MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Reflects On 'Ambition And Manhood In America'
  Gregory Pardlo's new memoir, Air Traffic, chronicles his complicated relationship with his father, a labor organizer who lost his job following the air traffic controllers' 1981 strike.
• 'Art Of The Wasted Day' Makes A Case For Letting The Mind Wander
  Patricia Hampl's sharp new book argues that daydreaming is a vital part of life. Maureen Corrigan says, after reading it, "you'll understand more of what makes life worth living."
• Edible Oddities: David Bowie-Inspired Menus Reflect His Many Personas
  Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke are just two of the characters David Bowie created for himself. The innovator explored music and identity, and his art exhibition inspires chefs and mixologists.
• Muggles Rejoice: 'Harry Potter And The Cursed Child' Is Now On Broadway
  The play, co-written by J.K. Rowling, opened on Sunday and picks up where the last novel left off, with Harry sending his son off to Hogwarts.
• Building Museum Exhibit Chronicles Scourge Of Evictions, Homelessness
  An exhibit at the National Building Museum has been adapted from Matthew Desmond's 2017 Pulitzer-Prize-winning book Eviction: Poverty and Profit in the American City into an "immersive" experience.
• 'Bring The War Home' Shows 'Lone Wolf' Terrorists Are Really Part Of A Pack
  Kathleen Belew's new book explores the impact of the Vietnam War on America's white power movement; Belew says that movement was behind a lot of domestic terror attacks attributed to "lone wolves."
• Who Cares If They're Cute? This Zoologist Accepts Animals On Their Own Terms
  Zoologist Lucy Cooke says humans aren't doing animals any favors when we moralize their behavior. Her book The Truth About Animals is organized around "fact and not sentimentality."
• 'Exorcist' Director Makes A New Movie About Exorcism (It's A Documentary)
  William Friedkin had never actually witnessed an exorcism. Then he recorded the footage at the center of The Devil And Father Amorth. "I was scared, seriously scared," he says.
• In 'Head On,' Killer Robots, Dogged Gumshoes ... And A Very Important Cat
  John Scalzi returns to the world of Lock In — where people incapacitated by a strange disease can re-enter the world through robot avatars — for a murder mystery that turns on a cat named Donut.
• With Paint And A Camera, She's Forging A New Artistic Vision Of Africa
  The Ethiopian artist Aida Muluneh spends an hour and a half decorating her models for photos that celebrate her country's past and present. Her work is now on display at the Museum of Modern Art.