Tracy Letts’ stirring play “Superior Donuts,” directed by Serge Seiden, is at The Studio Theatre at 14th and P in Northwest, D.C. The play, set in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, takes place in a donut shop owned and run by an ex-draft evader, Arthur. He’s something of a disheveled man, living with profound losses: his dreams, [...]

A new literary and artistic journal came on the scene in the last year, Tidal Basin Review. Its first two issues have brought a beautiful and necessary voice to the landscape. TBR is an online journal but offers a print-on-demand feature as well. Its website, I have to say, is elegant and unique. You literally [...]

I have been meaning to write a mini-review of Terrance Hayes’ latest book of poems, “Lighthead.” Since it won the National Book Award for poetry this week, now seems like the right time. This is a beautiful book, sometimes difficult, sometimes funny. Without doubt, Terrance Hayes is one of our finest poets. This interesting and [...]

I have loved the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) since I first read “We Real Cool” decades ago in school. At first, her poems seem to offer an elegant simplicity. But the more one reads, the longer one sits with a particular poem — and I’m talking years — the more layers and shades of [...]

Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book,” with beautiful illustrations by Dave McKean, takes us into a magical and thoughtful world. While many think of Gaiman, author of the acclaimed “Coraline,” only as a graphic novelist, or a children’s writer, his newest work, “The Graveyard Book,” contains some very mature and necessary ideas. It’s a great story [...]

It is hard for me to believe that Jerry Brown is 72 years old. And it’s even harder for me to believe that he is governor of California again. I was thrilled with him as governor back in the 1970s and when I was an undergrad at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, I was [...]