What's the Word? Poetry for Children
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Celebrating National Poetry Month in April series | 29:00
The poetry we hear—and create—as children teaches us about the power of words.
From nursery rhymes and nonsense poems to serious verse about controversial subjects, poetry for children teaches us about the power of words. This program looks at how poets from the Victorian era to the contemporary playground explore the relation between words and meaning, test the limits of polite language, and use humor to upset the balance of power.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? Seeing 9/11
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Remembering 9/11 series | 28:58
Three representations of the events of September 11th.
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The sights and sounds of September 11th and its aftermath are indelibly etched in our minds. How do we represent this event? What narratives get told? How do we commemorate those who died? And what role does art play in helping us come to terms with grief and trauma? On this program Josh Charlson talks about Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers, Nora Alter discusses the film United 93, and David Simpson shares his thoughts about the New York Times’s Portraits of Grief.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
This piece has a companion, What's the Word? Shakespeare after 9/11.
What's the Word? Rhyme
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Celebrating Poetry series | 29:45
Rhyme in Arabic, English, and French poetry
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- What's the Word? Rhyme
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What's the Word? Rhyme
As children, we learn to rhyme before we know what it is. We hear it in nursery rhymes, games, and songs. Our first attempts at writing poetry usually involve rhyme. On this program, we'll hear about rhyme in three languages. The poetry critic Helen Vendler explores William Butler Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium"; Suzanne Stetkevych talks about classical Arabic ode; and Laurence Porter discusses French poetry.
Well-suited to National Poetry Month in April.
If you are interested in this, see our piece at What's the Word? Contemporary Language Poetry .
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Photo credit: Mary Lee
What's the Word? "American Indian and Alaska-Native Tribal Traditions"
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Honors National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month series | 29:10
A celebration of American Indian and Alaska-Native tribal traditions
In 1969, the pioneer N. Scott Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel House Made of Dawn. With his 1969 book, The Way to Rainy Mountain, about Kiowa history and traditions, he showed how a writer could bring an oral literary tradition to the printed page. The following decade continued the development of American Indian and Alaska-Native literature. People wrote both in English and in their tribal languages. Fiction, poetry, songs, essays, and news articles form a body of work that reflects tribal tales and traditions, as well as issues of concern to the American Indian and Alaska-Native communities. On this edition of What's the Word?, three writers and teachers talk about how their tribal traditions influence their work. Ofelia Zepeda, winner of a 1999 MacArthur Fellowship, shares the poetry that she writes both in English and her tribal language, O'odham. Robert Warrior takes us back to the nineteenth century for a look at the written 1881 constitution of the Osage nation and the oral version of the nation's origins. And Jean Breinig reads and talks about writings from her tribe, the Haida, in Alaska.
Evergreen
Well suited to National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month in November
Photo: Ofelia Zepeda
Photo Credit: Tony Celentano
Thirty-second promo available.
This piece has a companion, What's the Word? "Voices from the Ojibwe Nation".
What's the Word? W. E. B. Du Bois
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Two half-hour programs celebrating Black History Month series | 29:10
Considered by many the most important African American leader of the early twentieth century, sociologist, historian, author, teacher, and activist W. E. B. Du Bois had a profound effect on the way we talk about race.
W.E.B. Du Bois
Many consider W.E.B. Du Bois the most important African American leader in the first half of the twentieth century. A sociologist, historian, author, teacher, activist, and co- founder of the NAACP and its magazine The Crisis, his influence was profound. His ground-breaking book, The Souls of Black Folk, has been called the foundational text of African American studies. On this program, Pulitzer prize winner David Levering Lewis tells us about W.E.B. Du Bois’s early life and the years that led up to the publication of The Souls of Black Folk; Marlon B. Ross explores some of the social and political factors that Du Bois responded to in the book; and Sheryl Townsend Gilkes discusses the book’s continuing influence.Well-suited to Black History Month in February.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? Mystical Poets
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Celebrating National Poetry Month in April series | 29:00
How do those who have experienced the direct presence of God capture this heightened state in words?
In often surprising language, the mystical poets Rumi, Teresa of Ávila, and Richard Crashaw expressed their devotion by drawing parallels between love of God and romantic love.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
WTW Texts of Resistance
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Two half-hour programs celebrating Black History Month series | 29:00
How did slaves resist their oppression? Three works explore what it means to resist and to survive.
