Lannan Readings & Conversations

John Barth

with Michael Silverblatt
Wednesday April 25 2001
John Barth's novels include Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera; The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor; Tidewater Tales; Sabbatical: A Romance; Giles Goat-Boy or, The Revised New Syllabus; and The Sot-Weed Factor. His two short story collections are On with the Story and Lost in the Funhouse. Mr. Barth has written, "We tell stories and listen to them because we live stories and live in them. Narrative equals language equals life: To cease to narrate…is to die." Mr. Barth, who is professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins University, received the Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

John Barth Bio and Cross Links


Michael Silverblatt, a New York native, studied at Johns Hopkins University, where he came under the influence of such cutting-edge author-teachers as Donald Barthelme and John Barth. Dubbed "the best reader in America" by Norman Mailer, he is the host of the literary talk show Bookworm, which he created in 1989 for KCRW 89.9 FM in Santa Monica. He has participated in numerous Readings & Conversations programs, interviewing Gore Vidal, Susan Sontag, Salman Rushdie, and A.S. Byatt, among others. Bookworm airs locally on KSFR 101.1FM every Sunday at 1:30pm.

Michael Silverblatt Bio and Cross Links