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Edmund White Discusses his Biography of Genet.

Writer Edmund White. He has been called "unquestionably the foremost American gay novelist." White's novels draw significantly from his own experiences in a style he calls "auto-fiction." In his newest book, "Genet: A Biography" (Knopf), White documents the life of controversial French writer, Jean Genet. Genet had a reputation as a dandy, a thief, a vagabond --- a "thug of genius." White calls him "one of France's most original and forceful novelists of the twentieth century." White has also written "Forgetting Elena," "A Boy's Own Story," and six other books of fiction and non-fiction.

22:56
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Other segments from the episode on November 8, 1993

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, November 8, 1993: Interview with Edmund White; Interview with Roy Lichtenstein; Review of the Breeders' album "Last Splash."
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16:07

American Artist Roy Lichtenstein.

American artist Roy Lichtenstein. He was one of the inventors of pop art in the 1960's, finding inspiration for his paintings in comic books and advertisements. (More recently, he's found it in the yellow pages of the phone book). Lichtenstein's work often replicates the heavy black outlines, bright colors and dots of a color comic strip found in a newspaper. Called by one critic the "supreme virtuoso of pop", his work is filled with constant references to high and low arts as well as to his own work.

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18:55

Edmund White's 'Lives'

Edmund White has been writing about gay culture in fiction and nonfiction since the 1970s. He has a new autobiography, My Lives. White is director of the creative writing program at Princeton University.

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21:41

Edmund White's 'Arts and Letters'

Edmund White has been writing about gay culture in fiction and nonfiction since the 1970s. His new book is a collection of his essays, Arts and Letters. White is director of the creative writing program at Princeton University.

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44:59

Novelist Edmund White Completes His Autobiographical Trilogy of Novels.

Novelist Edmund White has just completed his semi-autobiographical trilogy. The new novel The Farewell Symphony (Knopf) focuses on gay life from the 1960’s to the present. His other books include A Boy’s Own Story,The Beautiful Room is Empty,Genet: A Biography, Forgetting Elena, Nocturnes for the King of Naples, States of Desire: Travels in Gay America, The Joy of Gay Sex, and Caracole.

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