Arts

Capitol Hill To Undergo Changing Of The Guard With New Poet Laureate

6:04pm June 17, 2017

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tracy K. Smith has been named the newest poet laureate by the Library of Congress. She talks about the challenges of the job ahead.

Books
Arts

In The Refrains Of 'Arabia Felix,' A Reminder: Often The End Is Just A Start

3:45pm June 17, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Of the scholars who set out on a 1761 quest to Yemen, only one came back alive. But don't let their looming doom distract from the drama in Thorkild Hansen's hybrid of history, fiction and travelogue.

John Avildsen shows off the best director Oscar he won in 1977 for Rocky. Avildsen, who also directed The Karate Kid, died Friday from pancreatic cancer at age 81 in Los Angeles.

John Avildsen, Oscar-Winning Director Of 'Rocky' And 'Karate Kid,' Dies At 81

11:49am June 17, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Avildsen won his Oscar in 1977 for Rocky, which was also named best picture. The director, who delivered a string of inspirational and enduring box-office successes, died Friday of pancreatic cancer.

Memory's Last Breath: Field Notes on My Dementia, by Gerda Saunders

Books
Arts

In 'Memory's Last Breath' An Academic Confronts Dementia

10:39am June 17, 2017

by Melissa Block

Gerda Saunders was a university professor when she learned she had early-onset dementia. Now, she's struggling to define herself anew as her defining characteristic — her intellect — begins to fail.

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Olivia Wilde and Tom Sturridge star as Julia and Winston in the stage adaptation of George Orwell's 1984.

Books
Arts

'1984' Comes To Broadway And 'It's Not An Easy Evening'

8:15am June 17, 2017

by Jeff Lunden

George Orwell's dystopia returned to bestseller lists after the inauguration. "It's quite something to bring it to New York now, in this political climate," says adaptation co-author Duncan Macmillan.

Books
Arts

'The Changeling' Is, Itself, A Changeling Of A Book

7:00am June 17, 2017

by Amal El-Mohtar

Victor LaValle's story of a rare book dealer whose life is torn apart after his wife commits an act of violence and vanishes is by turns enchanting, horrifying, infuriating and heartbreaking.

Music therapist Brian Schreck began working with Nate Kramer after he was diagnosed with leukemia. Together, they recorded a song of Nate's heartbeat layered over melodies.

Heartbeat Music: Parents Remember Their Son Through His Song Of Life

7:34pm June 16, 2017

by Erika Lantz

Nate Kramer was a tall, quiet collegiate swimmer when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He died four years later. But during treatment he met a therapist, and together they played and recorded music.

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For our critic Eric Deggans, John Amos's performance as the powerful, hardworking dad on Good Times was formative.

Arts

Learning The Lessons Of TV Fatherhood

6:03pm June 16, 2017

by Eric Deggans

After 20 years as a television critic — and many more as a simple viewer — a reflection on how a kid who mostly grew up without a father learned how to become one himself by watching dads on TV.

Children's book author Roald Dahl and his daughter Lucy. "Food was a huge part of our upbringing," Lucy Dahl says. Her father delighted his children with fanciful "midnight feasts" in the woods and often used mealtime to test out new characters from stori

Books
Arts

What If Willy Wonka Was Your Dad? Roald Dahl's Magical Parenting With Food

2:28pm June 16, 2017

by Dan Pashman

Food played a big role in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Dahl's other books. His daughter remembers fanciful "midnight feasts" and says her father used mealtime to test out new characters.

Arts

Why 'The Mummy' Is The Most Important Bad Movie Of The Year

1:37pm June 16, 2017

by David Edelstein

The lousiness of The Mummy isn't the stars' fault — it's the storytelling. Universal has announced plans to make more like it, which is scarier than anything in the movie itself.

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