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- WTW Texts of Resistance
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- Modern Language Association
Texts of Resistance
Since the late eighteenth century, writers have addressed the issue of transatlantic slavery. Some of the works are direct calls to abolitionist action; others define resistance more subtly. On this program, John Bugg talks about an eighteenth-century slave narrative, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; Russ Castronovo tells us about Frederick Douglass’s novella, The Heroic Slave; and Natasha Barnes explores The Known World by Edward P. Jones.
Well-suited to Black History Month in February.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? Women Public Intellectuals
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What' s the Word? - A series of half-hour programs to celebrate Women's History Month in March series | 29:45
While men of letters have traditionally achieved the influential position of public intellectual, in the twentieth century a number of important women took on the same role.
While men of letters have traditionally achieved the influential position of public intellectual, in the twentieth century a number of important women took on the same role. What influenced them to speak out in the public sphere? And how did they develop their voices? Susan Fraiman discusses the work of Susan Sontag -- "The public intellectual is someone who engages with the world and speaks to urgent contemporary issues, and Sontag really did that..."; Margaret Simons talks about the work of Simone de Beauvoir --"Simone de Beauvoir is probably best known to American audiences as the author of The Second Sex..."; and Liliane Weissberg explores the writings of Hannah Arendt --"Hannah Arendt is arguably one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century."
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
If you are interested in this, see our pieces at:
http://prx.org/pieces/16877 What's the Word? Elizabeth I and Victoria
http://prx.org/pieces/16919 What's the Word? Pride and Prejudice
http://prx.org/pieces/16838 What's the Word? Medieval Women
http://prx.org/pieces/16840 What's the Word? Women Warriors
http://prx.org/pieces/17295 What's the Word? Women Public Intellectuals
Photo: courtesy of University of Illinois Press
What's the Word? Women Warriors
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What' s the Word? - A series of half-hour programs to celebrate Women's History Month in March series | 29:54
From Joan of Arc to GI Jane--a look at women warriors.
From the Greek goddess Athena to the classic comic book character Zena and from Joan of Arc to GI Jane, history, mythology, and contemporary literature and film offer many images of women warriors. Susan Crane takes us back to the Middle Ages with a look at Joan of Arc and the transcripts of her trial for heresy; Shirley Geok-lin Lim talks about Maxine Hong Kingston's book _The Woman Warrior_; and Yvonne Tasker explores the portrayal of a female naval officer in Ridley Scott's 1997 film, _GI Jane_.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
If you are interested in this, see our pieces at:
http://prx.org/pieces/16877 What's the Word? Elizabeth I and Victoria
http://prx.org/pieces/16919 What's the Word? Pride and Prejudice
http://prx.org/pieces/16838 What's the Word? Medieval Women
http://prx.org/pieces/17295 What's the Word? Women Public Intellectuals
What's the Word? Elizabeth I and Victoria
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What' s the Word? - A series of half-hour programs to celebrate Women's History Month in March series | 29:00
Literary portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria
Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria each presided over a period of major literary development in England. This program looks at how they influenced and were depicted in literature and popular culture. Katharine Maus discusses how Elizabeth was portrayed in literature as the Virgin Queen; Maureen Quilligan shares images of Elizabeth from such writers as William Shakespeare and poet Mary Sidney; and Adrienne Munich tells how the queen's presence was felt in Victorian culture through works that ranged from Gilbert and Sullivan's _Mikado_ to the broadside ballads sold on the streets of London. Thirty-second promo available. If you are interested in this, see our pieces at: http://prx.org/pieces/16919 What's the Word? Pride and Prejudice http://prx.org/pieces/16840 What's the Word? Women Warriors http://prx.org/pieces/16838 What's the Word? Medieval Women http://prx.org/pieces/17295 What's the Word? Women Public Intellectuals
What's the Word? Medieval Women
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What' s the Word? - A series of half-hour programs to celebrate Women's History Month in March series | 29:32
A literary view of the lifestyles of medieval women.
Have you ever thought about what your life would have been like if you had been a woman in the Middle Ages? What kinds of opportunities you would have had? What kind of work you might have done? Typically, we think of the Middle Ages as a time that offered women very few options--but you might be surprised by some of the accomplishments of medieval women. Marie Boroff talks about one of Chaucer's most famous--and feisty--characters in _The Canterbury Tales_, the Wife of Bath; Barbara Newman talks about religious lifestyles of medieval women and shares works by the twelfth-century German nun Hildegard of Bingen; and C. Jean Dangler talks about women healers in medieval Spain.
