Even outside of his native Kansas City, Evan S. Connell is regarded as a modern master in literary circles. However, until now no one has written extensively about his life and work, including his best-known books Mr. Bridge and Mrs. Bridge. Former Kansas City Star writer and editor Steve Paul joins Whitney Terrell, novelist and associate professor of creative writing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, in discussing Paul’s newest book, Literary Alchemist: The Writing Life of Evan S. Connell.

They discuss Connell’s wide range as a novelist, historian, and essayist who wrote extensively about travel as well as meditations on history and the human tragedy. Paul’s work humanizes the under-recognized writer through first-hand accounts told by friends, family, and other writers.

This is Paul’s second book after Hemingway at Eighteen: The Pivotal Year That Launched an American Legend. Terrell is the author of three novels, including The Good Lieutenant. Both live in Kansas City.