Music & Literature | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian.com

The Persians Revisited

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:00:00 GMT

A 2,500-year-old Greek historical play remains eerily contemporary

Jukebox: A Child Shall Lead Them - Feb09

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:00:00 GMT

A 2,500-year-old Greek historical play remains eerily contemporary

ATM - Jukebox - Sing Like A Pirate - March09

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:00:00 GMT

A 2,500-year-old Greek historical play remains eerily contemporary

ATM - Jukebox - Odes To Joy - Apr09

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:00:00 GMT

A 2,500-year-old Greek historical play remains eerily contemporary

ATM - Jukebox - For Pete's Sake - Apr09

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Pete Seeger is still singing the ballads that popularized folk music and transformed the genre into a call for action

Lester Young Turns 100

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:03:32 GMT

Billie Holiday’s favorite musician, jazz great Lester “Prez” Young brought a hip, freewheeling sensibility to his saxophone playing

The Full Brontë

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:56:35 GMT

The British countryside is home to the real sites behind Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and other works by the literary sisters

Motown Turns 50

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:49:02 GMT

For years, the recording industry excluded black artists. Along came Motown, and suddenly everyone was singing its tunes

Hazel Scott’s Lifetime of High Notes

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:38:49 GMT

She began her career as a musical prodigy and ended up breaking down racial barriers in the recording and film industries

A Depression-Era Playlist

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:06:42 GMT

Poet David Lehman provides a list of his favorite songs from the 1930s, including works by Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen and others

What's Up - October 2008

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Poet David Lehman provides a list of his favorite songs from the 1930s, including works by Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen and others

Real Places Behind Famously Frightening Stories

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:49:41 GMT

Discover old haunts that inspired thrills and chills in fiction and film

Second Time Around

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Invented by Ben Franklin but lost to history, the glass harmonica has been resurrected by modern musicians

Jewish Bluegrass

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:29:53 GMT

Lovers of the banjo, fiddle and mandolin blend cultural identity and religious faith to create a uniquely American sound

Jukebox: Hot Horns

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Hot Horns

Portugal's Soulful Sound

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Often compared to American blues, fado is gaining global appeal

ATM - Jukebox - September 08

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Watch an erupting underwater volcano

Voices from Literature’s Past

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:47:25 GMT

The British Library’s Spoken Word albums of recordings by British and American writers shed new light on the authors' work

The Writer's Eye

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Photographs by Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist Eudora Welty display the empathy that would later infuse her fiction

Herman Leonard’s Eye for Jazz

Thu, 07 May 2009 10:13:53 GMT

In the 1940s and 50s, photographer Herman Leonard captured icons of the jazz world, including Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington

Jewish Songwriters, American Songs

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:50:44 GMT

Poet David Lehman talks about the brilliant Jewish composers and lyricists whose work largely comprises the great American songbook

Forget Edgar Allan Poe? Nevermore!

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:05:28 GMT

Cities up and down the East Coast claim author Edgar Allan Poe as their own and and celebrate his 200th birthday

At Moab, Music Among the Red Rocks

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:00:00 GMT

The Moab Music Festival features world-class music in an unparalleled natural setting

Julia Keefe’s Jazz

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:01:06 GMT

The young musician discusses the joys of improvisation and her new tribute to fellow American Indian artist Mildred Bailey

Remembering Jack Kerouac

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:38:26 GMT

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

Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2008

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:11:28 GMT

Surprising, inspiring and outstanding titles for youngsters and the grownups that read to them

Literary Landmarks: A History of American Women Writers

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:49:04 GMT

Author Elaine Showalter discusses the lasting influence of Harriet Beecher Stowe and why Gertrude Stein is overrated

At the Smithsonian, Chuck Mangione Memorabilia ‘Feels So Good’

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:58:34 GMT

The jazz flugelhornist and composer kicks off Jazz History Month with a donation to the National Museum of American History

The Last Page - Words to Remember - Jun09

Tue, 19 May 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Amanda McKittrick Ros predicted she would achieve lasting fame as a novelist. Unfortunately, she did

Frank Baum, the Man Behind the Curtain

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:25:17 GMT

The author of The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, traveled many paths before he found his Yellow Brick Road