Thirty-second promo available.
If you are interested in this, see our pieces at:
http://prx.org/pieces/16919 What's the Word? Pride and Prejudice
http://prx.org/pieces/16840 What's the Word? Women Warriors
http://prx.org/pieces/16877 What's the Word? Elizabeth I and Victoria
http://prx.org/pieces/17295 What's the Word? Women Public Intellectuals
What's the Word? Pride and Prejudice
From Modern Language Association | Part of the What' s the Word? - A series of half-hour programs to celebrate Women's History Month in March series | 29:46
Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice_ continues to be popular nearly two hundred years after it was first published.
Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice_ continues to be popular nearly two hundred years after it was first published. What makes the novel relevant to twenty-first-century audiences? Marcia McClintock Folsom talks about the great appeal of the novel's heroine, Elizabeth Bennet; Rachel Brownstein shares her insights about film and television versions of Austen's novel; and Susan Staves explores the marriage market at the heart of the novel.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
If you are interested in this, see our pieces at:
http://prx.org/pieces/16877 What's the Word? Elizabeth I and Victoria
http://prx.org/pieces/16840 What's the Word? Women Warriors
http://prx.org/pieces/16838 What's the Word? Medieval Women
http://prx.org/pieces/17295 What's the Word? Women Public Intellectuals
Photo: Courtesy of JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America)
What's the Word? Returning Veterans
From Modern Language Association | 29:45
Three powerful films about American veterans returning home.
The experience of the returning veteran can often be a far cry from the romanticized image of the returning hero -- as we see in these three films: Anthony Minghella's _Cold Mountain_, William Wyler's _The Best Years of Our Lives_, and Oliver Stone's _Born on the Fourth of July_. The issues they raise are still timely.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Photo credit: Defense Department
What's the Word? Puerto Rican Literature on the Island and in the United States
From Modern Language Association | 29:45
Explores issues of national and cultural identity central to Puerto Rican literature
What's the Word? Puerto Rican Literature on the Island and in the United States
Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, issues of national and cultural identity have been central to Puerto Rican literature. This program explores the conflicts between traditional Hispanic and Afro-Antillean culture and the increasing influence of the United States on island culture. Writers who left the island to live elsewhere provide other perspectives on Puerto Rican cultural identity. On this program Guillermo Irizarry discusses works by Antonio S. Pedreira, Jose Luis Gonzalez, and Mayra Santos Febres; Licia Fiol-Matta explores the life and work of the poet Julia de Burgos; and Lazarro Lima takes us back to the founding of the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe by poets Miguel Algarin and Miguel Pinero.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Well-suited to National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)
If you are interested in this, see our piece at:
http://prx.org/pieces/27700 What's the Word? Cosmopolitanism in Latin America.
What's the Word? Cosmopolitanism in Latin America
From Modern Language Association | 29:45
During the early and mid-twentieth century, many Latin American writers engaged with international literary and cultural movements.
What's the Word? Cosmopolitanism in Latin America
During the early and mid-twentieth century, many Latin American writers engaged with international literary and cultural movements. This bridge building, as some called it, enriched the literary scene in Latin America, but it also raised questions about the definition of national identity. On this program Cesar Salgado talks about the Cuban journal _Origenes_; John King discusses the Argentine journal _Sur_; and Estelle Tarica talks about Peruvian writer Jose Carlos Mariategui.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Well-suited to National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)
If you are interested in this, see our piece at:
http://prx.org/pieces/27702 What's the Word? Puerto Rican Literature on the Island and in the United States.
What's the Word? American AIDS Drama
From Modern Language Association | 29:45
A look at three landmark Amercian plays dealing with the AIDs crisis
In the mid 1980s, plays about AIDS started to emerge in the United States. In part, these early plays and the plays that followed were calls to action. They documented the devastation within a community--and showed how little was being done. Blending advocacy and art, the plays also gave us individual characters whose lives touched us deeply. On this program, we'll hear about three landmark American plays dealing with the AIDS crisis. Don Shewey talks about Larry Kramer's _The Normal Heart_, Catherine Sheehy discusses Paula Vogel's _The Baltimore Waltz_, and Robert Vorlicky explores Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning play _Angels in America_.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Photo: Angels in America: Part One, The Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner. First published in 1993 by Theatre Communications Group. Cover art by Milton Glaser. Used by permission of the Publisher.
