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 A Five Part Series from TTBOOK! |
NATURE STORIES
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Program 08-06-01-A |
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Who says it's only humans who make art? Have you ever seen an elephant paint? Move over Jackson Pollock - elephant masterpieces are heading to the auction block!. And when it comes to music well, Renee Fleming's got a nice voice, but have you have heard a whale sing? It's unbelievable. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, tales from the animal kingdom.
SEGMENT 1:
David Rothenberg is a philosopher and musician who enjoys playing his clarinet with animals. His new book is "Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound" which talks about the duets he played with whales: humpbacks, belugas and orcas. He talks with Steve Paulson about how and why he did what he did, and we hear lots of his (their) music. Also, Jennifer Angus is an artist who finds insects so beautiful she uses them in her work. Anne Strainchamps visits with her in her studio. Pictures of her work are at http://www.jenniferangus.com/home.htm .
SEGMENT 2:
Essayist Anne Fadiman reads from and talks with Steve Paulson about her essay "Collecting Nature." It comes from her latest collection, "At Large and at Small" and talks about the delight she and her brother took as children with collecting (and killing) butterflies. Also, David Gessner is a nature writer who's sick of nature and most nature writing. In his essay "My Green Manifesto" and in this conversation with Steve Paulson, Gessner makes the case for wilder, messier, more eccentric writing. Gesner's books include "Sick of Nature" and "Soaring with Fidel." He's the editor of Ecotone, an environmental literary magazine.
SEGMENT 3:
Christopher Benfey is the author of "A Summer of Hummingbirds." He tells Anne Strainchamps why there was a hummingbird craze in 19th century Massachsetts, how artists and poets used them as symbols, and why they seem like winged jewels. Benfey teaches English at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 08-06-01-A.
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Books:
| Christopher Benfey, A Summer
of Hummingbirds (Penguin) |
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David Gessner, Soaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey From Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond (Beacon)
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| David Rothenberg, Thousand Mile Song (Basic Books) |  |
Websites:
- Elephant Art
http://www.elephantart.com/catalog/splash.php - Jennifer Angus:
http://www.jenniferangus.com/home.htm -
David Gessner’s “Green Manifesto” on Ecotone:
http://www.ecotonejournal.com
Music:
- In Rothenberg:
- From David Rothenberg’s CD “Whale Music”:
”Never Satisfied”
”Myagostrov, in the Deep”
“Duo Orcananda”
Terra Nova Music
- From Roger Payne’s CD “Deep Voices”:
“Left Over Sea Running”
“Drifting Off” - In Angus:
Lang Elliott and Wil Hershberger w/ “Jumping Bush Cricket” - On “The Songs of Insects”
NatureSound Studio
Don Byron w/ “Bounce of the Sugar Plum Fairies”
On “Bug Music”
Nonesuch Records - After Gessner:
Baka Beyond w/ “Boulez Boulez”
On “Rhythm Tree”
March Hare Music - After Benfey:
Richard Stoltzman & Guildhall String Ensemble playing Lawrence Ashmore’s “Four Seasons”
On “Clarinet Concerto, Five Bagatelles”
RCA Victor
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Distribution dates: week of 06/01/2008
- hour 1 |
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