“Mr. Matthews is a master of prose conversation and deadpan charm. He is ironic, cool and shrewd, and he writes a lucid prose.”
— Tim O’Brien, in a New York Times review of Dubious Persuasions

Novelist, poet and, most recently, playwright, Jack Matthews has deep roots in Ohio. He grew up in Clintonville during the Depression; since 1964 Matthews has lived in Athens, where he teaches English at Ohio University.

Praised for his skill in weaving historical fact into richly imaginative narratives, Matthews is the author of six novels, five short story collections, three books of essays and one book of poems.

As for non-fiction, Matthews is highly-regarded among rare book collectors for the insight he offers in such titles as Collecting Rare Books for Pleasure and Profit (1977) and Reading Matter: A Rabid Bibliophile's Adventures among Old and Rare Books (2000), a collection of essays.

Music on the Show
CD Title: A Beatles Collection
Artist: Neil Hogan, solo guitar
Song: “Here, There and Everywhere”
Label and Year: Joplin and Sweeney Music, 1989

Excerpt read by: Jack Matthews

 

 

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