Sep 17 From marriage equality advocate to materials scientist, MacArthur Foundation names 21 new ‘geniuses’ By Victoria Fleischer What do a civil rights lawyer, a graphic memoirist and an environmental engineer have in common? They are all 2014 MacArthur Fellows. Continue reading
Sep 16 Turning negative space into a plea for environmental respect By Eric Schultz, NJ State of the Arts When one of Pat Brentano's neighbors in her upscale suburban town of Westfield, New Jersey, cut down 21 mature trees to build a gigantic house, Bretano was horrified. She used her anger as a channel for her creative work; Endangered… Continue reading
Sep 16 Watch One artist warns the public with cut-outs of 33 endangered birds By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Sep 16 Surrounded by baby elephants in Kenya, including one ‘troublemaker’ By Jeffrey Brown Well, this is unusual: I am standing in the middle of a dozen or so elephants, one running his trunk up my chest toward my face, another giving me a bump in the rear end. One does not do this… Continue reading
Sep 15 Weekly Poem: Saeed Jones composes a ‘Prelude’ to one Boy’s coming-of-age By Anya van Wagtendonk Poet Saeed Jones explores themes of gender and masculinity, sex and violence, power, history and memory in his debut poetry collection, “Prelude to Bruise.” Crafted over the course of nearly five years, the book narrates the development of a figure… Continue reading
Sep 13 Watch ‘New York’s Picasso’ removed from iconic eatery after legal dispute By PBS News Hour After more than 12 hours of careful maneuvering, workers at New York's Four Seasons restaurant removed "Le Tricorne," a nearly-century old Picasso tapestry painting. The move follows a legal dispute between the building's owner and the New York Landmarks Conservancy. Continue watching
Sep 12 Oh say did you know these 7 facts about The Star-Spangled Banner? By Dave Sloan We're all familiar with Francis Scott Key’s "The Star-Spangled Banner," especially as a ritual opening at our county's favorite sporting events. To celebrate 200-year anniversary, Art Beat shares seven little known facts about the anthem. Continue reading
Sep 11 Have you read the 200 ‘best American novels’? By Victoria Fleischer Over the summer, The American Scholar published two lists of the 100 best American novels from 1770-1985. We've combined the lists and we're asking: which ones have you read? Which books are missing? And which books published since the mid… Continue reading
Sep 10 Watch Poet remembers fallen friend James Foley By PBS News Hour James Foley -- an American journalist who was murdered as a hostage by the Islamic State group -- met poet Daniel Johnson many years ago, and the two became good friends. When Foley was captured in Syria, Johnson wrote a… Continue watching
Sep 10 For his friend James Foley, Daniel Johnson reads ‘In the Absence of Sparrows’ By Anne Azzi Davenport Poet Daniel Johnson wrote "In the Absence of Sparrows" during the 656-day captivity of his close friend, journalist James Foley. on Aug 19, Foley became the first American citizen known to be killed by the Islamic State group. Continue reading