How To Revive The Worn Out Cliche
Are cliches always tired? Not necessarily! NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Orin Hargraves, author of It's Been Said Before: A Guide to the Use and Abuse of Cliches.
Books
An Expansive View Of Vietnam In 'She Weeps Each Time You're Born'
Poet and author Quan Barry — born in Vietnam but raised in America — says she wants her new novel to help get rid of some of the preconceptions Americans have about Vietnam as a quagmire.
An Early Peek At Pratchett In 'Dragons At Crumbling Castle'
Before Terry Pratchett created the Discworld, he was a young reporter with a sideline in charming little comic stories about dragons and dust motes, now collected in Dragons at Crumbling Castle.
Christian Grey Began His Fictional Career As A Vampire
Fifty Shades of Grey started out as fan fiction for the young adult series, Twilight, and morphed into a racy tale about a kinky billionaire.
Editor Picks Religions For The First Norton Anthology of World Religions
The anthology includes ancient and contemporary interpretations of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Daoism. Editor Jack Miles discusses primary texts, extremism and death.
A Place That Can't Exist Again: Blondie's New York
Chris Stein's photos in Me, Blondie and the Advent of Punk Rock document a city that is barely recognizable today.
Black And Female In Jim Crow Era, A Reporter In 'Jam! On the Vine'
The new novel follows a black journalist in Kansas City in the aftermath of the Civil War. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with LaShonda Katrice Barnett about her book.
Stories That Must Be Told In 'My Documents'
Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra's new story collection shows off his exacting eye, comic timing and powers of description; critic Juan Vidal says the narratives flow like a glass of cool water.
We Went From Hunter-Gatherers To Space Explorers, But Are We Happier?
In his book Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari packs the history of humanity into 400 pages. "In some areas we've done amazingly well," the historian says. "In other areas we've done amazingly bad."
Reforming Prisoners Through Poetry
For the last 40 years, poet Richard Shelton has been helping prisoners in Arizona reclaim their humanity. NPR's Arun Rath talks with Shelton about his work.