Why Shakespeare’s own finale remains a closed book
In "Hamlet," William Shakespeare contemplated the fact that once a person dies, no living person knows where that departed soul goes. That same uncertainty hovers around the final hours of the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon.
‘Reading is part of my job,’ and more writing advice from author Katie Kitamura
Kitamura, author of the November book club pick "A Separation," says reading "should be taken as seriously as the act of writing itself."…
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Remembering Tom Wolfe, American writer with an ‘anthropologist’s delight’
New Journalism pioneer Tom Wolfe captured American culture in groundbreaking nonfiction like "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" and novels like "The Bonfire of the Vanities." Journalist Susan Orlean joins Judy Woodruff to remember Wolfe, who died Tuesday at the age…
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How to retrain your shrinking attention span
What’s the secret to writing novels? Or baking a perfect cake? Or even being a good friend? Author Ann Patchett says it’s all about the ability to stay focused and stop multitasking. Patchett gives her humble opinion on stretching your…
As a longtime writer for The New Yorker, Calvin Trillin was less interested in directly explaining why what he was writing was important than in just telling a good story. Trillin offers his Brief but Spectacular take on some of…
It's the sort of thing that Colum McCann says he would have liked to have had when he was younger. In his new book "Letters To A Young Writer," McCann says he writes advice about plot and characterization, as well…
Danai Gurira is a playwright and performer who wants to make sure women of color don’t search in vain for stories they can relate to. Her latest play, "Eclipsed," is premiering on Broadway, and she also has a starring role…
What were the must-read books of 2015? Jeffrey Brown gets favorite picks from Daniel Pink, business writer and author of "Drive," and novelist Jennifer Close, author of "The Smart One."…
In novelist John Irving’s new book, “Avenue of Mysteries,” a poor child in Mexico picks up books from out of the trash and grows up to be a prominent American writer. Irving joins Jeffrey Brown to discuss what distinguishes his…
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