© 2024 Central Florida Public Media. All Rights Reserved.
90.7 FM Orlando • 89.5 FM Ocala
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Commemorating Philip Roth's 75th Birthday

Author Philip Roth began his writing career in 1959 with the publication of Goodbye, Columbus, a collection of stories about Jewish communities in America following World War II, which won the National Book Award for fiction.

Since then, Roth has written nearly 30 novels, including American Pastoral, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1997. Most recently, he published Exit Ghost, the final novel depicting the story of Nathan Zuckerman, Roth's so-called alter ego. In 2001, the American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded Roth its prestigious Gold Medal for Fiction.

Roth turned 75 in March, and the National Book Foundation is commemorating his birthday with a special event and an online exhibit of his literary career. We listen back to highlights of our conversations with Roth.

This broadcast originally aired on September 27, 2005.

Copyright 2023 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Terry Gross
Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune, would be prized by any talk-show host, and you're bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by the unique approach of host and executive producer Terry Gross. "A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence," says the San Francisco Chronicle.