Ishmael Reed, poet, essaying, and novelist

This week our guest is Ishmael Reed, the poet, essayist and novelist. Since 1990 he has edited Konch magazine, available online since 1998, a "publication for the rest of us" that concentrates on "publishing writers from the world over who address the important issues of our time."

Reed's best-known works include The Free-Lance Pallbearers (1967, Reed's first novel), Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down (1969), Mumbo Jumbo (1972), Flight to Canada (1976), The Last Days of Louisiana Red (1974), Reckless Eyeballing (1986), and Japanese By Spring (1993). He has published more than a dozen books, including nine novels, four collections of poetry, six plays, four collections of essays, and one libretto. His New and Collected Poems, 1964-2007, received the Commonwealth Club of Califfornia's Gold Medal.