Arts
The Arts

New Documentary ‘Billie’ Explores Mysteries Of Billie Holiday And Her Biographer
The film continues writer Linda Kuehl’s unfinished investigation into Holiday’s life through never-before-heard interviews with jazz luminaries, and explores her experiences with institutional racism. Continue Reading New Documentary ‘Billie’ Explores Mysteries Of Billie Holiday And Her Biographer

BOOK REVIEW: Finding A Voice And Coming To Terms With A Stutter In ‘I Talk Like A River’
Jordan Scott is a poet, a master of words, and a stutterer. His new kids’ book, gorgeously illustrated by Sydney Smith, chronicles his childhood journey towards coming to terms with his stutter. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: Finding A Voice And Coming To Terms With A Stutter In ‘I Talk Like A River’

‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 7: Ross Gay On Tenderness And Finding Delight
In this episode of ‘Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella,’ poet and professor Ross Gay discusses ways to recognize and incorporate tenderness into your life. Ramella and Gay cover everything from the benefits of gardening to why he doesn’t often give advice. Continue Reading ‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 7: Ross Gay On Tenderness And Finding Delight

Elizabeth Acevedo’s Poetry Extends A Helping Hand In Our Lonely Time
The way loneliness skulks in one of Elizabeth Acevedo’s poems probably would have felt familiar even before the pandemic forced us into more isolating situations. Continue Reading Elizabeth Acevedo’s Poetry Extends A Helping Hand In Our Lonely Time

TV REVIEW: ‘A Teacher’ Tells A Lesson In Predatory Behavior
In the Hulu on FX limited series “A Teacher,” a high school English teacher (Kate Mara) lures a student (Nick Robinson) into a sexual relationship. It doesn’t turn out well. Continue Reading TV REVIEW: ‘A Teacher’ Tells A Lesson In Predatory Behavior

In The Poppy War Book Series, R.F. Kuang Asks: ‘What If Mao Was A Teenage Girl?’
The third volume in Kuang’s Poppy War series is out now. She grounded the story in history, both her own and China’s; it follows a passionate, ruthless young woman who becomes a military leader. Continue Reading In The Poppy War Book Series, R.F. Kuang Asks: ‘What If Mao Was A Teenage Girl?’

‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 6: Dior Vargas On Intersectionality And Mental Health
In this episode of “Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella,” Latinx feminist and mental health activist Dior Vargas shares her history with mental health and why discussing the topic through an intersectional lens is so important. Continue Reading ‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 6: Dior Vargas On Intersectionality And Mental Health

‘Oak Flat’ Tells The Story Of An Apache Tribe Fighting To Save Its Land From Mining
Artist and writer Lauren Redniss mixes art, design, and rigorous research with a prose style that is at once assertive, journalistic and poetic to create a book like no other. Continue Reading ‘Oak Flat’ Tells The Story Of An Apache Tribe Fighting To Save Its Land From Mining

2020’s National Book Awards Strive For Inclusivity
This year’s National Book Awards — announced in a first-ever virtual streaming ceremony — went mostly to writers of color, as the foundation that gives the prizes vowed to be more inclusive. Continue Reading 2020’s National Book Awards Strive For Inclusivity

‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 5: Pulitzer Winner Jericho Brown On The Importance Of Name And Truth
Pulitzer-winning poet Jericho Brown shares how growing up in a Black church exposed him to the art of performative poetry at a young age and how that propelled him to dedicate his life to poetry starting in his early twenties. Continue Reading ‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 5: Pulitzer Winner Jericho Brown On The Importance Of Name And Truth

Kate Winslet’s ‘Ammonite’ Takes On Paleontology, Patriarchy And Passion
Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan star in the new film, which imagines a romantic relationship between British paleontologist Mary Anning and Charlotte Murchison, the young wife of a geologist. Continue Reading Kate Winslet’s ‘Ammonite’ Takes On Paleontology, Patriarchy And Passion

Lights, Camera, Action: How Vancouver (AKA ‘Hollywood North’) Revved Up Despite COVID
The film and TV industry in British Columbia is busier than ever in spite of COVID and partly because of COVID. The place sometimes called Hollywood North is benefiting from high demand for new content from networks and streaming services. The much smaller film industries in next door Washington state and Oregon are rebounding more slowly from the region wide shutdown earlier this year. Continue Reading Lights, Camera, Action: How Vancouver (AKA ‘Hollywood North’) Revved Up Despite COVID