Books

Why We Fly, by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

Books
Arts

'Why We Fly' flips dusty old cheerleader stereotypes upside down

5:00am October 15, 2021

by Alethea Kontis

In their new YA novel, Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal tell the story of a cheerleading squad whose white captain convinces them to take a knee to protest injustice — and the backlash that follows.

Novelist Margaret Verble on history, family and identity

5:43pm October 14, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Margaret Verble, author of When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky, a story about a young Cherokee horse-diver who is finding her way in the Jim Crow South.

Books
Arts

Beloved children's author and wilderness enthusiast Gary Paulsen has died at 82

5:43pm October 14, 2021

by Samantha Balaban

Gary Paulsen — whose wilderness adventure Hatchet taught generations of kids to survive in the forest — worked as a farmhand, truck driver and satellite technician before turning to writing.

"I am very conscious of the fact that these things that I've internalized are these kind of middle, upper middle-class white American milestones," says author Doree Shafrir about the societal pressures of the perfect job, marriage, and homeownership, "but

Books
Arts

A Late Bloomer Makes The Case For Rejecting Life's Typical Timeline

4:20pm October 14, 2021

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Doree Shafrir about her book Thanks for Waiting and the obstacles and victories of postponing the usual milestones of success for women like marriage, kids and a career.

Author Jocelyn Nicole Johnson alongside the cover of her new book, My Monticello.

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson talks home, identity, and 'My Monticello'

12:00pm October 14, 2021

by Karen Grigsby Bates

In her debut book, My Monticello, author Jocelyn Nicole Johnson asks what it means to claim a home in a place like Charlottesville, Va., — where whom the city belongs to has long been in question.

Books
Arts

'Two Feathers' is a flawed but gripping novel of racism in the Prohibition-era South

5:00am October 14, 2021

by Michael Schaub

Margaret Verble's novel follows a young Cherokee woman whose life as a horse-diver in Tennessee zoo is derailed by a terrible accident. It's unfocused at times, but definitely a ride worth taking.

Tubist Richard Antoine White shares his unlikely path to the stage 'I'm Possible'

1:52pm October 13, 2021

by Dave Davies

White spent his early childhood in poverty in Baltimore, at times sleeping in abandoned houses. He's now principal tubist in the Santa Fe Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic.

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A laboratory in New York City's Bellevue Medical Center on May 17, 1949.

Why a literary magazine at the nation's oldest public hospital matters more than ever

5:39am October 13, 2021

by Neda Ulaby

One of the world's most famous hospitals also houses a respected literary magazine focused on health and healing. The Bellevue Literary Review has seen an uptick of submissions during the pandemic.

Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief, by Victoria Chang

Books
Arts

'Dear Memory' sees a direct connection between memory and identity formation

5:00am October 13, 2021

by Thúy Đinh

Victoria Chang's lyrical experiment memorably evokes an individual family's time capsule and an artist's timeless yearning to shape carbon dust into incandescent gem.

New book brings foodies on a global culinary adventure

5:28pm October 12, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Cecily Wong, one of the co-authors of a new book called Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide. It explores culinary delicacies from every continent.