Books

Poet Amanda Gorman performs "The Hill We Climb" during the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Books
Arts

After Inaugural Performance, Poet Amanda Gorman Tops The Amazon Bestseller List

12:48pm January 21, 2021

by Petra Mayer

Gorman's debut poetry collection and an illustrated kids' book are first and second on the list — on the strength of pre-orders, since both titles won't be out until September.

Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman speaks at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Books
Arts

A Different Day: A 2021 Poetry Preview, Part 2

10:00am January 21, 2021

Poetry helps us express feelings that don't fit neatly into sentences; confusion and fear but also hope and joy. Here's the second installment of our look ahead at the most exciting poetry of 2021.

White Freedom: The Racial History of an Idea, by Tyler Stovall

'White Freedom' Examines The Tandem Development Of The Concepts Of Freedom And Race

10:58am January 20, 2021

by Ilana Masad

Tyler Stovall writes white freedom is "the belief (and practice) that freedom is central to white racial identity, and that only white people can or should be free" — noting nations were built on it.

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Arts

In 'Remote Control,' Drones Fly Over The Yam Fields Of A Near-Future Africa

10:00am January 20, 2021

by Jason Heller

Nnedi Okorafor's multi-faceted new novella follows a young girl in a near-future version of Ghana who becomes the Adopted Daughter of Death — but she can't quite figure out how that happened.

Books

Historian Tyler Stovall Discusses His New Book: 'White Freedom'

6:07am January 20, 2021

NPR's Noel King talks to Tyler Stovall about his book: White Freedom: The Racial History of an Idea. It traces the complex relationship between freedom and race starting in the eighteenth century.

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An illustration shows medical student Elizabeth Blackwell at Geneva Medical College (later Hobart College) in upstate New York, as she eyes a note dropped onto her arm by a male student, during a lecture in the college's operating room.

'Doctors Blackwell' Tells The Story Of 2 Pioneering Sisters Who Changed Medicine

2:40pm January 19, 2021

by Dave Davies

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America to earn her medical degree. Her sister Emily followed in her footsteps. Janice Nimura tells the story of the "complicated, prickly" trailblazers.

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Capitol workers remove damaged furniture on from the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2021, following the riot at the Capitol the day before.

Books

The 'Racial Caste System' At The U.S. Capitol

12:50pm January 19, 2021

by Karen Grigsby Bates

After the Capitol was cleared of insurrectionists on January 6, there was work to be done — and it wasn't lost on many that cleaning up the mess would fall largely to Black and Brown people.

The Uncollected Stories of Allan Gurganus

Books
Arts

The 'Uncollected Stories' Show Allan Gurganus At His Finest

7:00am January 19, 2021

by Michael Schaub

This is Gurganus's first book since 2013, and it's worth the wait. These stories are funny, compassionate, and marked by the author's amazing ability to reflect both light and dark in his characters.

After Capitol Riot Backlash, Sen. Josh Hawley's Book Will Hit Shelves In May

8:13pm January 18, 2021

by Vanessa Romo

"We're proud to publish Mr. Hawley's book, which his original publisher has made more important than ever," Regnery Publishing President Thomas Spence said Monday.

Nadia Owusu is a Brooklyn-based writer and urban planner.

Books

'Aftershocks' Is A Powerful Memoir Of A Life Upended — Then Pieced Back Together

9:00am January 18, 2021

by Maureen Corrigan

When Nadia Owusu was 4 years old, her Armenian American mother disappeared from her life. When she was 13, her Ghanaian father died. Owusu reflects the losses and her biracial identity in her memoir.