In this powerful and deeply reflective episode of Lattes & Art, host James William Moore sits down with groundbreaking playwright, director, and author Karen Malpede, a pioneering voice in American theater whose work has shaped socially and politically engaged performance for almost six decades.

Karen’s writing confronts mortality, political violence, environmental collapse, and the ethical responsibility of artists in times of crisis. With the recent release of her memoir, Last Radiance: Radical Lives, Bright Deaths (Vine Leaves Press, October 2025), she reflects on love, loss, grief, and the enduring role of art as a force for witness, resistance, and transformation.

This conversation explores what it means to make make space for a form of truth-telling in death and dying, and why we have a responsibility not to look away. Thoughtful, urgent, and deeply human, this episode is a meditation on legacy, courage, and the radical power of creative practice.

Lattes & Art is presented by J-Squared Atelier.

You can order your copy of Last Radiance: Radical Lives, Bright Deaths here: https://vineleavespress.myshopify.com/products/last-radiance-by-karen-malpede

Be sure to follow, rate, and subscribe — and check out Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History for an art history lesson that ain't like those ones your grandparents took.

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J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier)
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