Arts & Culture
Coverage of the Arts by Weekend America.
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Weekend Soundtrack: Dion
This week, we hear about a song that makes Joan Spence of Solway, Minn., think of her father. She told Weekend America's Bill Radke that Dion's "Abraham, Martin and John" is her Weekend Soundtrack.
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Song and Memory: "96 Tears"
Rebel Chef Anthony Bourdain is best known for his raucous ways in the world of the professional kitchen, which he details in his book "Kitchen Confidential." We asked him to put away his pans and think back to when he was a kid -- is there a song from childhood that brings it all back? Bourdain can pinpoint his desire for a rebellious drug- and sex- drenched youth to one song: "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians. Weekend America asks him what he loved about that song.
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A Veteran Poet
Mickey Cesar is a poet and a veteran of the Iraq War. He's written poems in the 140-degree heat of the desert with sand blowing every which way. He says all of his poems, regardless of the topic, are informed by the war. Cesar shares his story with Weekend America.
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A Poet Laureate Under Fire
Poet Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr. was ready to accept the position of poet laureate of New York's Nassau County on Monday, when the county legislature balked. In 2005, Wheat wrote a book of poetry called "Iraq and Other Killing Fields: Poetry for Peace," something a little different from his other poetry. We talk with Wheat about the honor he is getting--with or without the county legislature's blessing.
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Weekend Soundtrack: Jeff Beck
We've been asking you what songs are a big part of your weekend. You know, that one song that tells you it's Saturday or Sunday. This week we hear from Jeffrey Goodman of Boston, Mass., who tells us why one Jeff Beck song made it to his weekend soundtrack.
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Song and Memory: The New Christy Minstrels
In our latest installment of Song and Memory, we hear from acclaimed non-fiction writer Luc Sante. He was born in post-war Belgium, but his parents soon emigrated to New Jersey. It was while living in the suburbs of the Garden State that Luc Sante first discovered folk music. At the time, folk was so big that it had its own television program, "Hootenanny." The show made quite an impression on a boy from a strict Catholic family in post-war Europe. This piece comes to us from the public radio Web site, HearingVoices.com.
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Broken Angel
For nearly 30 years Arthur Wood has been turning a brick building in Brooklyn into a handmade sculpture. It's called Broken Angel and it has become a cultural icon in the neighborhood. But last October a fire broke out. That's when the real trouble began. We talk with Arthur Wood and his son Christopher about their home.
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Song and Memory
Is there a song that brings back a strong memory from your childhood? In this installment of our ongoing series, "Song and Memory," we meet James Palmer, a listener in Seattle, Wash. Palmer grew up in small town in Michigan. For much of his early life, his family consisted only of himself and his mother. One of Palmer's earliest memories is a popular lullaby his mother used to sing to him. Years later, after quite a bit of hardship, the memory of the song became even more significant, if also bittersweet.
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Remembering a Song and Memory
We've asked you over the year to tell us about a song that brings back a strong memory from your childhood. And we've heard from all sorts of people--listeners, musicians, a reverend, office workers, writers--anyone with a story about a song. We return now to the first person who shared his song and memory with us.
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Song and Memory
Is there a song that brings back a strong memory from your childhood? In this installment of our ongoing series, "Song and Memory," we meet Reverend Ruth Shaver. She is a Weekend America listener and she is new minister at the United Church of Schellsburg in Pennsylvania. Shaver tells us about a song that's stayed with her throughout her life called "Family of God."
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Song and Memory
Is there a song that brings back a strong memory from your childhood? In this installment of our ongoing series, "Song and Memory," we meet Hannah Marcus, a singer-songwriter from Brooklyn. When Hannah was little, she often found herself listening to music with her babysitter. Hannah didn't just get a musical education from the babysitter, she was schooled in politics and race.
