Writers of Today; Robert Penn Warren
- Series
- Writers of Today
- Episode
- Robert Penn Warren
- Producing Organization
- Dynamic Films
- Contributing Organization
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/512-sx6445jh4s
- NOLA Code
- WROT
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Walter Kerr, drama critic for the New York Herald Tribune, interviews the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright. They discuss the problems of formula in writing and conclude that it is a hindrance to creative writing. The importance of "plate" and of the search for identity in the philosophical framework of Warren's writing is examined in the light of his play "Brother to Dragons." They emphasize that in a philosophical strain, the search for identity is important in Warren's writings.?Robert Penn Warren graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1924, and from 1925 to 1927 was a teaching fellow at the University of California, where he took his MA degree. In the years following he held a fellowship at Yale University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England. From 1942 to 1950, after several years of writing and teaching, he became a professor of English at the University of Minnesota. Concurrently, in 1944-45, he was poetry consultant at the Library of Congress. In 1950 he was a visiting professor at Yale, and in 1951 he became professor of playwriting at the Yale Drama School. In 1952 he married writer Eleanor Clark. Since 1943 his career has taken in three distinct fields of literary activity: creative writing, literary criticism, and education. In the last-named field he has not only taught, but has also been author-editor (with Cleanth Brooks) of college textbooks in rhetoric and literature. Among his best-known works are World Enough and Time and All the Kings Men, which won for him the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 (The movie version of All the Kings Men won the Academy Award as the best film of 1949.)?Walter Kerr, the New York Herald Tribune's drama critic since 1951, has been involved in the theater most of his adult life. Born in Evanston, Illinois, on July 3, 1913. Mr Kerr received his BS and MA degrees in speech from Northwestern University. He spent ten years as associate professor of speech and drama at Catholic University in Washington, DC, was one of the founders of the Catholic University Theater, and taught the practice as well as the theory of theater, directing some fifty productions, including new plays from his play-writing classes. Mr. Kerr himself is the author of the play "Sing Out, Sweet Land," and co-author with his wife, Jean of two others -- "Touch and Go" and "Goldilocks." In addition, he directed all three productions. Mr. Kerr has written four books, How Not to Write a Play; Criticism and Censorship; Pieces at Eight; and the recently published The Decline of Pleasure. In television, he has worked on such programs as "Omnibus," and "Camera Three." Mr. Kerr also directed the Broadway production of his wife's play, "King of Hearts." (Biographical data on Walter Kerr from the New York Herald Tribune Information Service.) Episode Running Time: 29:23 (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- Designed to explore the important literary expressions of outstanding contemporary authors, Writers of Today is a series of filmed interviews with novelists, poets, and dramatists. The interviews concentrate on the goals, abilities, and preferences of the writers, their reasons for writing, how and what they write, and the background and environmental influences on their particular modes of expression. Writers of Today consists of 17 half-hour episodes that were distributed by NET in four different seasons in 1956-1957, 1959-1960, 1962, and 1963. The first season was seven episodes, and every subsequent season included some episodes from the previous seasons and some new episodes. The fact that episodes were repeated multiple times and there was no consistent numbering of episodes between seasons makes it difficult to create logical or accurate episode numbers, which is why there are not any episode numbers in these records. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1962-00-00
- Broadcast Date
- 1956-12-23
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Talk Show
- Topics
- Literature
- Rights
- Published Work: This work was offered for sale and/or rent in 1960.
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Director: Bobker, Lee R.
Executive Producer: Zucker, Nathan
Guest: Warren, Robert Penn
Host: Kerr, Walter
Producing Organization: Dynamic Films
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2341732-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2341732-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “Writers of Today; Robert Penn Warren,” 1962-00-00, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 6, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-sx6445jh4s.
- MLA: “Writers of Today; Robert Penn Warren.” 1962-00-00. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 6, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-sx6445jh4s>.
- APA: Writers of Today; Robert Penn Warren. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-sx6445jh4s