Arts Apr 28 American History in 17 syllables and 140 characters For historian H. W. Brands, there are many ways to write about history. When teaching his students at the University of Texas the different tried and true formats for a good paper, Brands, who is known for his books Andrew…
Arts Apr 04 20 years after his death, Kurt Cobain still sings for the underdogs On April 5, 1994, the life of Kurt Cobain ended abruptly with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His band Nirvana, which had only months earlier released its third studio album, In Utero, redefined 1990s rock, establishing the raw,…
Arts Apr 03 What does a medieval literature scholar read into ‘Game of Thrones?’ The land of Westeros may seem far off for fans of “Game of Thrones,” but as season four of HBO’s show successful is gearing up to start on Sunday, Art Beat learned it may not be as distant as one…
Arts Mar 27 Pritzker Prize winner used paper to build cathedral, concert hall and homes for refugees Paper, a traditional material for home interiors in Japan, is not exactly a typical architectural construction material anywhere else. But this year’s winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize has shown that he can create beautiful structures for shelter, culture and…
Poetry Mar 03 Weekly Poem: Rachel Zucker pulls inspiration from the noise of New York Rachel Zucker was once told that poets either write out of noise or out of silence and she has no doubt which category she falls into. Zucker just published a new collection of poems called “The Pedestrians.” A…
Arts Feb 27 Oscar-nominated ‘Dirty Wars’ aims to make a covert war more ‘real’ “Dirty Wars” director Richard Rowley talks to chief arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown about the dangers of investigating covert American wars in Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia. Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill are both war reporters who have been…
Arts Feb 26 Six 2014 Oscar-nominated films you’ve never heard of Every year when the Academy Awards roll around, most nominated films and performers have already captivated the public's attention. But often there's a handful of films that viewers don't know quite as well. Here are six you might want to…
Arts Feb 25 Oscar-winning ’20 Feet from Stardom’ gives voice to back-up singers It was the middle of the night in 1969. Merry Clayton, a respected back-up singer, receives a call to help the Rolling Stones. Donning her robe and curlers, Clayton trots over to the studio and records the now-famous screaming vocals…
Arts Feb 24 Poetry exposes truth about public housing in the Bay Area For Deandre Evans, Will Hartfield and Donte Clark writing poetry isn’t solely about expressing themselves, it’s also about reporting on a story that’s affecting their community. Through the Off/Page Project, a collaboration between Youth Speaks and The Center for Investigative…