Oct 15th, 2005 · Nobel laureate Harold Pinter is noted for his use of "silence" as a playwright. Long, tense pauses between his characters became a technique and a trademark of his plays, often making audiences squirm and wonder what people do not -- and perhaps cannot -- say to one another. We revisit one of Pinter's most well-known plays, Betrayal.
Oct 6th, 2005 · The Swedish Academy is not yet ready to name a winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature, traditionally announced on the first or second Thursday of October. The delay has created speculation that Academy members are embroiled in a fierce debate over this year's laureate.
Sep 16th, 2005 · On this national day of prayer and remembrance for hurricane victims, Louisiana's Poet Laureate Brenda Marie Osbey reflects on what was lost -- and what will become of her hometown, New Orleans.
Aug 29th, 2005 · Farai Chideya talks with Marilyn Nelson, poet laureate of Connecticut and author an emotional narrative poem on the death of Emmett Till. Nelson explains why she wrote the poem for young adults, and how it challenges readers to speak out against modern-day injustices.
Aug 28th, 2005 · It's time for an end-of-summer poetry treat: NPR's Tom Cole reads "Blackberry Picking," from Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, found in Opened Ground: Selected Poems 1966-1996.
Jul 29th, 2005 · Over his lifetime, poet Stanley Kunitz has received a Pulitzer, among other recognitions, and served as the nation's poet laureate… twice. As Kunitz turns 100, he reads from his poem, "The Long Boat."
Jul 4th, 2005 · Ted Kooser won the 2005 Pulitzer prize for poetry and publishes American Life in Poetry, a free weekly column for newspapers and websites that provides a brief poem and description as a way to bring verse to the masses. His poems are about the simple details of everyday life.
Apr 7th, 2005 · Author Saul Bellow died April 5 at the age of 89. His short stories and novels garnered him three National Book Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Presidential Award and a Nobel Prize. His books include The Adventures of Augie March, Henderson the Rain King, Herzog and Humbolt's Gift. (Originally aired Oct. 4, 1989.)