American Writers

Author of "Banner Days," Robert Poole.

Robert Poole on "Banner Days"

Smithsonian magazine staff writer and author of "One Man's Korean War."

Abigail Tucker on "One Man's Korean War"

Amid the city’s ribbons of freeway and corporate spires, says the author, the sky offers "a huge, open relief."

Southern Comfort

Celebrated poet Mark Doty succumbs to Houston's humid charms

None

Stephen Kinzer on "Inside Iran's Fury"

In a "city of neighborhoods," Johnson found "an ideal environment for nurturing innovation, individualism and the creative spirit."

In Seattle, a Northwest Passage

He arrived unsure of what to expect—but the prolific author quickly embraced Seattle's energizing diversity

Arthur Allen

Arthur Allen on "A Passion for Tomatoes"

Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein on "Parties to History"

Alonzo Hamby.

Alonzo Hamby on "Parties to History"

None

Interview with Leigh Montville

The sportswriter discusses John Montague’s fabled antics and how the man changed golf

Author Joan Acocella

My Kind of Town: New York

Why do New Yorkers seem rude? A noted critic and essayist has a few ideas

None

Urbane Renewal

Claire Messud, the best-selling author of The Emperor's Children, discovers the grown-up pleasures of her adolescent playground

None

Sound and Fury

Norman Mailer's anger and towering ego propelled-and undermined-his prodigious output

None

At Home. For Now

The acclaimed novelist probes our yearning for a fixed address

None

Hill of Beans

For author Julia Alvarez and her husband, starting an organic coffee plantation was a wake-up call

“The more race is not supposed to matter, the more it does,” says Packer (in her home office in Pacifica, California). “It’s one of the conundrums of living in America today.” She is currently working on a historical novel titled The Thousands, about the “forgotten masses of blacks who went West.”

Comedienne of Manners

Novelist ZZ Packer uses humor to point up some disconcerting signposts along America's racial divide

“I do think there’s a lot of good writing now on TV,” says Ruhl. “I loved ‘Six Feet Under,’ for example. But writing plays is my first passion. So far, I’m very happy in the theater.”

Wild Woman

Playwright Sarah Ruhl speaks softly and carries a big kick

None

Have Roots, Will Travel

Like the four generations of Angelenos who preceded her, the best-selling author likes to get around

None

Teaming up with Thoreau

One hundred fifty years after the publication of Walden, Henry David Thoreau is helping scientists monitor global warming

Louis Castro (bottom row, left) played 42 games as a second baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1902 season. Because his birthplace is questioned by baseball historians, he may or may not have been the first Hispanic player in the Major Leagues.

Debating Louis Castro

Was he the first foreign-born Hispanic in the Major Leagues?

Kerouac (with the author in Greenwich Village in 1957) was as unprepared as anyone else for his novel's surprise impact.

Remembering Jack Kerouac

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

Page 11 of 13