Mark Twain

Arts

Jon Stewart says the 'fragility of leaders' is the real threat to humor

4:44am April 25, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

Jon Stewart is honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center. The former host of The Daily Show was praised for revitalizing political satire and for his activism.

Viet Cong soldiers going into battle near Hue during the Vietnam War, circa 1968. Years later, the war shaped how Ocean Vuong grew up.

Books
Arts

In The Lines Of Ocean Vuong, Echoes Of His Family's Past In Vietnam

9:01am April 25, 2016

by NPR Staff

Award-winning poet Ocean Vuong speaks about his new book Night Sky with Exit Wounds, which weaves growing up in America with his family's memories of a war-torn Vietnam.

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A trade card from the 1880s depicts a Santa Claus figure in a bird-themed sleigh pulled by reindeer as they are about the land on a rooftop to deliver presents from the huge sack of gifts.

Books

Twain's 'Letter From Santa Claus,' A Gift For All Ages

8:04am December 19, 2015

by Scott Simon

In 1875, Mark Twain wrote a letter to his 3-year-old daughter from Santa Claus. NPR's Scott Simon reflects on a father's love for his daughter at Christmas time.

Cover image of Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise.

Books
Arts

'Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise' Educates But Doesn't Entertain Its Readers

1:55pm November 03, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

Oscar Hijuelos' posthumously published novel chronicles the friendship between Mark Twain and explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Maureen Corrigan says the book lacks the magic of Hijuelos' best work.

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In her speech Wednesday night in New York, Ursula K. Le Guin declared, "The name of our beautiful reward is not profit. Its name is freedom."

Books
Arts

Book News: Ursula K. Le Guin Steals The Show At The National Book Awards

7:37am June 19, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

In a ceremony that saw both icons and newcomers honored, it was a fiery speech by the science fiction legend that had attendees talking. Also: A Jonathan Safran Foer book gets adapted to ballet.