Jun 19 Have we been taught poetry all wrong? By Elizabeth Flock Poet Matthew Zapruder say that we are too often asked to find the "hidden meanings" in poems, as if a poem is a riddle. Continue reading
Jun 16 The 7 best books from indie publishers right now By Elizabeth Flock Books from independent publishers are often less easily surfaced or visible. Here are 7 terrific books from indie presses you may not know. Continue reading
Jun 15 Watch 3:50 How Dick Cavett brought the art of conversation to TV By PBS News Hour TV great Dick Cavett credits comedian Jack Paar with providing his talk-show hosting philosophy: Make it a conversation. Cavett offers his Brief but Spectacular take on his career. Continue watching
Jun 15 Watch 5:23 Long-silenced songs of Holocaust survivors are rediscovered By PBS News Hour When the death camps and ghettos of Europe were liberated at the end of World War II, a psychologist from Chicago visited former prisoners and recorded their interviews. Unheard for decades, a long-missing reel of songs has been rediscovered, offering… Continue watching
Jun 15 46 years later, Yoko Ono gets songwriting credit with John Lennon for 'Imagine' By Alison Thoet In a 1980 interview, Lennon said the song “should be credited as a Lennon-Ono song because a lot of it — the lyric and the concept — came from Yoko.” He said he received inspiration from Ono’s 1964 book “Grapefruit.”… Continue reading
Jun 14 Watch 7:24 For newly named U.S. poet laureate, the power of poetry is opening ourselves to others By PBS News Hour Tracy K. Smith, a writer and teacher, is taking on a very public role as the nation's poet laureate. Jeffrey Brown sits down with Smith to discuss how language can be a tool of revelation, her reflections on race in… Continue watching
Jun 14 Watch new poet laureate Tracy K. Smith read two of her poems By Larisa Epatko Tracy K. Smith, the nation’s newest poet laureate, says writing is not just about expressing emotion but of the choices you make when putting words on the page. She reads two of her poems here. Continue reading
Jun 12 Why this poet is posting meaningless verse on Instagram By Elizabeth Flock Thom Young, a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, launched an experiment to show how easy it is to become a social media star. Continue reading
Jun 12 "Dear Evan Hansen" is the biggest winner at the 71st Tony Awards By Dayana Morales Gomez This year’s Tony Awards honored the best and brightest of plays and musicals on Broadway. "Dear Evan Hansen" and "Oslo" took home the awards for best new play and musical -- the most coveted prizes of the night, respectively. Continue reading
Jun 10 Watch 4:28 New exhibit follows the hunt for a Nazi leader By PBS News Hour In 1962, Adolf Eichmann, one of the key architects of the Holocaust, was executed in Israel, the culmination of a years-long search for him by the Israeli government. The backstory that led to that moment is now on vivid display… Continue watching