Arts

Sugar or artificial sweetener falling off of a spoon.

Books
Arts

'Sweetness #9' Satirizes Food Wars And Artificial America

3:40pm August 18, 2014

The novel is about a flavor chemist who tests a sweetener on lab rats and monkeys and finds side effects the company covers up. Author Stephan Eirik Clark says he was inspired by Fast Food Nation.

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Books
Arts

In Cunningham's Latest, Powerful Language Makes Up For Weak Plot

10:58am August 18, 2014

Michael Cunningham's newest novel is named after a fairy tale. But this is no Disney fantasy. Instead The Snow Queen is a story of death, drugs and aging (not always gracefully).

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Arts

Meet the Artist: Linguist, Translator, Poet Robert Bringhurst

8:40am August 18, 2014

by David Ford

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Arts

Thoughts Of Fall Butt Into Lazy Day Of Summer

8:11am August 18, 2014

For our look at summer poetry, we turn to Charlotte Boulay, a Philadelphia-based poet, with "The End of Summer." She offers a poem that, on its surface, is about an idyllic activity: taking a nap.

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Thrity Umrigar has authored six novels and is a professor of English at Case Western Reserve University.

Books
Arts

An Unlikely Psychologist-Patient Friendship Unfolds In 'The Story Hour'

8:28am August 16, 2014

by NPR Staff

Thrity Umrigar's new novel is about two women with "a mystical connection." Lakshmi is stuck in a loveless marriage. Dr. Maggie Bose decides Lakshmi doesn't need a shrink — she needs an escape.

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Arts

Backstage at the Eastern Music Festival 2014

7:30pm August 15, 2014

by David Ford

What makes the Eastern Music Festival one of the country's outstanding summer educational institutions and performance festivals?

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Lauren Bacall says she never set out to have a look. "It was just a way to keep my head steady," she insists.

Arts

In Acting And In Life, Lauren Bacall 'Loved The Idea Of Adventure'

3:02pm August 15, 2014

Lauren Bacall died Tuesday in New York at the age of 89. In 1994, she talked with Fresh Air about her early career, working with Marilyn Monroe and her intense love affair with Humphrey Bogart.

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Arts

19th Century Book Illustrator Howard Pyle, Producer Mike Reiss, North Carolina Zoo Poetry and More..

12:58pm August 15, 2014

by David Ford

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Comedian and actor Robin Williams performs at the CBS Upfront presentation in New York City on May 15, 2013.

Arts

Robin Williams: In Looking For Laughs, 'You Have To Be Deeply Honest'

11:31am August 15, 2014

The comedian and actor died Monday at age 63. In 2006, Williams spoke with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about improvising, his training and how people expected him to act crazy.

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Books
Arts

In A Funny New Novel, A Weary Professor Writes To 'Dear Committee Members'

11:31am August 15, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Julie Schumacher's anti-hero pens recommendations for junior colleagues, lackluster students and former lovers. The novel deftly mixes comedy with social criticism and righteous outrage.

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