What's the Word? Hip-Hop in the World
From Modern Language Association | 29:45
Hip-Hop in Cuba, South Africa, and the Islamic world
Hip-hop is an American cultural phenomenon, but its influence is worldwide. Robin Moore talks about politically engaged hip-hop in Cuba; Grant Farred explores hip-hop in South Africa, from Prophets of Da City to Skwatta Kamp; and H. Samy Alim takes a look at Islamic hip-hop. Musical excerpts include Orishas, Microphone Brise le Silence, Remarkable Current, and others.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
If you are interested in this, see our piece at What's the Word? Literary Roots of Opera .
What's the Word? Literary Roots of Opera
From Modern Language Association | 29:45
Carmen, Eugene Onegin, Falstaff, and their literary predecessors
Many operas have been created from literary works. Voices, music, actors, costumes, and stage sets add new dimensions to the original works, as composers translate stories from the page to the opera stage. We'll hear about Bizet's _Carmen_, based on a short story by Prosper Merimee; Tchaikovsky's _Eugene Onegin_, based on a novel by Aleksandr Pushkin; and Verdi's _Falstaff_, based on William Shakespeare's _The Merry Wives of Windsor_ and _Henry IV, Part I_.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
If you are interested in this, see our piece at What's the Word? Hip-Hop in the World .
What's the Word? On the Road, The American Road
From Modern Language Association | 29:45
American road trips in literature and film
What's the Word? On the Road, The American Road
For many of us, road trips offer the chance to learn about the country - and about ourselves. Many characters in fiction and film have also gone "on the road". What motivated them? What did they discover along the way? And how do different writers convey the experience of America? Ann Charters talks about Jack Kerouac's classic 1957 novel, _On the Road_; Michael Wood explores Vladimir Nabokov's 1954 novel, _Lolita_; and Leo Braudy discusses the 1991 film, _Thelma and Louise_.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Photo: courtesy of Viking Penguin.
What's the Word? Shakespearean Queens
From Modern Language Association | 30:00
Gertrude, Cleopatra, and Margaret--perspectives on women and power
Much has been written about William Shakespeare's female characters. One group of women in his plays, the queens, are at the top of their social hierarchies, and their stories involve murder, intrigue, sexual allure, infidelity, and violence. They also give us fascinating perspectives on questions of women and power. We'll hear about Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude; Cleopatra, the legendary queen of Egypt in _Antony and Cleopatra_; and Margaret, the French-born queen of England who appears in four of Shakespeare's history plays.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
If you are interested in this, see another related piece at:
http://prx.org/pieces/18125 What's the Word? Al Pacino's Shakespeare
What's the Word? Al Pacino's Shakespeare
From Modern Language Association | 29:59
Actor Al Pacino's mission to bring Shakespeare to a wider audience...
Al Pacino has approached the works of William Shakespeare as an actor, a student, and a filmmaker. On this program we'll hear about Pacino's performance in Michael Radford's 2004 film, _The Merchant of Venice_; Pacino's 1996 documentary _Looking for Richard_ and its exploration of how Shakespeare fits into American culture; and Pacino's place in the range of American interpretations of Shakespeare.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
If you are interested in this, see another related piece at:
http://prx.org/pieces/18145 What's the Word? Shakespearean Queens
What's the Word? Taking Hip-Hop Seriously
From Modern Language Association | 29:08
Hip-hop culture's roots and influence
In the early 1970s New York City's South Bronx saw the emergence of musical, artistic, and cultural expressions that would come to be known as hip-hop. With its popular hallmarks of graffiti, rap music, MCs, DJs, and B-boys, hip-hop would cross cultural lines, neighborhood boundaries, and even national borders. Scott Heath talks about the development of hip-hop as well as some popular misconceptions about the term; Imani Perry explores the role of women in hip-hop; and Eric Lott discusses the relation between hip-hop and racial identity.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Image: Hip Hop Culture - 2000 United States Postal Service. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.
If you are interested in this, see our piece at What's the Word? Rock and Roll .
What's the Word? Rock and Roll
From Modern Language Association | 29:08
The evolution, influence, and energy of a genre
Bruce Springsteen called rock and roll the "voice of America--the real America." From its roots in rhythm and blues, gospel, country, and swing, rock and roll had crossed over to the American mainstream by the mid 1950s and had become the dance music of the postwar generation. On this program, Ben Saunders talks about the roots of rock and roll and takes a look at the music of Elvis Presley; Stephen Burt explores rock and roll as a force for social change, with a look at the music of Bruce Springsteen and Bikini Kill; and Joshua Clover tells us why he thinks rock lyrics aren't poetry and considers the music of MIA and Bob Dylan.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Image: Rock 'n' Roll - 1999 United States Postal Service. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.
