Mar 19 Watch 3:22 The power of your suffering is in how you tell your story By Aminatta Forna Writer Aminatta Forna is often asked if she was traumatized by personal tragedy and national turmoil. To Forna, the ability to shape your own narrative, rather than having others shape it for you, is ultimately what matters most; being told… Continue watching
Mar 19 Parkland students pour their feelings into poetry By Jennifer Hijazi A 14-year-old student who was killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School wrote about life's "ups and downs" soon before his death. After the shooting, a classmate writes that "nothing about this feels normal."… Continue reading
Mar 18 Watch 7:14 Fellowship allows formerly incarcerated artists to push for criminal justice reform By Melanie Saltzman Seven formerly incarcerated artists received $20,000 each last year through "Right of Return," a fellowship allowing them to create original artwork exploring ideas around criminal justice reform. The fellows are a diverse group of artists and work in mediums including… Continue watching
Mar 16 Watch 5:06 To Arizona’s first poet laureate, ‘the border is what joins us’ By PBS News Hour Across his life, Alberto Rios has seen enormous changes throughout the U.S.-Mexico border region, and its culture and language have shaped him as a writer. Now as Arizona's first poet laureate, Rios has a platform for his "poems of public… Continue watching
Mar 16 6 books that remember women’s oft-forgotten WWI contributions By Alison Thoet This year marks 100 years since the end of World War I, the first time women were directly involved in the war effort. A detailed estimate of women’s total efforts is hard to come by, but these books shed light… Continue reading
Mar 16 In wake of Standing Rock, Native storytelling gets more screen time By Courtney Norris The very public fight to stop a pipeline company from crossing sacred land and water may be helping open doors for a surge of content from Native filmmakers telling their own stories. Continue reading
Mar 15 Watch 6:09 ‘Monk of Mokha’ tells the story of your culture-crossing, life-changing cup of coffee By PBS News Hour Do you know where your coffee comes from? Dave Eggers' latest book is "The Monk of Mokha," the story of Mohktar Alkhanshali's journey to his family's war-torn homeland of Yemen, and the steps he took along the way to becoming… Continue watching
Mar 15 NYT Book Review of ‘Exit West’: A refugee crisis in a world of open doors By Viet Thanh Nguyen Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of "The Refugees," reviews the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club selection of the month, Mohsin Hamid's "Exit West."… Continue reading
Mar 12 Watch 3:05 How to retrain your shrinking attention span By PBS News Hour What’s the secret to writing novels? Or baking a perfect cake? Or even being a good friend? Author Ann Patchett says it’s all about the ability to stay focused and stop multitasking. Patchett gives her humble opinion on stretching your… Continue watching
Mar 12 The homeland left behind, captured in a poem By Jennifer Hijazi For Shauna Barbosa and other poets of the Cape Verdean diaspora, the longing for a far-away home is an important theme. Continue reading