Around the Nation

Here are four arts and culture videos from public broadcasting partners around the nation.

Mark Twain said that a classic is a book that people praise but don’t read. WNYC features a reading group in Staten Island challenging that idea and finding ways to make great literature fun and accessible:

Said Salah Ahmed is an acclaimed Somali poet and writer who uses art to educate. MN Original profiles his children’s book, “The Lion’s Share,” which is based on Somalian folklore and later became the inspiration of a play he produced at the Steppingstone Theater in Minnesota:

On Tuesday, Frontline will air “The Interrupters,” the latest documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Steve James. The film follows three individuals who try to protect their Chicago communities from violence in which they themselves once participated. (Art Beat talked with James and one of the featured interrupters, Ameena Mathews, last spring.):

Watch The Interrupters Preview on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Craig Finn is best known as the frontman for the Hold Steady, but this master songwriter recently released a solo album, “Clear Heart Full Eyes.” He performs a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR headquarters: