Books/Poetry

Author Valeria Luiselli. (Courtesy Diego Berruecos/Gatopardo)

Valeria Luiselli’s ‘Lost Children Archive’ Maps A Family's Journey Through The America Of The Child Refugee Crisis

A multi-voiced novel in probing, elegant prose, it maps one family’s road trip over and through the literal, historical and cultural geography from New York City to the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.

The ARTery

Feb 12, 2019

Author and Poet Elizabeth Acevedo (Courtesy of the artist)

National Book Award Winner Elizabeth Acevedo Owns Her Voice More Than Ever

If Elizabeth Acevedo had been a different kind of person, some of the subtle messaging she received about what (and who) makes literature might have shut her down. Her writing...

The ARTery

Feb 8, 2019

The Haley House in Dudley Square in Roxbury temporarily closed on January 13, 2019. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Haley House Bakery Cafe Has Become Beloved Cornerstone For Queer Artists Of Color

The Haley House Bakery Cafe was one of the first places where I felt welcome after moving to Boston four years ago, remembers reporter Cristela Guerra. The Haley House held...

The ARTery

03:55Jan 29, 2019

Eva Hagberg Fisher and the cover of her new memoir, "How To Be Loved." (Courtesy)

In A Memoir About Friendship, Eva Hagberg Fisher Shows Us 'How To Be Loved'

“I always thought I’d have more time to figure out how to be truly intimate with people. But once the pain arrived, I didn’t have time anymore. I felt this...

The ARTery

Jan 29, 2019

The World Health Organization predicts 1 billion young people could develop hearing loss due to poor listening habits. While all of our ears are at stake, the prognosis is worse for musicians. So Berklee College of Music and Spotify are teaming up to raise awareness about threats to our hearing.(Emily Orpin/Flickr)

WBUR’s Most Downloaded Podcast Episodes Of 2018

Here’s a breakdown of our most downloaded episodes of 2018 (by podcast) to help you kick off your new year just right.

The ARTery

Dec 21, 2018

Jeremiah Kissel as Scrooge in Central Square Theater's production of "A Christmas Carol." (Courtesy Maggie Hall)

Why Scrooge's Story Of Transformation Endures 175 Years After Dickens Created It

"A Christmas Carol" was first published 175 years ago, but it continues to be performed on stage and screen today. We take a look at how people still find personal...

The ARTery

05:05Dec 21, 2018

Nakia Hill Wants Women's Stories To Have A Place In The Fabric Of Boston

This year has been a busy one for the Boston-based writer and educator, and it has also crystallized her mission.

The ARTery

Dec 17, 2018

Poet Porsha Olayiwola. (Courtesy Button Poetry)

Porsha Olayiwola Named Boston's Next Poet Laureate

Olayiwola is well known in the spoken word circuits and as poet laureate plans to "establish a youth Poet Laureate program, develop residential and workspace for writers and weave poetry...

The ARTery

Dec 17, 2018

Casper ter Kuile and Vanessa Zoltan record an episode of "Harry Potter and the Sacred Text." (Courtesy)

In A Harry Potter Podcast, A Search For Meaning In The Secular Through The Sacred

In the "Harry Potter and the Sacred Text" podcast, the hosts apply traditional religious reading practices to "Harry Potter" chapters in pursuit of larger meaning and life lessons.

The ARTery

Dec 12, 2018

We take a look at 15 books published this year that help us make sense of the world. (Courtesy)

15 Books That Ask What It Means To Be Free In 2018

In looking at her favorite books of the year, critic Annalisa Quinn found a recurring theme: freedom -- whether to live without fear, to tell your own story, or to...

The ARTery

Dec 4, 2018

An illustration from Virginia Lee Burton's "The Little House." (Courtesy Cape Ann Museum)

In A Rapidly Changing World, 'The Little House' Endures

"The Little House," written by the Gloucester author and illustrator Virginia Lee Burton, won the Caldecott medal and became a hit in Japan. Now the popular children's book is the...

The ARTery

04:18Nov 21, 2018

Stephen Hamilton, Danzy Senna, Jabari Asim and Shauna Barbosa (Art by Eduardo Cepeda for WBUR)

10 Books By Local Authors Of Color To Gift For The Holidays

Here are my favorite books by authors with Boston-area ties. Most were released this year. Others are oldies, but goodies.

