Oct 07 Al-Bassam Theatre Takes Inspiration From Shakespeare and the Arab Spring By Saskia de Melker Kuwaiti playwright and theater director Sulayman al-Bassam adapts Shakespearean plays to the modern Arab context to explore issues of religion and society in the contemporary Gulf. Art Beat spoke with al-Bassam on the phone from Brooklyn about the effect of… Continue reading
Oct 06 Transtromer, Swedish Poet With ‘Tinge of Modernism, Surrealism,’ Wins Nobel By Saskia de Melker The 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature has gone to Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer, the first poet to win the award since 1996. Judges selected Transtromer because, they wrote, "through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality."… Continue reading
Oct 03 Weekly Poem: Remembering Taha Muhammad Ali By Saskia de Melker Taha Muhammad Ali was born in 1931 in the Galilee village of Saffuriya. After fleeing to Lebanon during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, Muhammad Ali and his family settled in Nazareth where they have lived since. He and his sons… Continue reading
Sep 30 Conversation: A.E. Stallings, Poet and Translator Inspired by the Classics By Molly Finnegan The MacArthur Awards were recently announced, and one of the winners this year was the poet and translator A.E. Stallings. Continue reading
Sep 28 Extended Interview: Russell Banks Discusses ‘Lost Memory of Skin’ By Molly Finnegan A squalid encampment under a causeway in an American city is the unusual and charged setting for a new novel, "Lost Memory of Skin," which explores some deep issues of American life rarely raised and rarely seen by most of… Continue reading
Sep 23 Conversation: Francisco Nunez, Choral Conductor for Kids By Molly Finnegan Nunez is the artistic director of the Young People's Chorus of New York City, which he also founded in 1988. Continue reading
Sep 22 R.E.M. Breaks Up (Everybody Cries) By Molly Finnegan After 31 years as a band, R.E.M. announced Wednesday that they're calling it quits. Continue reading
Sep 21 ‘Last Train Home’ Goes on Long Journey With Chinese Migrant Workers By Saskia de Melker This week on the NewsHour, "Last Train Home," a documentary that looks at the annual migration of millions of factory workers for the Chinese New Year, will be airing as part of our partnership with The Economist Film Project. Jeffrey… Continue reading
Sep 16 Conversation: Tom Piazza, Author of ‘Devil Sent the Rain’ By Tom LeGro Tom Piazza's works of fiction include the novel, "City of Refuge" and those of non-fiction include "Why New Orleans Matters." His new book is a collection of essays on a wide array of topics, titled "Devil Sent the Rain."… Continue reading
Sep 14 Watch As Palestinians Push for Statehood, Is Peace Process Dead? In Palestinians' push for statehood, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state next week. Jeffrey Brown discusses what's at stake in the U.N. battle with Princeton University's Daniel Kurtzer and the International… Continue watching