History of New Letters on the Air

New Letters on the Air, hosted by Angela Elam, is the half-hour radio companion to the literary quarterly magazine New Letters. P. Past guests include U.S. Poet Laureates Ted Kooser, Rita Dove, Billy Collins; Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Tony Kushner and novelists Jim Harrison, Jane Smiley, Richard Russo. The program, which also features emerging writers of poetry, fiction, drama and creative non-fiction, is produced by the University of Missouri-Kansas City and distributed via Public Radio's Content Depot. New Letters on the Air celebrates its 28th year as one of the nation's leading audio-literature collectors and broadcasters.  David and Judy Ray began New Letters on the Air in 1977 as the radio companion to the distinguished literary quarterly New Letters.  Rebekah Presson Mosby worked as a producer and then host from 1982 until 1995.  Now, producer/host Angela Elam continues the tradition with New Letters editor Robert Stewart and other members of the New Letters staff.  New Letters on the Air is not only a weekly program broadcast over many public radio stations, but is also one of the largest and best collections of recordings of contemporary authors, both from the United States and around the world. Many of these important writers -- Allen Ginsberg, Jane Kenyon, Howard Nemerov, Michael Dorris, James Dickey, John Gardner, Gwendolyn Brooks -- have now passed from the literary scene. Many are Nobel laureates, winners of Pulitzer Prizes or National Book Awards.  Most programs from our extensive archives are offered for sale on audiocassette or CD. If you're in the Kansas City area, and would like to get on our mailing list for a non-intrusive, once-a-month schedule of upcoming programs, click here to send an email from your own address.  If you're already on it and you want to get off, click here.