Contemporary Literature Free Audio & Video

An abridged edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien narrated by Nicol Williamson and released in 1974.

In this somewhat unsettling documentary, author Don DeLillo takes viewers into the world of the image showing footage of assassinations and terrorism alongside other random images from TV and film.

The tale that sent Bach soaring to fame tells the story of a seagull who practices for a lifetime to begin to know the meaning of kindness and love.

The opening episode begins on Trantor, capital of the Galactic Empire, with the meeting of Seldon and Dornick, their trial, and their exile to Terminus.

Renowned science fiction author Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles) gives aspiring writers some encouraging insight in this short lecture provided on streaming video by UCTV.

Famous recluse J.D. Salinger has hidden from the world since "The Catcher in the Rye" took the world by storm.

Wired for Books is offering a page full of downloadable MP3 interviews with many of the best authors in contemporary literature. Compiled from the 1980s CBS Radio show, Book Beat, these interviews feature journalist Don Swaim spending roughly a half hour with the author discussing their books.

A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head.... The revoltingly intriguing...

Allen Ginsberg's Howl is the ultimate beat poem, and what better way to experience it than listening to Ginsberg read it himself. PennSound features two recordings of Ginsberg reading Howl, one from 1956 (the year he published it) and one from 1995 (a few years before his death).

Afghan American novelist Khaled Hosseini discusses A Thousand Splendid Suns, the follow-up to his best-seller, The Kite Runner. The new book is another searing epic of Afghanistan in turmoil.