Author Aleksandar Hemon poses for portrait at Women and Children First bookstore in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood, March 7, 2013.

Stranger than Fiction

On the Media | Jun 10, 2016

More than 450 American writers, including Stephen King, Junot Diaz, and Amy Tan, made news recently when they published a piece titled "An Open Letter to the American People," enumerating the reasons why they oppose the candidacy of Donald Trump. But author Aleksandar Hemon opted not to sign it--not because he supports Trump, but because he thinks it misses the bigger picture.

Bob talks to Hemon about why it's risky to treat Donald Trump as an anomaly without confronting deeper political ills, and the vital role of literature in chronicling and interrogating the actions of our leaders.

Song:

"Lamento Borincano" by Orquestra Serenata Tropical

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