Arts

A wealthy American living in Paris, Romaine Brooks had the freedom to paint whatever and however she wanted. Don't let her sober, 1923 Self-Portrait fool you — Smithsonian curator Virginia Mecklenburg says in the 1910s and 1920s, Brooks and her circle o

Arts

Painter Romaine Brooks Challenged Conventions In Shades Of Gray

11:36am August 17, 2016

by Susan Stamberg

A wealthy American living in Paris, Brooks had the freedom to paint whatever and however she wanted. In a subtle but powerful palette, she depicted androgynous women and melancholy nudes.

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Books
Arts

For The 'Oscars Of Romance,' Representation Matters

7:00am August 17, 2016

by Sonali Dev

The RITA awards are the Oscars of romance writing — but of more than 90 RITA finalists this year, only a handful featured heroes and heroines of color. We have a roundup of the ones that did.

Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole (Emily Bogle/NPR)

Books
Arts

Everything Is Fair Game In 'Known And Strange Things'

8:05pm August 16, 2016

by NPR Staff

Teju Cole's new essay collection covers politics, poetry, music and even Snapchat. "I love to live things," he says — and he recommends Miles Davis as a cure for election season stress.

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In 'Uproot,' A DJ Traces Modern Music's Tangled Family Tree

6:37pm August 16, 2016

by NPR Staff

Jace Clayton, best known for his work as DJ /rupture, speaks with NPR's Audie Cornish about his first book, Uproot: Travels in 21st-Century Music and Digital Culture.

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Books
Arts

Minnesota Bookseller Recommends 3 Summer Porch Reads

4:36pm August 16, 2016

Sue Zumberge of Subtext Books shares her favorite books for summer reading: The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard and Wake Up, Island by Mary Casanova.

Arts
News

New Exhibit Celebrates The Work Of North Carolina Photographer, Hugh Morton

2:03pm August 16, 2016

by Eddie Garcia

An exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of History opens this week that showcases the work of the ma

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"I wanted to give myself really funny things to do on camera," Julie Klausner says of creating her Hulu series, Difficult People.

Arts

Snark Aside, Julie Klausner Says 'Difficult People' Is Inspired By Love

1:40pm August 16, 2016

Klausner plays an unsuccessful comic who quips about celebrities in her Hulu series. She says that she and her co-star Billy Eichner bonded over their shared love of show business and pop culture.

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'Roaring Wind' Examines Extreme Weather, And The Power Of Air

1:40pm August 16, 2016

Biologist Bill Streever sailed from Texas to Guatemala while doing research for his new book, And Soon I Heard a Roaring Wind. He says the wind was working against him "most of the time."

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Opera binocs. Food by Chef John N. Novi.

At This Experimental Culinary Event, The Cutlery Is High Art

1:21pm August 16, 2016

by Natalie Jacewicz

Three Michelin-star chefs will cook for 60 guests in a one-night voyage of victuals in California. We talked to an artist creating the virtuoso flatware for the event.

Cover detail from A Square Meal, by Jane Ziegelman and Andy Coe

Creamed, Canned And Frozen: How The Great Depression Revamped U.S. Diets

11:34am August 16, 2016

During the Depression, cheap, nutritious and filling food was prioritized — often at the expense of taste. Jane Ziegelman and Andy Coe, authors of A Square Meal, discuss food trends of the time.

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