A Q&A with the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of 'Poverty, By America'
Daniel HautzingerAugust 22, 2023
Matthew Desmond won a Pulitzer Prize for his book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. His newest book tries to answer the questions, "Why is there so much poverty in the United States, and how can we finally end it?”
The Co-Editor of a New Encyclopedia of Indian Cuisine Explores Her Neighborhood, Along Devon Avenue
Daniel HautzingerMarch 8, 2023
Colleen Taylor Sen has lived in West Ridge near the South Asian mecca of Devon Avenue for fifty years, before there even were South Asian restaurants and shops. She has written numerous books about Indian food, although she came to writing them later in life.
From the Archive: Chicago Author and Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow
Daniel HautzingerDecember 12, 2022
"I am an American, Chicago born," Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March famously begins. Watch Bellow discuss winning the Nobel Prize and the sudden overwhelming media attention it brought in a segment from a 1977 WTTW show.
The Major Differences Between 'Magpie Murders' the TV Show and Book
Daniel HautzingerNovember 15, 2022
The author Anthony Horowitz adapted his own novel, Magpie Murders, for television, so the two versions share the same vision. But there are differences based on the differing mediums—we explain a few of them here.
A Recipe for a Vegan Sri Lankan Curry from Oak Park Writer Mary Anne Mohanraj
Daniel HautzingerAugust 24, 2022
Kaliya curry is a traditional curry eaten by Sri Lankan Muslims that features fried eggplant, plantain, and potato. The Oak Park writer Mary Anne Mohanraj, who has a vegan Sri Lankan cookbook coming out this fall, shares her recipe.
How the Oak Park Author Mary Anne Mohanraj Filled "A Hole in Her Heart" By Writing a Sri Lankan Cookbook
Daniel HautzingerAugust 24, 2022
Mary Anne Mohanraj primarily writes science fiction, but a desire to connect to the cuisine of her birthplace of Sri Lanka led her to write a cookbook celebrating the diverse cuisine of the island; she's now publishing a vegan sequel.
A Novel About Jane Austen Is Being Made into a Miniseries for PBS
Daniel HautzingerJune 27, 2022
Jane Austen is once again being adapted for the screen, but this time it's her life, not her books, that is the subject. Gill Hornby's novel Miss Austen, which tells the story of Jane and her sister Cassandra, is becoming a series that will air on WTTW and PBS stations via Masterpiece.
Why There's Food in Nearly Every Scene of Chicago Native Mia P. Manansala's New Mystery
Daniel HautzingerFebruary 4, 2022
Chicago native Mia P. Manansala's Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery Series is packed full of lovingly described food—as well as engrossing mystery. Manansala believes a character's approach to food reveals a lot about them, and wants to expose people to Filipino culture.
An Adaptation of "The Mother of All Rom-coms" Is Coming to PBS
Daniel HautzingerSeptember 9, 2021
“Tom Jones is the mother of all rom-coms and isn’t that just what we all need after the last couple of years of misery?" says the writer of an upcoming adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic work, considered one of the first novels.
50 Years of 'Masterpiece,' by the Author
Julia MaishSeptember 2, 2021
Masterpiece is lauded for its literary adaptations. Some authors have proven to be so popular with audiences that several of their works (and sometimes their life stories as well) have been adapted for television, with some reimagined more than once.
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on Hemingway's Childhood
Daniel HautzingerFebruary 25, 2021
Join a conversation between filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick along with Hemingway scholar Verna Kale and acclaimed author Tim O'Brien as they discuss Hemingway's childhood in Oak Park.
The First Bud Billiken
Daniel HautzingerFebruary 25, 2021
Willard Motley wrote stories for children in the Chicago Defender as the first "Bud Billiken" while he was a teen, then went on to write hardboiled novels about Chicago's down-and-out. But he was criticized for writing about white instead of Black characters.
Ernest Hemingway's Youth in Oak Park and Chicago
Daniel HautzingerFebruary 23, 2021
Hemingway was born in Oak Park but left as soon as he could and began framing himself in opposition to what he considered the middle-class values of the suburb. A sojourn in Chicago helped introduce him to a literary world and sent him on his way to Paris.
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Tackle Ernest Hemingway
Daniel HautzingerDecember 8, 2020
The three-part, six-hour Hemingway from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick comes to WTTW and PBS in April, featuring the voices of Jeff Daniels and Meryl Streep among others, as well as authors Edna O'Brien, Mario Vargas Llosa, Tobias Wolff, and more.
The Novelist Nella Larsen's Life Between Worlds
Daniel HautzingerJuly 17, 2020
Nella Larsen existed in disparate worlds, never quite finding her place: born to a Danish mother and West Indian father in a Chicago vice district, she eventually became a part of the Harlem Renaissance and Black professional class, producing a neglected classic novel.
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