Arts

Arts

Small Town Is Home To Hand-Carved Carousel With Adirondack Scenes

6:05am September 06, 2016

by Karen Michel

Sixteen years ago, a wood carver in Saranac Lake, N.Y., was inspired to build a full-sized carousel, carved and painted primarily by local artists, and featuring only local scenes and animals.

Amor Towles likes to write about the past, but says he is not driven by historical research. He prefers instead to play in between what is real and what is imagined. His first novel was called Rules of Civility.

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Arts

Idea For 'Gentleman In Moscow' Came From Many Nights In Luxury Hotels

5:02am September 06, 2016

by Lynn Neary

During the 20 years he worked for an investment firm, Amor Towles spent a lot of time in fancy hotels. His new novel follows a Russian aristocrat sentenced to house arrest at the Metropol in Moscow.

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Who invented Thousand Island dressing? Tour guides will tell you it was the chef of billionaire George Boldt and his wife. But Alan Benas has uncovered a different origin story. He now bottles and sells a version based on a recipe discovered in the safe o

Thousand Islands, Two Tales: Who Really Invented That Dressing?

5:19pm September 05, 2016

by Julia Botero

The dressing, a mix of ketchup, mayo and some other stuff, is the subject of rival origin stories. One features a romantic billionaire, the other a Hollywood actress and a humble fishing guide.

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The coffee cabinet is a Rhode Island staple. It's an ice cream beverage dating back to the World War II era. The ingredient list is pretty simple: It's just coffee syrup, ice cream and milk.

What's In That Coffee Cabinet? A Delicious Taste Of Rhode Island History

5:18pm September 05, 2016

by John Bender

The ice cream beverage with the quirky name is a Rhode Island staple. It's just coffee syrup, ice cream and milk. Despite its popularity, the origins of the drink – and its name – remain a mystery.

Arts

Hollywood Offers New Batch Of Likely Awards Contenders For Fall

4:29pm September 05, 2016

by Bob Mondello

NPR movie critic Bob Mondello has a selective preview of likely blockbusters and awards contenders that Hollywood has in store for the fall.

Beatrix Potter wrote three drafts of The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots and did one watercolor illustration (above). But the book was left incomplete when she died in 1943, and it is now being published posthumously, with illustrations by Quentin Blake.

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Arts

A Kitty Leads A Double Life In Beatrix Potter's Posthumously Published Tale

1:25pm September 05, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

The unfinished work is a curious afterword to Potter's beloved catalog. But perhaps the best thing about The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots is that it will likely send readers back to Potter's original work.

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Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor was from lowland South Carolina and a native speaker of Gullah Geechee, a form of creole English.

Arts

Remembering Culinary Griot And NPR Commentator Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor

6:24pm September 04, 2016

by Jacki Lyden

Smart-Grosvenor contributed hundreds of commentaries to NPR, often about her culinary explorations and travels. She died Saturday at age 79.

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Verona is a one-stop shop for original and stylish conservation wear, filling a long-term void in the fashion industry.

In Orlando, A 'Modest Fashion' Boutique For Hijabi Women

5:03pm September 04, 2016

by Renata Sago

Lisa Vogl and her partners launched Verona online to fill a fashion void. Now, it's a boutique stocked with long-sleeved caftans, full-length slit-less skirts, and more than 300 varieties of hijabs.

A photo of apartment buildings near NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., that was run through the Prisma app's "wave" filter.

Arts

These Apps' Creations Sure Look Like Masterworks, But Is It Art?

2:07pm September 04, 2016

by Yvonne Muther

Prisma turns your photos into images that look like paintings and Artisto does the same for videos. Art experts say they are tools for artistic play, but the results aren't art in the purest sense.

Books
Arts

'The Art Of Waiting' Stands As Part Memoir, Part Cultural History Of Infertility

9:00am September 04, 2016

Author Belle Boggs struggled with infertility for years before she conceived her daughter. She talks with NPR's Rachel Martin about her new book.