KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Kay Boyle Day: Part 3
Analog Audio
Event Type
Spoken WordOrigin
KPFAIdentifier
AM.1988.02.19.03Program Length
124 minDates
1988-02-19 | broadcast| 1988-02-19 | created
Description
On February 19, 1988, as part of a fund-raising marathon, KPFA presented a nine hour festival of programing in honor of Kay Boyle’s 86th birthday, which included interviews with the poet, author, and political activist and readings of her work. One of the most important American writers of the 20th century, Boyle was born in St. Paul, MN in 1902 and was educated at The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She moved to France in 1923, and spent the next twenty years associating with the best and the brightest authors and artists of Europe. She became increasingly politically active and was eventually blacklisted during the McCarthy era. This however only encouraged her and she soon became heavily involved in the civil rights, anti-Vietnam War, and nuclear disarmament movements. She taught creative writing at San Francisco State University from 1962 to 1979. She published over 40 books, including 14 novels and eight volumes of poetry, 11 collections of short stories and three children's books. Boyle was married three times, had six children, and died in 1992. In this last of three segments you will hear a reading of one of Boyle’s many humorous short stories, as well as a 1988 interview with Charles Amirkhanian in which Boyle discusses some of her then current favorite authors. This is followed by another interview in which Boyle talks about her work with Amnesty International and her memories about being blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Some of her testimony before Congress concerning her supposed affiliation with purported Communists is also given a dramatic reading. The nine hours of programming dedicated to the life and work of Kay Boyle then concludes with a reading from the book “Being Geniuses Together”, which describes her time in Paris during the 1920s.Genres
LiteraturePoetry
Musical Selections
The Great Pretender [excerpt] / The Platters -- Will the Circle be Unbroken [excerpt] -- [a reading of ”A Major Engagement in Paris“, from the book “Fifty Stories”] (18:49) -- [an interview of Kay Boyle by Charles Amirkhanian, Feb. 9, 1988] (22:00) -- [Kay Boyle on Amnesty International and a reading of her testimony before Congress] (22:30) -- Rock, Salt and Nails [excerpt] / Joan Baez -- [readings from “Being Geniuses Together” by Robert McAlmon & Kay Boyle] (13:22)Performers
Eleanor Sully, reader (Major)Pamela Marsh, reader, (testimony ; Being)
Ed Markmann, reader (testimony)
Subjects
LiteratureFiction
Poetry
Authors
Communism
Politics and culture
Authors, American -- 20th century -- Biography
Americans -- France -- Paris -- History -- 20th century
Acknowledgment
Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the GRAMMY Foundation.Related places
Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)
Related Entities
Amirkhanian, CharlesJennings, Russ
Stone, Susan, 1952-
Bauersfeld, Erik
Sully, Eleanor
Boyle, Kay, 1902-1992
Beckett, Samuel, 1906-1989
Nemerov, Howard
McAlmon, Robert, 1896-1956