Arts Oct 27 Blues man ‘Ironing Board Sam’ sings ‘Over the Rainbow’ 75-year-old Sammie Moore, aka “Ironing Board Sam,” has been playing and singing the blues for 55 years. Listen to him sing "Over the Rainbow."…
Arts Oct 16 Capturing blues in black and white Tim Duffy has spent the last 20 years helping struggling blues and roots musicians make ends meet while bringing their music to a wider audience. He’s also a photo hobbyist who has documented his friends and performers -- at home,…
Poetry Oct 01 Poet Edward Hirsch grieves his late son with an elegy for ‘Gabriel’ In 2011, Gabriel Hirsch, the 22-year-old son of acclaimed poet Edward Hirsch, died from a drug overdose. His father was beside himself with grief, and for a long time could not bring himself to work (since 2003 Hirsch has been…
Arts Aug 20 American music of days gone by endures in Virginia In August, tens of thousands of fans and musicians gathered in the small town of Galax, Virginia, for the 79th Old Fiddler’s Convention. When the festival began in 1935, one of its aims was to keep “alive the memories and…
World Jul 25 Islamic militants destroy sacred Iraqi shrine Islamic militants in Mosul, Iraq on Thursday blew up a sacred mosque that was considered the final resting place of the Prophet Jonah.
Arts Jul 24 Blues musician John Németh gets ‘greasy’ in Memphis The first gigs that blues musician John Németh played were not in darkened, smoke-filled dives near the muddy banks of the Mississippi River, but at bright luncheons in Boise, Idaho for the religious group Catholic Daughters of America.
Arts Jul 18 From painting overpasses to stadiums, a graffiti artist on his evolving art form For more than 30 years, Los Angeles-based artist RISK has been creating colorful murals on everything from highway overpasses -- known as “heavens” -- to dilapidated buildings, walls, trains and buses. He recently joined eight other graffiti artists to paint…
Poetry Jun 13 Pulitzer-winning poet Vijay Seshadri fuses the fantastic with the everyday The Bangalore-native, Brooklyn-based poet assiduously collects the details of his life, his world, his ruminations big and small, in the hope that once amassed and ordered they'll connect with readers and arrive at a higher meaning.