Joe Frank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe Frank is an American radio personality, known best for his engaging, often philosophical, monologues and radio dramas. Frank started his career at WBAI in New York, and also served as a co-anchor for the weekend edition of National Public Radio's All Things Considered. In 1986, Frank moved to Santa Monica, California to work at KCRW, where he wrote, produced and performed in a weekly hour-long radio program, "Joe Frank: Work In Progress." Frank's radio programs are at times dark and frequently ironic, humorous and absurd. Adding to the atmosphere of Frank's monologues are loops of music over vocal drones.
While at KCRW, Frank received several awards including a Peabody Award and two Corporation for Public Broadcasting Awards, one for his acclaimed three-part series "Rent-a-Family." In 2003, Joe Frank was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival. Frank was also a Guggenheim Fellow.
Joe Frank continued to work at KCRW until 2002, and his work evolved as evidenced by the diverse series he produced starting with Work in Progress, then In The Dark, followed by Somewhere Out There, and finally The Other Side.
On the series "The Other Side" the Buddhist lecturer Jack Kornfield was featured.
His body of work (over 230 hours) continues to be aired on many NPR stations in the United States and on XM Satellite Radio. The entire archives, along with Joe Frank film shorts and other extras, are available by subscription to his web site.
Currently, Frank is writing new work for the stage and his web site. Free shows and stories are podcast monthly.
Frank is an alumnus of Hofstra University in New York. He also studied at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
Frank taught English literature at the Dalton School in Manhattan.
