NPR Books
Photographer Captures MLK's 'Most Daring Dream'
Photographer Robert Houston chronicled Martin Luther King's 1968 Poor People's Campaign. Now his images can be seen in the exhibit, "Most Daring Dream," at Morgan State University. For more, Farai Chideya talks with Aaron Bryant, curator of Houston's exhibition.
French Novelist Awarded Nobel Literature Prize
French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has been awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for literature. Antoine Compagnon, a professor of French Literature at Columbia University, says there are two periods in Le Clezio's work: it was more experimental in the 1960s and '70s, and later it featured traveling and exoticism.
Chef Jeff's Redemption Story
Jeff Henderson rose from Los Angeles' mean streets to become the executive chef at two top Las Vegas hotels, and wrote a best selling memoir. Now he aims to pass on what he's learned to other struggling young adults in a new reality TV show titled The Chef Jeff Project.
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Celebrating Grace Paley's Uniquely Feminine Voice
Writer Alix Kates Shulman remembers the 1960s as an age where men dominated the literary scene — that is, until Grace Paley's quirky urban voice and modernist short stories began to challenge the notion of what constituted great reading.
French Novelist Wins Nobel Prize In Literature
The Swedish Academy praised Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio for his adventurous novels, essays, non-fiction and children's literature. His work is often about wanderers, people on a quest for meaning and grappling with national histories.
Controversy Embroils Nobel Literature Prize
Even before the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature was announced Thursday morning, it was drawing attention — for the wrong reasons. Last week, a Nobel official seemed to nix the possibility of an American winner when he said, "Europe still is the center of the literary world ... not the United States."
Essay: The Ambition of the Short Story
Novels Stitch Tightly Woven Tales Of Freedom
Alan Cheuse reviews two historical novels, both with protagonists immersed in sewing and slavery: Breena Clarke's Stand the Storm and Frances de Pontes Peebles' The Seamstress.
'Goldengrove' Traces The Contours Of Grief
Nico, the 13-year-old narrator of Francine Prose's new novel, struggles to deal with the loss of her older sister. With her parents barely able to cope, Nico must navigate grief and growing up alone.
Le Carre Tackles Terror In 'A Most Wanted Man'
John le Carre, a one-time British intelligence officer, has been writing spy stories for more than 40 years. In his latest novel, he explores the complexities of the war on terror.
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Kenya Detains Author Promoting Anti-Obama Book
Kenyan authorities have deported Jerome Corsi, the author of The Obama Nation: Leftists Politics and the Cult of Personality. Immigration officials said he didn't have a work permit. Corsi was detained at his hotel and ordered to leave the country.
Grief — And Growing Up — In 'Goldengrove'
When her sister drowns, 13-year-old Nico must navigate grief and growing up at the same time. Francine Prose's Goldengrove captures the confusion of adolescence tenderly and without condescension.
