Bookwaves/Artwaves – April 2, 2026 – Tracy Kidder – Joseph Kanon
About this episode
Tracy Kidder discusses his literary career and his final book in an interview with Richard Wolinsky.
Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues Tracy Kidder (1945-2026): Pulitzer Winning Non-Fiction Author Tracy Kidder (1945-2026), Pulitzer Prize winning author of literary non-fiction, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios during the book tour for “Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, ” which focuses on the extraordinary true story of Deo, a young man who arrives in America from Burundi in search of a new life. Tracy Kidder, who died of lung cancer on March 24, 2026 at the age of eighty, was best known for his literary journalism, for turning non-fiction narratives into literary masterpieces. The author of eleven books, he won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1982 for The Soul of A New Machine, which looked at the tech environment during the birth of the modern computer. His 1990 book, Among Schoolchildren, a close look at American education, focusing on twenty students in a Massachusetts elementary school, won several literary awards. In the years after the interview, Tracy Kidder went on to write…
People in this episode
Host: Richard Wolinsky
Guest: Tracy Kidder
Topics covered
- literary non-fiction
- author interview
- Pulitzer Prize
- American education
- homelessness
- spy thriller
Keywords
- Tracy Kidder
- Richard Wolinsky
- literary journalism
- Pulitzer Prize
- Strength in What Remains
- homelessness
- Joseph Kanon
- American education
- book tour
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, The Soul of A New Machine, Among Schoolchildren, Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People
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- Bookwaves/Artwaves – March 26, 2026: Pulp Magazine Author E. Hoffman Price (1898-1988)
- Bookwaves/Artwaves – March 19, 2026: Best-Selling author Terry McMillan, recorded in 2001 (newly digitized)
- Bookwaves/Artwaves – March 12, 2026: Playwright Migdalia Cruz, Adaptation/Translation, “Macbeth”
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