Arts

Books
Arts

'The Only Ones' Puts A Heartbreaking Spin On Dystopia

10:03am March 19, 2015

by Jason Heller

Veteran rock critic Carola Dibbell ventures into fiction with The Only Ones, a tale of an unconventional family in post-pandemic America. Critic Jason Heller says calls it "heartbreakingly beautiful."

Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) has been the highlight of the first season of Empire.

Arts

The 'Empire' Touch: A Cookie By Any Other Name

9:39am March 19, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Fox's freshman series Empire finished its first season with an action-packed often baffling finale that underscored how much fun it is, even when it doesn't make sense.

Arts

Poet Valerie Nieman Publishes "Hotel Worthy" (Press 53)

8:36am March 19, 2015

by Bethany Chafin

Award-winning poet and novelist Valerie Nieman has a new collection of poems.

Hotel Worthy is set for publication by Press 53 on March 20th, and the launch party will be held at Scuppernong Books on Tuesday, March 31st (7:00pm). Of Nieman's poetry, former Poet Laureate Laureate of North Carolina Joseph Bathanti has said, "Nieman knows the names of things, how those things piece together how they sunder and while she refuses to lie, her truths are exquisite."

Nieman is a professor of Creative Writing at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro and has held writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council.

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Terrence Howard (center) stars in Empire with (from left): Jussie Smollett, Serayah McNeill, Taraji P. Henson, Bryshere Gray, Grace Gealey, Trai Byers and Kaitlin Doubleday.

Arts

Does Fox's 'Empire' Break Or Bolster Black Stereotypes?

7:51pm March 18, 2015

by Eric Deggans

The hip-hop drama ends its first season Wednesday as a huge hit, thanks to black viewers. But NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says it also has sparked a complex debate over TV stereotypes.

Arts

At RiverRun Festival, Filmmakers Come From Across The State And The Globe

7:41pm March 18, 2015

An annual downtown Winston-Salem film festival is less than a month away.

Books
Arts

'The Mechanical' Will Make Your Clockwork Pulse Pound

6:29pm March 18, 2015

by Jason Heller

Ian Tregillis' new novel is the start of a series, set in an alternate 1926, that follows a robot's search for humanity against a backdrop of science, philosophy and a grand struggle between empires.

A Pedestrian walks past a Nolita advertisement during Spring/Summer fashion week on Sept. 26, 2007 in Milan, Italy. Isabelle Caro, 27, was photographed for Flash & Partners' Italian clothing company's label Nolita. The company said they are running a camp

Arts

France Considers A Ban On Overly Skinny Models

5:48pm March 18, 2015

by Jasmine Garsd

Proposed legislation would criminalize the use of underweight models and ban online sites that glorify anorexia and other eating disorders.

Daniel Genis, son of Soviet emigre Alexander Genis, served 10 years in prison for armed robbery. He was released last year, and his essays about life in prison have been widely published.

Arts

Released From Prison, 'Apologetic Bandit' Writes About Life Inside

4:48pm March 18, 2015

Daniel Genis, son of Soviet emigre writer Alexander Genis, served 10 years for armed robbery. The crimes fueled his heroin addiction. "It was so obvious I didn't fit in," he says.

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Books
Arts

How Self-Improvement Became Self-Destruction On 'Diamond Mountain'

4:17pm March 18, 2015

by Tomas Hachard

Scott Carney's new book unpacks the complicated story of Ian Thorson, who died in the Arizona wilderness after becoming involved with an unorthodox Buddhist group led by a charismatic American monk.

Arts

Local Filmmakers Screen "Unmappable" at SxSW

4:16pm March 18, 2015

by Bethany Chafin

The annual music, film and interactive conference and festival South by Southwest (SxSW) is in full swing in Austin, Texas.

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