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Channel: Arts & Culture | Music & Literature | Smithsonian.com
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Remembering Jack Kerouac

A friend of the author of "On the Road," published 50 years ago this month, tells why the novel still matters

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Five Fake Memoirs That Fooled the Literary World

Fiction was stranger than truth in these examples of authentic autobiographies that were anything but that

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The Trouble With Autobiography

Novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux examines other authors' autobiographies to prove why this piece will suffice for his

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A New Look at Anne Frank

Two comic book veterans—who authored the graphic adaptation of the 9/11 Report—train their talents on the young diarist

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Forty Years of Philadelphia Sound

Songwriters Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble composed tunes with political messages for chart-toppers like the O’Jays and Billy Paul

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Long Overdue, the Bookmobile Is Back

Even in the age of the Kindle and the Nook, the library on wheels can still attract an audience

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Broadway’s Top Ten Musical Flops

With the imminent re-opening of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, we look back on some of the most memorable failures in musical theater history

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Q and A with Eddie Van Halen

The rock guitarist talks about his custom-made Frankenstein 2 that is now in the collections of the American History museum

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The Top 10 Moments of Bob Dylan’s Career

In honor of the folk singer’s 70th birthday, we have selected 10 of the many pivotal events that have shaped his tumultuous life

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How E.B. White Wove Charlotte’s Web

A new book explores how the author of the beloved children’s book was inspired by his love for nature and animals

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Levon Helm’s Rocking Rambles

The '60s rock great died today. Last July, our writer visited Helm for one of his famous Saturday night music throwdowns

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Ken Kesey’s Pranksters Take to the Big Screen

It took an Oscar-winning director to make sense of the drug-addled footage shot by the author and his Merry Pranksters

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The Cowboy in Country Music

In his new book, music historian Don Cusic recounts the enduring icons of western music and their indelible mark on pop culture

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Black Like Me, 50 Years Later

John Howard Griffin gave readers an unflinching view of the Jim Crow South. How has his book held up?

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The Top 10 Books Lost to Time

Great written works from authors such as Shakespeare and Jane Austen that you'll never have a chance to read

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Joe Temperley’s Ageless Sax

The Scottish baritone saxophone musician recalls his 60-year career and the famous singers he’s accompanied

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Going Mad for Charles Dickens

Two centuries after his birth, the novelist is still wildly popular, as a theme park, a new movie and countless festivals attest

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Dickens' Secret Affair

Biographer Claire Tomalin's literary sleuthing revealed the untold story of the famed author's "invisible woman"

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The Essentials: Charles Dickens

What are the must-read books written by and about the famed British author?

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A James Brown Biography and Other Must-Read Books

This vivid new book charts the dazzling contradictions in the life of the Godfather of Soul

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Five New Books That Will Rock You Like a Hurricane

The '70s music scene is being reexamined in these books by and about the major players of rock 'n' roll

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Pete Seeger: Where Have All the Protest Songs Gone?

Listen to an exclusive live stream of Seeger's new album filled with early versions of the songs that would make him famous

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The Banana King, Surviving K2, the Allure of America and More Recent Books

The man who helped make the banana an American favorite also mercilessly used his company’s power to topple foreign governments

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Rosanne Cash and the Many Meanings of Love

One of the most gifted singer-songwriters of our time talks love, science and the deep space between men and women

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Loving Elephants, the Meaning of Life, a London History and More Recent Books

A pioneering elephant rescuer looks back on the loves of her life and a collection of essays investigates the history of happiness

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LISTEN NOW: Wu Man Brings East and West Together in New Album

In Borderlands, the Chinese musician highlights the culture of the Uyghur people

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An Opera for an English Olympic Hero

Lal White was forgotten by many, even residents of his small English factory town, but the whimsical Cycle Song hopes to change that

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A Lincoln Novel, Native Poetry, Marie Curie and More New Recent Books

In a new alternative history, The Great Emancipator lives to fight a second civil war

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As Long As Books Have Existed, Invisibility Has Been a Dream

We just have to look to literature to learn that there’s always been a real danger to the prospect of being invisible

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Los Texmaniacs Release New Album

What does jalapeno-spiced polka music sound like?

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D-Day Spies, Lost Antarctica, Eating Dirt and More Recent Books

A new history blows the cover on British spies in World War II

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Martin Amis Contemplates Evil

England’s most famous living novelist has moved to America—and tilted the literary world

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What's the Perfect Book to Get Over a Breakup?

Alain de Botton has provided a valuable service: giving reading prescriptions for a "shelf-help" approach to everyday problems

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How Do Our Brains Process Music?

In an excerpt from his new book, David Byrne explains why sometimes, he prefers hearing nothing

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David Byrne Offers Advice on How to Enjoy Music

What is it about place that makes music special? The rock star dissects what he enjoys about what he hears, from opera to jazz to radio hits

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“Midafternoon Midsummer”

A new poem by Coleman Barks

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“Black Hands”

A new poem by Amit Majmudar

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The Next Pandemic, the End of Men, Edward Curtis and More Recent Books Worth...

The scariest thing about deadly diseases is how little we know about them

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Ten Famed Literary Figures Based on Real-Life People

Who were the sources for characters such as Robinson Crusoe or Dorian Gray?

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LISTEN: The Freewheeling, Foot-Stomping Dust Busters

The Brooklyn string band brings it all back home

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Lewis Lapham’s Antidote to the Age of BuzzFeed

With his erudite Quarterly, the legendary Harper’s editor aims for an antidote to digital-age ignorance

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Who Are the Geniuses Behind Your Favorite Poems?

A new exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery unmasks the titans of modern American poetry

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Listen to the Elizabeth Mitchell Experience

Listen to the Elizabeth Mitchell Experience

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The History of Cooking and Other New Books, Reviewed

Why should we consider the fork? And a new biography of the ill-fated George Armstrong Custer

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What Do Alicia Keys, the Boss and Wagner Have in Common?

From the classical era to modern music, flames have lent a spark to some of the greatest tunes of all time

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Esperanza Spalding Took on Bieber, Now Takes on Jazz

The innovative bassist and winner of the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for performing arts is taking jazz to a whole new place

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The History of Mapmaking, Jared Diamond’s Latest and More Recent Books Reviewed

Also on the docket, travelling by fire and understanding the concept of “antifragility”

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LISTEN: Stephen Wade’s Banjo Diary

The roots music expert’s latest album is finger-picking good

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A Nike Shoe, Now a Part of the Smithsonian

The Flyknit racer is currently in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

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Listen to Doc Watson Picking Away at his Banjo

A new release from Smithsonian Folkways highlights the talent of a bluegrass master

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