The Book Show

In a very rare public appearance at the recent New Zealand Post Writers and Readers week in Wellington, Garry Trudeau, the creator of the bitingly political and satirical Doonesbury cartoon strip spoke to Radio New Zealand's Sean Plunket. He talks about the enduring characters who have navigated their way through wars, political turmoil and a changing American way of life ever since the first cartoon appeared in October 1970.

In 1975 Garry Trudeau became the first comic strip artist to receive a Pulitzer prize and he's been a finalist three times since, most recently in 2005. He's one of the most pointed, acerbic and internationally published commentators on our times. Doonesbury is now published in 1,400 newspapers around the world, but for most of the 38 years he's been creating the comic strip, readers have only known Garry Trudeau through his characters. He didn't engage personally in public debate and he made a point of keeping out of the public eye. He also deliberately didn't spend time thinking about what he was doing, his creative processes or what made the comic strip work. All of that has changed in recent years. In this excerpt from his New Zealand appearance Garry Trudeau begins by explaining when the change in his approach began and why.

Guests

Garry Trudeau
Creator of the Doonesbury comic strip

Sean Plunket
Radio New Zealand broadcaster

Presenter

Ramona Koval