In this Book

University of California Press
summary
This collection of essays examines one of the most important, yet understudied, media authors of all time—Norman Corwin—using him as a critical lens to consider the history of multimedia authorship, particularly in the realm of sound. Known for seven decades as the “poet laureate” of radio, Corwin is most famous for his radio dramas, which reached tens of millions of listeners around the world and contributed to radio drama’s success as a mass media form in the 1930s and 1940s. But Corwin was a pioneer in multiple media, including cinema, theater, TV, public service broadcasting, journalism, and even cantata. In each of these areas, Corwin had a distinctive approach to sonic aesthetics and mastery of multiple aspects of media production, relying in part on his inventive atmospheric effects in the studio both prerecorded, and, more impressively, live in real time. From the front lines of World War II to his role as Chief of Special Projects for United Nations Radio and his influence on media today, the political and social aspect of Corwin’s work is woven into these essays. With a foreword by Michele Hilmes and contributions from Thomas Doherty, Mary Ann Watson, Shawn VanCour, David Ossman and others, this volume cements Corwin’s reputation as perhaps the greatest writer in the history of radio, while also showing that his long career is a neglected model of multimedia authorship.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Title Page, Copyright
  2. pp. i-iv
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  1. Contents
  2. pp. v-vi
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  1. Foreword
  2. pp. vii-x
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  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. xi-xii
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  1. Introduction: Anatomy of Anatomy of Sound
  2. pp. 1-12
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  1. A Corwinography
  2. pp. 13-34
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  1. Part One. Voice: Norman Corwin As Sound Auteur
  1. 1. Radio’s “Oblong Blur”: On the Corwinesque in the Critical Ear
  2. Neil Verma
  3. pp. 37-52
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  1. 2. Norman Corwin and the Blacklist
  2. Thomas Doherty
  3. pp. 53-73
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  1. 3. Norman Corwin and the Big Screen: Artistic Differences
  2. Mary Ann Watson
  3. pp. 74-98
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  1. Part Two. Sound: Corwin and Transmedia Authorship
  1. 4. Norman Corwin’s Radio Realism
  2. Jacob Smith
  3. pp. 101-126
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  1. 5. Corwin on Television: A Transmedia Approach to Style Historiography
  2. Shawn Vancour
  3. pp. 127-150
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  1. 6. Media Primer: Norman Corwin’s Radio Juvenilia
  2. Troy Cummings
  3. pp. 151-170
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  1. 7. Fix Your Eyes on the Horizon and Swing Your Ears About: Corwin’s Theatre of Sound
  2. Ross Brown
  3. pp. 171-192
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  1. Part Three. Ear: On Corwin’s Influence
  1. 8. Transatlantic or Anglo-American Corwin?
  2. Tim Crook
  3. pp. 195-210
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  1. 9. The Odyssey of Me and Norman Corwin
  2. David Ossman
  3. pp. 211-232
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  1. 10. Wondering about Radiolab: The Contradictory Legacy of Corwin in Contemporary “Screen Radio”
  2. Alexander Russo
  3. pp. 233-252
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  1. Contributors
  2. pp. 253-256
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