Art Beat

Acclaimed Conductor and Wife End Lives Together in Assisted Suicide

British conductor Sir Edward Downes ended his life last week at the age of 85, alongside his wife Joan, 74, in Switzerland. He had not been ill (though his daughter reported he was nearly blind and deaf), but Lady Downes…

Literary Voices Reflect on Health Care

By Arts Desk

Some popular writers have turned up in an unexpected place: Health Affairs. The contributions are a part of the 10th anniversary of "Narrative Matters," a feature that maintains that health-policy debate must have room for the experiences of regular people.

In London, Antony Gormley's 'One & Other'

Twenty four hours a day for 100 straight days, different people will join kings and generals high atop London's Trafalgar Square, becoming, if only for an hour, a living monument.

Weekly Poem: 'Like Hearing Your Name Called in a Language You Don't Understand'

"C.D. Wright has published 13 collections of poetry and prose. "Like Hearing Your Name Called in a Language You Don't Understand" is taken from "Rising, Falling, Hovering" (Copper Canyon, 2008), which in June won the Griffin Poetry Prize.

Conversation: Joseph O'Neill, Author of 'Netherland'

By Arts Desk

For his book "Netherland," author Joseph O'Neill had a unique vantage point to explore the now-familiar literary terrain of post-9/11 New York. Not well known to most American readers, New York City's cricket-playing community is certainly well known to O'Neill,…

Conversation: Chimamanda Adichie, Author of 'The Thing Around Your Neck'

By Arts Desk

In her new short story collection, "The Thing Around Your Neck," Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie moves back and forth between two continents the way she has in real life.

Weekly Poem: 'Re: Happiness, in pursuit thereof'

C.D. Wright has published 13 collections of poetry and prose. "Re: Happiness, in pursuit thereof" is taken from her most recent book, "Rising, Falling, Hovering" (Copper Canyon, 2008), which in June won Canada's Griffin Poetry Prize.

Jackson Fans Around the World Say Farewell

The eyes of the world will focus on a sports arena in Los Angeles, as hundreds of thousands of fans and a throng of celebrities congregate for the final salute to the man known as the "King of Pop."…

Conversation: Stuart Eizenstat, Holocaust Era Assets Conference

By Arts Desk

Delegates from 50 countries just gathered in Prague to discuss the status of property looted by the Nazis during World War II, including hundreds of thousands of art works.

Around the Nation, Friday Roundup

Here are some of this week's arts and culture headlines from public broadcasters around the nation.