Tonight on the Best of Studs Terkel, we pair two different conversations. The first, from 1959, features the American beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The second is Studs Terkel’s 1965 conversation with cellist János Starker.
As poet, playwright, publisher, and activist, Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021) helped to spark the San Francisco literary renaissance of the 1950s and the subsequent “Beat” movement. In October 1959 he was Studs Terkel’s guest on WFMT.
In 1965, Studs spoke with cellist Janos Starker about his early life, how Heifetz inspired him as a performer, the music he loved, and more.