Books

W.H. Auden at the 92nd Street Y Poetry Center in 1966.

Books
Arts

75 Years Of 'Colossal Poets' And Live Literature At NYC's 92nd Street Y

12:58pm October 28, 2014

by Tom Vitale

Writer Cynthia Ozick attended readings at the Y in the 1950s. "You saw these icons standing in a blaze of brilliant spotlight," she says, "and you felt that you were at the crux of all civilization."

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Karen Russell's novel Swamplandia! was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2012.

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Book News: 2 Popular Books May Be Coming To TV

10:26am October 28, 2014

by Colin Dwyer

Ann Leckie's sci-fi epic Ancillary Justice and Karen Russell's St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves have been optioned for TV. Meanwhile, a long-lost Malcolm Lowry novel sees publication.

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Arts

'Slow Regard' Is A Riddle, Wrapped In A Mystery, Living In An Underground Tunnel

7:03am October 28, 2014

by Jason Heller

Patrick Rothfuss' new novella is a dreamy flight of fantasy that follows a secondary character in his vast Kingkiller Chronicle: Auri, a quiet young woman living in a sprawling, secret tunnel network.

Books

Book Review: 'Nora Webster' by Colm Toibin

6:25pm October 27, 2014

by Alan Cheuse

Alan Cheuse reviews a new novel by Colm Toibin, Nora Webster.

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The Secret History of Wonder Woman cover

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Arts

The Man Behind Wonder Woman Was Inspired By Both Suffragists And Centerfolds

3:45pm October 27, 2014

Wonder Woman's creator, William Moulton Marston, had a secret life: He had a wife and a mistress and fathered children with both of them. Jill Lepore explains in The Secret History of Wonder Woman.

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Dylan Thomas, seen here in 1944, died less than a decade later while on tour in New York City.

Books

Book News: Happy 100th Birthday, Dylan Thomas

3:00pm October 27, 2014

by Colin Dwyer

Born on Oct. 27, 1914, the Welsh poet died at 39. But his writing lives on, in his readers' memory and in the performances marking his birth today. Also: a forecast of books to come.

After The Blackwater Convictions, A Book On Iraq's Nightmarish Reality

8:58am October 27, 2014

by Brian Castner

Four former Blackwater guards were found guilty last week in connection with a fatal shooting in 2007. Author Brian Castner recommends a book on the toll violence has taken on Iraq.

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James Ellroy's novels include The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere and, most recently, Perfidia. He lives in Los Angeles, the setting for much of his work.

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Watch This: Crime Writer James Ellroy Recommends — What Else? — Noir Films

8:49am October 27, 2014

by NPR Staff

The author of L.A. Confidential discusses his favorite flicks, including a 1963 Akira Kurosawa film he says may be the greatest crime movie he's ever seen.

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Former Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton reads from the 2011 best-seller Go the [bleep] to Sleep.

LeVar Burton Reads 'Go The [Expletive] To Sleep'

8:42am October 27, 2014

by Bill Chappell

To any over-exhausted parents who suspect they're hallucinating, we assure you: Former Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton gave a reading of the 2011 best-seller this weekend.

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Arts

The Serious History Of Hocus Pocus In 'Penguin Book Of Witches'

4:38pm October 26, 2014

by NPR Staff

In Colonial America, a witch was not a Halloween costume, but a criminal. NPR's Rachel Martin revisits this moment in history with Katherine Howe, editor of the new Penguin Book of Witches.

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