Oct 27th, 2008 · Nobel laureate Toni Morrison says she wanted to "remove race from slavery" in her new novel. Set in 17th century America, A Mercy features black, white and Native American characters in different degrees of servitude.
Oct 21st, 2008 · Nobel laureate Paul Krugman believes that increased public spending — akin to the efforts of the New Deal during the Great Depression — is the best way to escape the financial crisis and regain American global leadership.
Oct 12th, 2008 · Though born in France, Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Gustav Le Clezio is a nomadic writer, whose work has been defined by his life of travel around the world. For him, storytelling means melting into the background.
Oct 6th, 2008 · Horace Engdahl, a Nobel Prize official, commented on Wednesday that the United States is "too isolated" and "too insular" to generate literary Nobel laureates. He said Europe remains the "center of the literary world."
Jul 20th, 2008 · Last week, the Library of Congress appointed Kay Ryan to be the nation's next poet laureate. Ryan, who will take the position in the fall, shares a couple poems and talks to host Andrea Seabrook about her approach to words and writing.
May 20th, 2008 · Doctor and civil rights activist Binayak Sen has been imprisoned for a year in an area of India known as the epicenter of the country's Maoist insurgency. He's being held under draconian anti-terrorism laws; his supporters say the charges are nonsense. Some 22 Nobel laureates are appealing for his release.
Apr 24th, 2008 · Al Young took to writing poetry, as he describes it in one poem, "to make out the sound of my own background music." Now California's poet laureate, he writes about the blues, jazz and life in the geographically and culturally diverse state.
Apr 14th, 2008 · Kenyan political activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai turned down an invitation to participate in the Olympic torch relay in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania. Maathai explains her decision and shares insights about recent political developments in Kenya.