Rhythm and Identity

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:50:19 GMT

A Q&A with Bobby Sanabria, musician, composer and professor of Latin jazz

The Arranger

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:16:20 GMT

From bebop to hip-hop, nobody alive has done more for American music than Quincy Jones

Q at the Castle

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:00:55 GMT

Why the Smithsonian Institution can't get enough of American music's top artist-entrepreneur, Quincy Jones

Lifting their Voices

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:26:39 GMT

Paying tribute to America's first black opera

Forgotten Music

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:02:08 GMT

A long-lost musical treasure in Paris is rediscovered

Presence of Mind A Record Find

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:03:17 GMT

How The Phantom of the Opera led me to a long-lost musical treasure in Paris

Interview: Amy Chua

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:15:37 GMT

The key to the rise of the Romans, the Mongols—and the U.S.? Ethnic diversity, Chua says in a new book

ATM - Jukebox - Oct 08

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Before TV came on the scene, presidential candidates relied on campaign songs for negative advertising

Jukebox: Hail to the Chief - Jan09

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Franklin Roosevelt's fourth inaugural, which was less than 600 words long, focused on the perils of isolationism

ATM - Jukebox - Dec08

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Franklin Roosevelt's fourth inaugural, which was less than 600 words long, focused on the perils of isolationism

ATM - Jukebox - Nov 08

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Wild turkeys gobble on cue

Jukebox - Dogged Underdog - Aug 08

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:47:10 GMT

Wild turkeys gobble on cue

ATM - Making History - Oct 08

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Scientists discover insect-eating bats may help sustain forests

Who Do You Love? - Bo Diddley

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:05:35 GMT

Bo Diddley's beat changed the course of rock music. And his lyrics evoked a history that reached all the way to Africa.

Jukebox: Memorable Melodies

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Bo Diddley's beat changed the course of rock music. And his lyrics evoked a history that reached all the way to Africa.

Jukebox: Jazz Requiem

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:13:20 GMT

Jazz Requiem

Jukebox: Songs to Live By

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:56:20 GMT

Songs to Live By

Jukebox: Young Talent

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:01:04 GMT

Young Talent

Jukebox: Love Song

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Love Song

The Curiosity of Cats

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 08:52:05 GMT

When the musical opened on Broadway, 25 years ago, few predicted its amazing success—or what it would mean for composer Andrew Lloyd Webber

What is This Thing Called Love?

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:57:56 GMT

A new movie explores composer Cole Porter's consummate musical gifts and his remarkable, unorthodox marriage

"All Music Is Folk Music"

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:25:27 GMT

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings may soon be coming to a computer near you

Q&A - Chip Kidd

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 02:21:09 GMT

Chip Kidd, a graphic designer and author, received a 2007 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for one of his innovative book covers

Jukebox: Hitting the Right Notes

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:06:11 GMT

Hitting the Right Notes

A Love Letter Set to Music

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:53:40 GMT

The night a teenager met the girl of his dreams 50 years ago, the stars were bright above

Jukebox: Ode to a Federal Entitlement

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 08:59:17 GMT

Ode to a Federal Entitlement

Jukebox: The Robeson Spirit

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 02:13:26 GMT

The Robeson Spirit

Jukebox: Seeger Singalong

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:03:34 GMT

Seeger Singalong

Music & Literature

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:58:45 GMT

Seeger Singalong

Dr. John's Prognosis

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:00:00 GMT

The blues and rock musician shares stories of his wild past and his concerns for the future.

Great Road Trips in American Literature - Sept09

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:00:00 GMT

From Twain to Kerouac to Bryson, writers have found inspiration in hitting the road and traveling the United States

A New Taste of Hemingway’s Moveable Feast

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:39:48 GMT

The re-edited version of Ernest Hemingway’s Paris-based memoir sheds new light on the heartbreaking breakup of his first marriage

Arlo Guthrie Reminisces About Woodstock

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:34:25 GMT

The folk musician talks about his new album – a lost recording of a solo concert held days before the legendary music festival

Indelible Images - Still Together Now - Aug09

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT

On a whim, a young duo went to the legendary festival only to be captured in a memorable image by photographer Burk Uzzle

Mind Games

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:59:33 GMT

You say tomato, I say otamot