Professor Krasny Talks to Livermore Audience

THE INDEPENDENT (LIVERMORE) -- The host was Michael Krasny, 70, a widely published writer and scholar. With a Ph.D. in American literature, a subject that he teaches at San Francisco State University, Krasny has been called the “thinking man’s radio talk show host.” Over the past two decades, he has demonstrated that in-your-face journalism is not necessary to build audiences, that people will tune in to hear courteous, illuminating discussions of nearly any topic: literature, health, politics, science, international relations, city government or the judicial system. He stressed the importance of being interested in a wide range of subjects. That is probably why he was attracted to literature, he believes. It is “multidisciplinary,” exposing anyone immersed in it to a wide range of subjects including — he stressed for a Livermore audience — physics. “Literature is, by definition, as far as I am concerned, an interdisciplinary field,” he said.