COVER STORY
Solitude
Kurt Andersen and writer Jonathan Lethem look at musicians, writers and artists who embrace solitude. Some exile themselves, others don’t have a choice. Either way, the experience of being alone affects their art and their personal lives.

One-Man Band
Many artists wonder if distractions of the modern world compromise their creative process. Songwriter and violinist Andrew Bird decided to put that theory to the test, holing up on a farm in western Illinois. For his stage shows, he learned to play all the parts to his songs. In isolation, Bird marveled at the innovation that flowed into his music. But as Bird told producer Jonathan Menjivar, even a one-man band gets lonely.
Visit Andrew Bird's website
Listen to "Masterfade" by Andrew Bird
Listen to "Lull" by Andrew Bird
Buy Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Buy Andrew Bird's Weather Systems

All by Myself
Bob Paul is a graphic designer and painter who's been working in his attic since quitting his very first job. He doesn't need anybody else, because he doesn't care what other people think. His son, producer Richard Paul, also works alone, but doesn’t like it. Richard asked Bob about the family habit.

Thom Pain
We know the name of the man on stage, but we don’t know much else about him – he constantly revises his opinions and his portrayal of himself. In the acclaimed Off-Broadway play "Thom Pain (based on nothing)," playwright Will Eno explores some of the darker and lonelier corners of the soul. Eno and actor James Urbaniak talked with Kurt Andersen about what it takes to put on a one-man show.
Playbill article on "Thom Pain (based on nothing)"
Buy the script for "Thom Pain (based on nothing)"

SPECIAL GUESTS
Jonathan Lethem
A native of New York City, Jonathan Lethem is famous for turning genres like science fiction and detective stories inside out. He is the author of The Fortress of Solitude and Motherless Brooklyn, which received the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction in 1999. His other novels include Gun, with Occasional Music and As She Crawled Across the Table. In his latest book, The Disappointment Artist, Lethem writes about the passions that have ruled his life: for John Ford's classic Western The Searchers, the Talking Heads, Philip K. Dick, and the impossibly mean writer Edward Dahlberg.
Visit Jonathan Lethem's personal website
Buy Books by Jonathan Lethem

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Dolly Parton

At age ten, in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Dolly Parton launched her country music career and 50 years later she shows no sign of slowing down. Over the years she has become a movie star, a theme park creator, and a literacy activist. Dolly talks to Kurt about her new album, “Those Were the Days,” and the challenges of composing a musical based on "9 to 5."
Visit a Dolly Parton fan site
Read a Dolly Parton interview
Buy Dolly’s new CD, Those Were The Days
Buy Other Dolly Parton CDs

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