan genocide and lands in New York as a penniless refugee. It’s a terrifying journey, sometimes mere paces away from the muffled cries and charred remains of terror. It’s also a story of extraordinary courage.

Today, Word of Mouth presents a conversation with Tracy Kidder, from the "Writers on a New England Stage" series.

(Photo by Rich Orris)

For almost her entire professional life Ruth Reichl has been able to combine her two loves, food and writing. A long time restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, Reichl became editor of Gourmet Magazine in 1999. Her books book have also been a combination of memoir and food, but in her latest offering, Not Becoming My Mother, Reichl looks back at her mother’s life through almost a century of letters and how her challenges influenced her daughter’s career. On Friday, Reichl stopped by the Music Hall in Portsmouth for the next installment of our Writers on a New England Stage series. Today we bring you part of that performance.

Massachusetts-born writer Anita Shreve is the author of 14 books, including The Pilot’s Wife, chosen as an Oprah Book Club Selection, and The Weight of Water, a murder mystery set on the Isles of Shoals. Her latest offering, Testimony, opens the door to a sex scandal at a New England boarding school that starts with a video tape and ripples out into an entire community. This week Anita Shreve traveled to The Music Hall in Portsmouth to be a part of our Writers on a New England Stage series. She spoke before a live audience on her new book and then was joined by NHPR's Laura Knoy. Today we bring you that performance.

Today on Word of Mouth, author Gregory Maguire, the man behind Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the best-selling book and the record-shattering Broadway play.

Wicked is part of a series of novels that looks behind the characters and accepted wisdom behind the enduring Wizard of Oz stories. Gregory Maguire traveled to Portsmouth, NH to join the "Writers on a New England Stage" series at The Music Hall.

He talked about A Lion Among Men, the third book in the Wicked series. It digs into the myths behind the cowardly lion who accompanied Dorothy on the yellow brick road. Click here for the full, unedited audio of the event.

Best known for her portrayals of the complex, intertwined history of Native and White Americans, a heritage the author herself shares, Louise Erdrich came to The Music Hall in Portsmouth to talk about her new book “The Plague of Doves” and take questions from the audience and Exchange host Laura Knoy. Today we bring you part of that performance.