Norman Corwin's Letters

Gathers the correspondence of the noted scriptwriter with artists, composers, writers, scientists, publishers, broadcasters, directors, critics, politicians, students, family members, and friends

Corwin, now 84, is esteemed as the poet of radio's best years, which he maintains lasted from 1938 to 1948, ``the shortest Golden Age in history.'' He is best known for ``On a Note of Triumph,'' broadcast on May 8, 1945, on the surrender of Nazi Germany, but he should also be remembered for his letters, collected here by Langguth ( A Noise of War ). They reveal a tolerant and generous New Deal liberal whose correspondents included movie stars Bette Davis and Charles Laughton, newscaster Edward R. Murrow, scientists, politicians, book editors, media critics and writers. It is interesting to read his judgments of authors: he considers Eliot's The Cocktail Party sterile and rhapsodizes about works written by Studs Terkel and Norman Cousins. Photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Corwin (Trivializing America, LJ 12/1/83) is Mr. Radio: writer, programmer, advocate, interviewer, and network honcho. As a wit, punster, master of the terse reply, and arguer and persuader, he is a practitioner of ornate English. Written to everyone under the sun, his letters from 1927 to the present show us a knowledgeable, humane, and committed artist/advocate. Whether writing to family about personal matters or to world figures about issues and events, Corwin documents the history of radio, offering a unique view of America. Only lightly edited, this collection could use more narrative connections and an index of correspondents and subjects. Still, it is a heady trip. Corwin provides the best comments: "Phew!...Many interjections are called, but phew is chosen."-Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.