Mar 25 Teju Cole gives ‘Lagos the upper hand’ in his new novel By Ruth Tam Three years after novelist Teju Cole penned the highly acclaimed “Open City” about a young man’s meditation on post-9/11 New York, he returns with "Every Day Is for the Thief,” a reflection in words and photographs on the city of… Continue reading
Mar 24 Weekly Poem: C. D. Wright reads ‘Obscurity and Legacy’ By artsdesk C. D. Wright's poem "Obscurity and Legacy" is published in "Lines in Long Array: A Civil War Commemoration: Poems and Photographs, Past and Present." In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Smithsonian's National Poetry Gallery commissioned… Continue reading
Mar 21 Watch 5:34 John Banville adopts pen name, famous protagonist to reboot Chandler’s iconic crime series By PBS News Hour Irish writer John Banville slips into Raymond Chandler’s voice for a new crime novel starring one of the great characters in American fiction: private detective Philip Marlowe. 1950’s Los Angeles, the femme fatale, Hollywood stars: Chandler’s noir ingredients are back… Continue watching
Mar 21 20 photos that define ‘American Cool’ By Colleen Shalby The question "what is cool?" remains a topic of debate, a generational point of contention. But for Frank Goodyear and Joel Dinerstein, it’s the question "who is cool?" that takes center stage in the "American Cool" exhibit they curated for… Continue reading
Mar 20 Breakfast with the ‘cabinet maker’: Building political change in Myanmar By Jeffrey Brown Over breakfast with Maung Hla Thaung, a woodworker and designer, we talk about the political situation in Myanmar today and his work as a longtime opponent of the military regime. This is a man building furniture and, he hopes, political… Continue reading
Mar 20 Flea market find turns out to be an original Faberge worth millions By Robert Pursell A scrap metal dealer has hit it big after buying an original Faberge egg for about $14,000 at a Midwestern flea market. Continue reading
Mar 19 Watch Late works by Joan Miro show famed creator practicing art of metamorphosis By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Mar 19 Tolkien’s 88-year-old ‘Beowulf’ translation to be published this spring By Zachary Treu One of the oldest, longest and most influential works in the history of Old English will soon be experienced through the eyes of one of the world’s most beloved fantasy authors. Continue reading
Mar 18 Will the ancient Buddhist temples of Bagan turn into Disney World? By Jeffrey Brown In Myanmar, some scholars worry that Bagan -- the former capital of a powerful kingdom in medieval times -- will be turned into a kind of theme park. Or that it will be "loved to death," as has been the… Continue reading