Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Pat Conroy Discusses His Childhood with an Abusive Father.

Writer Pat Conroy, author of the autobiographical novels The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini and The Lords of Discipline. They all tell the story of growing up in the South in a large family headed by an abusive Marine father. (Rebroadcast. Original broadcast 1.27.87)

27:04
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on April 13, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, April 13, 1988: Interview with Pat Conroy; Review of the cast album of "Into the Woods"; Interview with Pierce Turner; Commentary on the book "They Have a Word for It."
Queue
07:00

Is Sondheim Getting Predictable?

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the cast recording of "Into the Woods," the latest Stephen Sondheim musical. Sondheim is the composer of "Sweeney Todd," "Pacific Overtures" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Review
Queue
10:04

Irish Musician Pierce Turner.

Irish rock musician Pierce Turner. His first band, The Major Thinkers, became popular with New York's East Village crowd and had a hit song in "Avenue B." Turner's debut album, "It's Only a Long Way Across," was produced by minimalist composer Phillip Glass.

Interview
Queue
03:33

Idioms in English and Other Languages.

Language commentator Geoffrey Nunberg discusses the new book They Have a Word for It. The book is a collection of foreign words and expressions for which there is no ready English translation.

Commentary

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
38:34

Writer Pat Conroy on Using His Family as Inspiration.

Writer Pat Conroy. He has written several novels including The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides. Both books were made into movies. "The Great Santini" about a powerful and abusive father starred Robert Duvall. "The Prince of Tides" starred Barbara Streisand and Nick Nolte. CONROY'S new novel is called Beach Music.

Interview
Queue
03:43

Do Judge a Book by its Jacket Blurb.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg examines the blurbs on book jackets...those hyperbolic quotes that declare seemingly every new book to be "a blockbuster" or "runaway best-seller."

Commentary

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

08:26

This Romanian film about immigration and vanishing jobs hits close to home

R.M.N. is based on an actual 2020 event in Ditrău, Romania, where 1,800 villagers voted to expel three Sri Lankans who worked at their local bakery.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue