The Radical Truth of Fiction with James McBride

New York Times bestselling author James McBride took a circuitous route to becoming a great American novelist. A communications major at Oberlin College and Conservatory, he also studied jazz with Wendell Logan, the influential founder of Oberlin’s jazz department. After graduating in 1979, McBride went to Columbia Journalism School, then onto bylines in the Boston Globe, Rolling Stone, the Washington Post and People magazine.McBride left a successful career in journalism to “pursue happiness,” as he puts it: playing sax full time in New York. But his life took another turn when he penned a memoir about the person he loved most. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother became an “instant classic,” in the words of one reviewer, and an accidental author was born.In this episode of Running to the Noise, McBride—whose new book The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store was recently named Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year—joins host and Oberlin President Carmen Twillie Ambar to discuss his writing process, the path to authentic creativity, and the pursuit of happiness through art.About James McBrideJames McBride is the author of Deacon King Kong, a New York Times bestseller and Oprah’s Book Club selection; the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird; the American classic The Color of Water; the novels Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna; the story collection Five-Carat Soul; and the James Brown biography Kill ’Em and Leave. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal and an accomplished musician, McBride is also a distinguished writer in residence at New York University.Show Links:NPR Review: (7-minute listen) James McBride's 'Heaven & Earth' is an all-American mix of prejudice and hopeJames McBride’s website