Arts & Life

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Arts

George Saunders On Absurdism And Ventriloquism In 'Tenth Of December'

5:29pm January 20, 2013

by NPR Staff

George Saunders has long been praised in literary circles for his short stories that deftly combine the absurd with the mundane. But now the author has caught mainstream attention with his newest collection, Tenth of December.

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At Tyler Perry's live performances, his gospel-tinged references aren't meant for everyone in the audience.

Arts

In A Fragmented Cultureverse, Can Pop References Still Pop?

9:11am January 18, 2013

by Neda Ulaby

In film and TV, pop culture references are meant to give a knowing nod to those in the audience who understand the joke. But in an increasingly segmented and diverse country, those jokes may be pulling in fewer laughs.

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Richard (Mark McKinney) and Sanjay (Colm Feore) get up close and personal in the zany backstage comedy Slings and Arrows.

Arts

Home Video Review: 'Slings And Arrows'

7:16am January 18, 2013

by Bob Mondello

If you're not a drama nerd, you might think the Canadian backstage comedy Slings and Arrows isn't for you. But film critic Bob Mondello says just one episode may be enough to change your mind.

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John Mackey is co-CEO and co-founder of Whole Foods Market and co-founder of the nonprofit Conscious Capitalism, Inc.

Whole Foods Founder John Mackey On Fascism And 'Conscious Capitalism'

3:51pm January 17, 2013

by April Fulton

The outspoken Whole Foods founder tells us why he hates "Obamacare" and why we have trouble cutting the sugar, fat and salt out of our diets. But now he's told CBS he used a poor choice of words when referring to the health law as fascism.

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Dustin Hoffman makes his directorial debut with the film Quartet. He has starred in such classics as The Graduate, Kramer vs. Kramer and Tootsie.

Arts

'Quartet': Dustin Hoffman, Behind The Camera

3:08pm January 17, 2013

The veteran actor makes his directorial debut with a film about four aging opera singers who stage a concert at their retirement home. Starring Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay, the film explores friendship, memory and the time that remains.

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Madwoman in the Attic book cover detail.

Books
Arts

How A 'Madwoman' Upended A Literary Boys Club

1:05pm January 17, 2013

by Maureen Corrigan

The National Book Critics Circle has announced that two feminist literary scholars, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, will receive a lifetime achievement award. Critic Maureen Corrigan says their groundbreaking 1979 book, The Madwoman in the Attic, changed the way we read.

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In Rob Ashford's new production of the classic play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Scarlett Johansson plays an earthier version of restless sex kitten Maggie.

Arts

A Cooler Roof For A New 'Cat'

11:11am January 17, 2013

by Jeff Lunden

A Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' iconic Cat on a Hot Tin Roof may feature big names, but it aims for a quiet kind of authenticity. Director Rob Ashford asked his cast to take their characters off the pedestal of dramatic history and put them back in the scene.

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Poet Richard Blanco is the author of City of a Hundred Fires, Directions to the Beach of the Dead and Looking for the Gulf Motel.

Books
Arts

Richard Blanco Will Be First Latino Inaugural Poet

3:44pm January 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

Blanco, a first-generation Cuban-American, says he identifies with the theme of the inauguration: Our People, Our Future. He is the fifth poet to take part in a U.S. presidential inauguration, and also the youngest. He says being selected was a "great honor."

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George Saunders' previous books include In Persuasion Nation and The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip. He won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2006.

Books
Arts

George Saunders Lives Up To The Hype

1:15pm January 15, 2013

by Maureen Corrigan

At the beginning of January, the cover story of The New York Times Magazine declared: "George Saunders Has Written The Best Book You'll Read This Year." The stories in the author's latest collection, The Tenth of December, prove that The Times may well be right.

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Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo. Affleck also directed the film, which is based on events surrounding the Iran hostage crisis of 1979.

Arts

Affleck On 'Argo' And The 1979 Hostage Crisis

1:11pm January 15, 2013

Fresh off Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, where he won for best director and his film won for best motion picture/drama, the actor and director talks about his approach to the story of six diplomats who managed to escape a hostile Iran — and the CIA operative who helped them do so.

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