Episode 398
with Tim O'Brien, Mira Jacob, and Edna Vazquez
Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello tell us a secret; author Tim O’Brien explains his latest work, "Dad’s Maybe Book," as a series of letters and observations to help bridge the age gap between himself and his sons; writer Mira Jacob unpacks the process of creating her graphic memoir, "Good Talk," through which she taught herself how to draw to communicate difficult conversations about identity; and virtuoso singer and guitarist Edna Vazquez performs her new song “Monita.”
Tim O’Brien
Writer
Tim O’Brien’s acclaimed novels include The Things They Carried (an NEA Big Read, which the New York Times said belongs on “the short list of essential fiction about Vietnam”), If I Die in a Combat Zone, In the Lake of the Woods, and Going After Cacciato (which won the 1979 National Book Award in fiction), among others. In 2012 he was honored with the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation’s Richard Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, and in 2013 he was awarded the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. Website • Twitter
Mira Jacob
Writer
Mira Jacob is the author and illustrator of Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations. Her critically acclaimed novel, The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing, was a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers pick, shortlisted for India’s Tata First Literature Award, and longlisted for the Brooklyn Literary Eagles Prize. It was named one of the best books of 2014 by Kirkus Reviews, the Boston Globe, Goodreads, Bustle, and The Millions. Her writing and drawings have appeared in The New York Times, Electric Literature, Tin House, Literary Hub, Guernica, Vogue, the Telegraph, and Buzzfeed, and she has a drawn column on Shondaland. Website • Twitter
Edna Vazquez
Singer & Guitarist
Edna Vazquez is a fearless singer, songwriter and guitarist whose powerful voice and musical talent transcend the boundaries of language to engage and uplift her audience. Her original music crosses the genres of alternative rock, folk, pop, and R&B seamlessly and delivers a message of light, love and cultural healing - beautifully captured by TEDx in 2018. Her passion for music and education have lead her to empower youth and the community through workshops and projects with the Bravo Youth Orchestras, Young Audiences and the Lullaby Project by Carnegie Hall through the Oregon Symphony. Listen • Twitter
