Shoptalk: Conversations about Theater and Film with Twelve Writers, One Producer and Tennesee Williams' Mother

Freelancer Brown here compiles a series of conversations he had with 12 writers, producer David Merrick and 91-year-old Edwina Dakin Williams during the 1970s (the exception: a 1987 interview with Horton Foote). The interviews, many of which were originally published in newspapers from around the country, provide an illuminating look into the hearts and minds of some of our best writers. Most were or are film theater giants, including Edward Albee, William Inge, Alan Jay Lerner and Tennessee Williams, although an interesting talk with the little-known playwright Mary Mercier is included. The author's easygoing, respectful and sensitive style elicits information about the creative process not often found in interviews. Photos not seen by PW. Literary Guild and Fireside Theater Bookclub alternates. (June)