If you are interested in this, see our piece at What's the Word? Taking Hip-Hop Seriously .
What's the Word? Images of the American Self
From Modern Language Association | 29:09
A look at the "American self," from Puritans to successful businessmen to changing roles for women.
In the late eighteenth century, the French American writer J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur posed the question, "What then is the American, this new man?" He tried to answer the question in his book _Letters from an American Farmer_, and Americans ever since have speculated about what the American character is.
On this program we'll hear about several important concepts of "self" in the United States. Michael Warner traces the evolution of the Puritan idea of self; David Leverenz talks about images of successful businessmen that developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; and Nina Baym explains how women were reflected in these images of men--and how women began to develop their own ideas about who they were and what role they played in society.
Thirty-second promo available.
What's the Word? Muslim Women Writers
From Modern Language Association | 29:10
Works by female writers from Muslim countries offer us important perspectives on questions of religion, nationalism, and the role of women in Islamic and Arab culture.
Three women explore works by Muslim women writers that break down stereotypes, raise questions, and explore contradictions between their experience and the traditional doctrines of the cultures in which they live. On this program, Egyptian-born Leila Ahmed talks about and reads from her 1999 memoir, _A Border Passage_; Elisabeth Mudimbe-Boyi discusses Algerian writer Assia Djebar's novel _Far from Medina_; and Farzaneh Milani explores the work of Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad.
Well-suited to Women's History Month in March
Photo: Leila Ahmed
Photo Credit: Harvard Divinity School
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? City of Ladies
From Modern Language Association | 29:07
In 1405 Christine de Pisan wrote a landmark book called _The Book of the City of Ladies _in response to works that attacked and slandered women.
_The City of Ladies_ draws on women's stories from myth, history, and religion and makes an eloquent case for the validity of female authority and experience. On this program, Renata Blumenfeld-Kosinski explores Christine's accomplishment in _The City of Ladies_; Mary Beth Rose suggests that Christine's defense of female experience in the book influenced powerful women in later eras; and Jennifer Summit traces the fate of _The City of Ladies_ after Christine de Pisan's death.
Well-suited to Women's History Month in March
Photo: Building the City of Ladies (A detail from the Harley 4431 manuscript of Christine de Pisan's _The Book of the City of Ladies_, Paris 1410-1411)
Photo by permission of the British Library
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? Famous Love Letters
From Modern Language Association | 29:10
Love letters from some very famous couples
Love letters may strike you as personal, yet some are extremely public. Written over many years, eventually collected and published long after the fact, they show us passion, friendship, humor, respect, loss, and even tragedy. On this program, Frank Shuffelton shares with us the letters of John and Abigail Adams; Dorothy Mermin discusses the correspondence between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning; and Virginie Green explores the letters of the legendary Abelard and Heloise.
What's the Word? Petrarch and Love Poetry
From Modern Language Association | 29:17
A look at how many contemporary ideas about love come from the love sonnets of fourteenth-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarch
Love at first sight, longing for an unrequited love, glorifying the beloved--all these notions, so familiar to us today, are centuries old, as we can see in the poetry of the Italian humanist and scholar Francesco Petrarch. In his fourteenth-century sonnet cycle, composed over many decades, Petrarch glorified a woman named Laura, who never returned his love. In the centuries that followed, his work influenced not only everything from love poetry to greeting cards to popular songs but also the way we think about love. David Wallace talks about Petrarch's sonnets, Dympna Callaghan discusses how Shakespeare changes the Petrarchan sonnet in __Romeo and Juliet__, and Anne Lake Prescott gives us some examples of anti-Petrarchan Renaissance poetry.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? Poetry in Performance
From Modern Language Association | 29:48
From Homer to slam, the special appeal of poetry in performance.
There is a resurgence of interest in the public performance of poetry. On this show we hear about the oral tradition from Homer to slam poetry, and 39th Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky talks about his campaign to revive interest in poetry by having Americans record their favorite poems for the Library of Congress archives. John Miles Foley looks at the tradition of spoken poetry in the form of the oral epic, and poet Phil West brings us up to date on slam poetry-a live, interactive poetry performance event that began in the mid 1980s. Well-suited to National Poetry Month in April. Thirty-second promo available. Photo: Robert Pinsky, 39th Poet Laureate Photo Credit: Julia Van Otteren
What's the Word? Chinese Women's Poetry
From Modern Language Association | 30:03
A celebration of Chinese women poets.
