Arts
The Arts
![Cover detail of Jean Stafford: The Complete Novels.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/stafford-5755db6009d775617c5ddf36590c928062b01eaa-500x500.jpg)
New Collection Celebrates Jean Stafford, A Gifted Novelist Who Deserved Better
Stafford is often remembered as wife No. 1 in the many biographies and studies of poet Robert Lowell. But a new Library of America edition of her three novels showcases her masterful writing.
![Comedian and actor Ilana Glazer strikes out solo in her new hour-long special, The Planet Is Burning, set to release on Amazon Prime Video in January. CREDIT: Emily V. Aragones/Amazon Studios, Prime Video](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/stand-up-ilanaglazer_aragones_0095_rgb_custom-5acb3d18b6b25ce9868c339a57e2bad3ab03809b-500x500.jpg)
Ilana Glazer Strikes Out On Her Own In New Stand-Up Special
After shedding her beloved, free-wheeling Broad City character, the real Ilana is coming out of dormancy. “I have this fire in me,” she says. It shows in her new comedy special, The Planet is Burning.
![Fry Bread A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Fry-Bread-book-cover-by-Kevin-Noble-Maillard-and-Juana-Martinez-Neal.jpg)
Books To Devour This New Year Include The Cultural Feast That Is ‘Fry Bread’
Our kids’ books columnist, Juanita Giles, gave her daughter Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story for Christmas; she says the book’s depiction of food and history mirrors her family’s experiences.
![A horn player (left) in this detail from a 1694 altar carving by Francesco Antonio d'Alberto in Piedmont, Italy, clearly has a swollen neck that signifies goiter, medical historians say. The thyroid condition was a sign of poverty in those days. Renzo Dionigi Shepherds](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/nh-6_enl-2d8dea2c16e33c6ad11d872f97a8ccc99d2208bc-500x500.jpg)
Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats
In some historical Nativity scenes, the shepherds have grossly enlarged thyroid glands — also known today as goiter. It’s an apparent symbol of their poverty and iodine-deficient diet.
FILM REVIEW: ‘Just Mercy’ Is An Earnest, Effective Legal Drama Of Real History Learned Too Late
This adaptation of attorney Bryan Stevenson’s book about a wrongly condemned black man dramatizes that case while offering an unflinching look at the death penalty.
![Geri Hongeva (left), who voiced C-3PO in the Navajo translation of A New Hope; artist Duane Koyawena (center); and engineer Joe Mastroianni with Hopi R2 at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. CREDIT: Ryan Heinsius/KNAU](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ryanstarwars_custom-d0d065156034902592de6c39eab04de35121460b-500x500.jpg)
‘The Force Is With Our People’ Connects Indigenous Culture To A Galaxy Far, Far Away
The Rise of Skywalker speaks to the historical experiences of many in the Indigenous community. An exhibit by Native artists attempts to shed light on those connections.
![Art expert Stéphane Pinta points to a 13th century painting by Italian master Cimabue in Paris. Michel Euler/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ap_19267372862233-e278f5280122057337ac0a0c9c323d7db467fab0-500x500.jpg)
France Blocks Export Of $27 Million Medieval Painting Found In French Woman’s Kitchen
The Italian painting by the artist Cimabue sold for nearly $27 million at auction. But now, government officials in France are intervening in order to stop the art from leaving the country.
![Our annual Hanukkah Lights celebrates stories of the season. Rachel Stallworth/Flickr](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/NPR-Hanukkah-Lights-celebration-CREDIT-Rachel-Stallworth-Flickr-500x500.jpg)
Hanukkah Lights 2019: Sharing Stories Of Light, Miracles And Faith
Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz read original stories about Hanukkah, from a celebration interrupted by a stranger to a group that brings the holiday to another planet.
![A search for the word they on Merriam-Webster's website turns up definitions for the personal pronoun, which saw a massive spike in lookups this year over last. Several months ago the dictionary added a definition for its 2019 Word of the Year that classified it as a functioning nonbinary pronoun. CREDIT: Jenny Kane/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ap_19344212786306_wide-9683c239c881c543b5caafe4add971c99ed3e0ce-500x500.jpg)
Merriam-Webster Singles Out Nonbinary ‘They’ For Word Of The Year Honors
The dictionary publisher lauded the singular they Tuesday, noting that the tiny word has enjoyed important new uses in an English language that otherwise lacks a good gender-neutral alternative.
![Comedian Margaret Cho is currently on a stand-up tour called Fresh Off the Bloat. CREDIT: Albert Sanchez](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/margaret-cho-head_slide-9ec2f70aab5b65f14f4c7c0afad0861774acdf7f-500x500.jpg)
Comedian Margaret Cho: ‘I Invented The Cancellation’
Loud and unapologetic, and a trailblazer on race and sexuality, the stand-up comic discussed “cancel culture,” Asian American comedy and her short-lived sitcom All-American Girl.
![March sisters Meg (Emma Watson), Amy (Florence Pugh), Jo (Saoirse Ronan) and Beth (Eliza Scanlen) return to the screen in a new adaptation of Little Women. CREDIT: Wilson Webb/CTMG/Columbia Pictures](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/little-women-epk-df-10028_09995_rv2_wide-7cdbf4ceed6fe0f7265748b9a666d52c63c8d8fe-500x500.jpg)
FILM REVIEW: ‘Little Women’ Again? Greta Gerwig’s Adaptation Is Both Faithful And Radical
Gerwig gives us the warm, homespun pleasures of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel, but she also holds the well-worn text up to the light to consider some of its flaws and compromises.
![Julie Andrews poses with baby Emma in November 1962. Andrews began filming Mary Poppins a few months after Emma's birth. CREDIT: McCabe/Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-3140276-57bf782f98d3deacd7a5305d0d069abd712cbc2d-500x500.jpg)
When Mom Is Mary Poppins: Julie Andrews Writes Memoir With Her Daughter
“It was sometimes difficult to share her,” Emma Walton Hamilton says of life with her famous mom. Hamilton and Andrews have written 32 books together; their latest is Home Work.