The ARTery

Nov 21, 2018

Christopher Kimball's new Milk Street cookbook is among our picks of locally-authored cookbooks. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

8 Cookbooks From New England Authors For Everyone On Your Gift List

Here are our top picks for the foodies and readers in your life, with local flair.

The ARTery

Nov 20, 2018

Akwaeke Emezi (Courtesy Elizabeth Wirija)

'Freshwater' Writer Akwaeke Emezi Reclaims Afro-Indigenous Spirituality Beyond Fable Or Mythology

The reclamation of Afro-indigenous ontology and staking it as truth can be the beginning of an individual’s spiritual revolution.

The ARTery

Oct 10, 2018

Poet and art critic Bill Corbett. (Courtesy of Nicholas Altenbernd)

'Wherever He Was Felt Like The Center Of The Universe': Writers Remember Poet William Corbett

Poet Bill Corbett, who died last Friday at the age of 75, is being remembered as an aficionado of friendships.

The ARTery

Aug 17, 2018

William Corbett, Esteemed Poet And Longtime Boston Resident, Dies At 75

William Corbett, an award-winning poet with ties to Harvard and MIT, died Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The ARTery

Aug 10, 2018

According to the feminist nonprofit VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, the share of women who contributed to, or had their books reviewed by the Boston Review dropped to 37.8 percent in 2017, compared to an almost equitable 47 percent in 2016. (Shutterstock)

Data Reveals Fewer Women Contributors At Boston Review

New statistics showing a steep and sudden reversal in gender parity at the Boston Review, a New England literary institution, are raising questions about the status of women at the...

The ARTery

Aug 9, 2018

Novelist Ernest Hemingway appears at his country home in San Francisco de Paula near Havana, Cuba on Aug. 21, 1950. (AP Photo)

Hemingway Short Story Finally Published, 60 Years After His Death

"A Room on the Garden Side" is one of five short stories Ernest Hemingway wrote based on his experiences in World War II.

The ARTery

04:16Aug 6, 2018

In this June 13, 2006, file photo, Donald Hall, author of numerous poetry books, poses in the barn of the 200-year-old Wilmot farm that has been in his family for four generations. Hall, a prolific, award-winning poet and man of letters widely admired for his sharp humor and painful candor about nature, mortality, baseball and the distant past, died at age 89. (Jim Cole/AP)

Donald Hall Found The Glory Of Brief Grace

In one well-known poem, the late Hall gave us the image of Ted Williams playing in the outfield during an old timers’ game.

The ARTery

02:47Jun 25, 2018

The Boston Public Library as seen in June 2015. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Greater Boston Writers Organize To Defend Freedom Of Expression In Trump Era

Inspired by a national movement started in 2017, a group of Boston writers are rallying to celebrate resistance and persistence this weekend at the Boston Public Library.

The ARTery

Jun 22, 2018

Morning Edition

Valeria Luiselli’s ‘Lost Children Archive’ Maps A Family's Journey Through The America Of The Child Refugee Crisis

National Book Award Winner Elizabeth Acevedo Owns Her Voice More Than Ever

Haley House Bakery Cafe Has Become Beloved Cornerstone For Queer Artists Of Color

In A Memoir About Friendship, Eva Hagberg Fisher Shows Us 'How To Be Loved'

WBUR’s Most Downloaded Podcast Episodes Of 2018

Why Scrooge's Story Of Transformation Endures 175 Years After Dickens Created It

Nakia Hill Wants Women's Stories To Have A Place In The Fabric Of Boston

Porsha Olayiwola Named Boston's Next Poet Laureate

In A Harry Potter Podcast, A Search For Meaning In The Secular Through The Sacred

15 Books That Ask What It Means To Be Free In 2018

In A Rapidly Changing World, 'The Little House' Endures

10 Books By Local Authors Of Color To Gift For The Holidays

8 Cookbooks From New England Authors For Everyone On Your Gift List

'Freshwater' Writer Akwaeke Emezi Reclaims Afro-Indigenous Spirituality Beyond Fable Or Mythology

'Wherever He Was Felt Like The Center Of The Universe': Writers Remember Poet William Corbett

William Corbett, Esteemed Poet And Longtime Boston Resident, Dies At 75

Data Reveals Fewer Women Contributors At Boston Review

Hemingway Short Story Finally Published, 60 Years After His Death

Donald Hall Found The Glory Of Brief Grace

Greater Boston Writers Organize To Defend Freedom Of Expression In Trump Era