Somalia didn’t have a written language until the 1970's, and today, many if not most Somalis still live within an oral tradition. And in that tradition the poet is king.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
When evangelical Christians say they talk to God, what do they mean? Anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann wanted to find out, so she spent two years as a participant observer in a Charismatic church, talking to the congregation and even praying herself. She says prayer involves cultivating the imagination. Luhrmann also describes her cross-cultural study of schizophrenics who hear voices.
The celebrated poet Edward Hirsch says the history of poetry is the history of poetic forms. And to prove it he wrote a 700-page compendium about all things poetry.
Ana Castillo talks with Jim Fleming about her own Mexican-American heritage and how she uses it in her novel about a flamenco dancer with polio.
Anne Allison is the author of "Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination." She talks to Anne Strainchamps about the universal appeal of Japanese pop culture.
In 2011, as a relatively unknown writer, Hugh Howey released a dystopian science fiction novella on the internet. Readers loved it and clamored for more. Before any print copies had even been published, Howey's WOOL series sold hundeds of thousands of copies, earning him a small fortune. He believes that self-publishing is the future for lots of writers.
Alan Dale tells Anne Strainchamps how he came to love physical comedy and reflects on some of his favorite on-screen bits.
The third place winner in our 3 Minute Futures flash fiction contest is Jedediah Berry's story, "Dogs in the Snow."
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