August 1, 2024: John Barth (1930-2024), Master of Metafiction

KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

John Barth (1930-2024), who died on April 2, 2024 at the age of 93, was America’s leading writer of metafictional and post-modern fiction. This interview was conducted by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff on November 12, 2001 in the KPFA studios, while on the book tour for the novel Coming Soon.

John Barth began to receive notice for his two earliest novels, The Floating Opera and End of the Road in the late 1950s, but burst on the scene with his epic comic novel about colonial life in Maryland, The Sot-Weed Factor, and his allegory of the Cold War, set on a university campus, Giles Goat-Boy. His short story collection, Lost in the Funhouse and novella collection Chimera cemented his reputation as a writer of meta-fiction, as the stories zoom back on themselves and on the writing of those stories.

From Wikipedia: “In his epistolary novel LETTERS (1979), Barth corresponds with characters from his other books. Later novels such as The Tidewater Tales (1987) and The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor (1991) continue in the metafictional vein, using writers as protagonists who interact with their own and other stories in elaborate ways. His 1994 Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera casts Barth himself as the protagonist who on a sailing trip encounters characters and situations from previous works.”

After the 2001 interview, he continued to work in the same vein with a triptych of novellas, Where Three Roads Meet in 2005, interrelated short stories set in a retirement community, The Development: Nine Stories in 2008, and Every Third Thought: A Novel in Five Seasons in 2011. A, book of collected stories was released in 2015 and Postscripts (or Just Desserts): Some Final Scribbling came out in 2022.

This interview was both the last interview conducted with Richard Lupoff as co-host, and the final interview recorded and edited on analog tape. This program was digitized and edited in July 2024 by Richard Wolinsky, and is heard in full for the first time.

Lorrie Moore is a celebrated short story writer and novelist. In this excerpt from an interview recorded April 8, 2014 while on tour for her collection, Bark, she discusses her writing and research process. Complete 40-minute Interview.

Review of “Collective Rage: A Play in 4 Betties” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through August 18, 2024.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores
Bay Area Book Festival See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024.
Book Passage. Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith. Monthly Event Calendar.
BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months.
Green Apple Books. Events calendar.
Kepler’s Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings.

Live Theater Companies
Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC). Calendar of upcoming readings.
African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar.
Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
American Conservatory Theatre Carrie, The Musical, The Reuff at The Strand, August 1-11. Noel Coward’s Private Lives, September 12 – October 6, Toni Rembe Theatre.
Aurora Theatre Fallen Angels by Noel Coward, October 19 – November 17.
Awesome Theatre Company. Por La Noche (By Night), October 11 – 26, 2024. See website for information.
Berkeley Rep. Mexodus, September 13 – October 20, Peet’s Theatre.
Berkeley Shakespeare Company. See website for upcoming shows.
Boxcar Theatre. New Years Eve at the Speakeasy, Jan. 1, 2025. Magic Man, Jan 3 – June 2, Palace Theatre.
Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions.
BroadwaySF: Girl from the North Country, July 30-Aug 18, Golden Gate. See website for events at the Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate.
Broadway San Jose: Disney’s Frozen, August 21 – September 1.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). As You Like it, September 12 – 29.
Center Rep: Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring September 8 -29. Lesher Center for the Arts.
Central Works Accused by Patricia Milton, July 13 – August 18. Extended.
Cinnabar Theatre. See website for upcoming shows.
Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre In Repertory: Hamlet and Rosencranz and Gildenstern Are Dead, September 7 – 22.
Curran Theater: See website for special events..
Custom Made Theatre. In hibernation.
Cutting Ball Theatre. See website for upcoming shows.
42^nd Street Moon. Bright Star postponed.
Golden Thread 11 Reflections: San Francisco, October 4-5, Brava Theatre Center. See website for other events.
Hillbarn Theatre: Always…Patsy Cline, August 22 – September 15.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body by Lisa B. Thompson, directed by Margo Hall. September 19 – October 6, 2024. Fort Mason.
Lower Bottom Playaz See website for upcoming productions.
Magic Theatre. Magic Gala, August 8, 2024. Richard II by William Shakespeare, August 21 – September 8. See website for other events.
Marin Theatre Company Yaga by by Kat Sandler, October 10 – November 3, 2024.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell, September 20 – October 20.
Oakland Theater Project. Angels in America, Parts I & II, September 27 – October 26,
Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming.
Pear Theater. The Black Experience Festival, August 9 – 25.
Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances.
Ray of Light: Legally Blonde, September 7-29, 2024, Victoria Theatre. See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein’s at the Nikko (It’s Britney, Bitch, July 24).
San Francisco Playhouse. Evita, June 27-September 7. 2024.
SFBATCO. See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.
San Jose Stage Company: See website for upcoming schedule.
Shotgun Players. Collective Rage by Jen Silverman. July 20 – August 18.
South Bay Musical Theatre: No, No Nanette, Sept 28 – Oct. 19. Saratoga Civic Theater.
Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Lunatico See website for upcoming productions.
Theatre Rhino Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. New Works Festival, August 9-18, Lucie Stern Theatre, Palo Alto. King James by Rajiv Joseph, October 9 – November 3, 2024.
Word for Word. See website for upcoming productions.

Misc. Listings:
BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA.
Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings.

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [e-mail]

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