Arts Feb 24 Comedian, writer, actor Harold Ramis dies at 69 Harold Ramis, the Chicago actor best known for his roles in “Ghostbusters” and “Stripes,” died of a rare autoimmune disease early Monday morning. Ramis was the head writer and performed for Second City’s television series. He got his big break…
Poetry Feb 24 Weekly Poem: E. E. Cummings biographer reads his poem ‘Cambridge Ladies’ Susan Cheever's new biography of the poet is called "E. E. Cummings: A Life." She has also written biographies about Louisa May Alcott, Bill Wilson and her father John Cheever, in addition to 12 other published fiction and nonfiction books.
Arts Feb 21 Susan Cheever writes of life behind E.E. Cummings’s famous verse Cummings was one of the most popular poets of his time. His work is linked to the movements of Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. The group of modernists from the 1930s and ‘40s covered all artistic…
Arts Feb 20 In Oscar-nominated ‘The Act of Killing,’ mass murderers boastfully reenact their war crimes The Oscar nominated documentary "The Act of Killing" challenges Anwar Congo, a death squad leader during the mass killings in 1965 Indonesia, to re-enact the horrors of his past. Director Joshua Oppenheimer spoke to the NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown about why…
Poetry Feb 17 Weekly Poem: Suzanne Cleary tried to learn Italian, instead she wrote a poem Suzanne Cleary loves the sound of Italian. When she picked up a copy of “Italian Made Simple,” she was determined to teach herself the language before a trip to Italy. Instead Clearly came away fascinated by the characters in the…
Arts Feb 13 What to do when the kids are stuck inside? Read one of these books With yet another winter storm pressing down on a large swath of the east coast this week, we thought it would be useful to share Kate DiCamillo's favorite children's books. Now these books are perfect any old day, but they're…
Poetry Feb 10 Weekly Poem: Nick Lantz uses ‘how-to’ guides as inspiration If you pick up Nick Lantz’s new poetry collection, “How to Dance as the Roof Caves in,” you’ll recognize the "self-help" theme running through the titles. To name a few: “How to Travel Alone,” “How to Forgive a Promise Breaker,”…
Arts Feb 06 Filmmaker Greg Whiteley goes backstage with the Romneys in ‘Mitt’ When Greg Whiteley first heard about a meeting with the Romney family to discuss whether he should run for president in 2008, he thought it sounded like the beginning of a great documentary. Little did he know that he would…
Poetry Feb 03 Weekly Poem: ‘Poetry of Witness’ co-editor Carolyn Forché reads ‘A Letter from Aragon’ Carolyn Forche, co-editor of "Poetry of Witness," reads "A Letter from Aragon," written by English poet Rupert John Cornford.
Arts Jan 28 Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary pays tribute to the legendary Pete Seeger Peter Yarrow sings a version of Pete Seeger’s “If I had a Hammer” to help remember the legendary folksinger. Peter Yarrow, a member of the folksinging trio Peter, Paul and Mary, remembers Pete Seeger as a “beacon of…