Writers Justin Torres And Dorothy Allison Share Inspiration

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Justin Torres and Dorothy Allison

Writers Justin Torres and Dorothy Allison Share Inspiration

We continue asking writers for stories about their inspiration. Justin Torres, author of We The Animals, talks about trying to find his place as a young writer and reading Dorothy Allison's book Bastard Out of Carolina. He met her and she became a mentor. So we call up Dorothy Allison and she talks about the writer that turned her world upside down - Toni Morrison. She says that the author of Sula and The Bluest Eye allowed her to go inside a world she did not know and see both pain and beauty.

Dick then visits with artist Toni Scott, who has spent years making art based on the life of American slaves. She has studied the slave narratives in the Library of Congress, and built life-size castings of people in her work Bloodlines.

Music in this episode: "The Long Road" and "Photographs" by Eddie Vedder; "Every Morning " by Keb' Mo'; "Capetown Lullaby" by David Schulman.

To listen to this show, visit The Story's website.