Over the past several decades, interest in Chinese women poets has flourished. Many female voices lost for centuries have been recovered from libraries and archives, and contemporary women poets in both Taiwan and Mainland China have increased in number. Grace Fong talks about her work recovering the poetry of women writers from late imperial China; Haun Saussy, an editor of _Women Writers of Traditional China_, an anthology of poetry and criticism, reads works by several writers included in the anthology; and Michelle Yeh talks about her book _Frontier Taiwan_ and reads works by two 20th-century Chinese women poets.
Well-suited to National Poetry Month in April.
Well-suited for Asian Pacific Heritage Month.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? Literature of the Holocaust
From Modern Language Association | 29:43
Memoirs, poetry, drama, and fiction about the Holocaust.
Many people consider the Holocaust the most traumatic event of the twentieth century. James E. Young looks at how we know what we know about the Holocaust--and talks about survivors' journals and memoirs and about a poem by the Israeli poet Dan Pagis. Robert Skloot looks at a play in which the protagonist--a real figure in history--confronts difficult ethical decisions; and Froma Zeitlin focuses on the Pulitzer Prize-winning _Maus_, by the second-generation graphic artist Art Spiegelman.
Well-suited to Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 6, 2005.
Photo Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Memorijalni Muzej Jasenovac
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? Literature by Child Survivors of the Holocaust
From Modern Language Association | 30:01
Fiction and a memoir by child survivors.
In recent decades, the field of Holocaust studies has expanded to include a wide variety of voices in many different media. One group of writers were children during the holocaust. In memoirs and fiction, they write about the events they lived through--and survived. Ruth Kluger talks about her memoir, _Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered_; Michael Rothberg discusses the novel _Fateless_ by Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertesz; and Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi explores Aharon Appelfeld's novel _The Age of Wonders_.
Well-suited to Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 6, 2005.
Photo Credit: USHMM, courtesy of Memorijalni Muzej Jasenovac
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? The Blues as Literature
From Modern Language Association | 29:10
Blues lyrics give us unique insight into the African American experience.
The music that we call the blues emerged in the south in the early twentieth century. An expression of African American experience, the blues touched on everyday hardships and realities. Blues lyrics give us unique insight into the lives of Africans who were brought to the new world and into the lives of their descendants. On this edition of _What's the Word?_, Houston Baker, Jr. talks about the songs of Charlie Patton and the work of novelist Richard Wright, Robert Cantwell shares his vision of the blues as poetry in the lyrics of Robert Johnson, and Angela Y. Davis talks about the 1920s recordings of classic blues women Gertrude "Ma" Rainey and Bessie Smith.
Well-suited to Black History Month.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
Angela Davis Photo Credit: Michael Jacobson-Hardy
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What's the Word? Cookbooks as Literature
From Modern Language Association | 30:02
Cookbooks can be more than just a source of recipes.
Many of us have our favorite cookbooks, complete with dog-eared, sauce-stained pages. But cookbooks can be more than just a source of recipes; lavishly illustrated cookbooks transport us to faraway places. Classic cookbooks serve as cultural artifacts of their time and place, and cookbooks with stories may engross us as much as novels do. James Buzard takes us back to nineteenth-century England and a Victorian classic, _Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management_; Doris Witt talks about early African American cookbooks and Verta Mae Grosvenor's _Vibration Cooking_; and cookbook reviewer Sukey Howard talks about contemporary cookbooks and what they offer in addition to recipes.
Well-suited to Thanksgiving.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
What's the Word? Literary Feasts
From Modern Language Association | 30:01
In literature, feasts often serve as central events in telling a story.
Whether you're the host or the guest, whether the table is set for two or twenty, feasts are memorable occasions. They may mark holidays, special events, or simply the celebration of family and friends. This program features three works that focus on feasts. Sarah Webster Goodwin talks about Isak Dinesen's short story "Babette's Feast"; Kari Salkjelsvik explores Laura Esquivel's novel _Like Water for Chocolate_; and Gail Kern Paster talks about Ben Jonson's poem "Inviting a Friend to Supper."
Well-suited to Thanksgiving.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.