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The Library of America has just published the first of a two-volume collection of the novels and stories of the late writer William Maxwell, whose writing voice John Updike once described as "one of the wisest and kindest in American fiction."

Legendary writer Jimmy Breslin has spent a lifetime telling the story of New York, describing gritty happenings of the criminal underworld. Breslin discusses his latest book, The Good Rat, a true story chronicling the life of infamous mobster Burton Kaplan.

She's one of theater's Everest roles, exhausting, perilous — and irresistible to any actress with a sense of adventure. Even Marge Simpson couldn't resist her. NPR's Lynn Neary asks why Streetcar is such a wild ride.

A new children's book, One Hen, tells the story of what happens when a young boy in Ghana borrows a few coins from his village's collective fund to buy a single hen. The book is based on the story of a real man, Kwabena Darko.

Canadian writer Frances Itani's novel Remembering the Bones recounts an old woman's struggle for survival after plunging her car down a ravine. Itani's main character has been invited to lunch with Queen Elizabeth — but she ends up facing days and nights crawling away from the wreck, recalling all the while her long life in small-town Ontario.

Photojournalist Robin Bowman spent four years driving across the United States, photographing and interviewing more than 400 teens. Some of those pictures — and the teens' words — are included in her new book, It's Complicated: The American Teenager.

Sebastian Horsley has lived a life of decadence for over twenty years. He recently penned a memoir about his experiences called Dandy in the Underworld. Now he answers the question: What does it mean to be a modern dandy?

Decades after the death of Django Reinhardt, his music is flourishing and evolving in Roma musical communities all around the world. Hear an interview with Michael Dregni, author of a new book on Gypsy swing.

Rabih Alameddine discusses his new book, The Hakawati. As the protagonist sits by the bedside of his dying father, the reader is pulled into an otherworldly web of stories inspired by Arab legend, Greek myth and the Bible.

There are no velvet ropes at the Velveteria in Portland, Ore., where visitors can rub velvet — or velveteen — art, including portraits of Jesus, Elvis, Liberace and Michael Jackson.