Art Works Podcast

Today, we’re celebrating Pride month by revisiting my 2021 conversation with poet, 2011 NEA Literature Fellow, and 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winner Jericho Brown. In this poetry-filled podcast, Brown walks us through his writing of his prize-winning collection The Tradition in particular and poetry in general.  He reads a number of poems and discusses his creative process, his exploration of the themes of love, race, sexuality, violence, and spirituality in his work, explains the new poetic form he invented called “the duplex” (and gives us poetic examples of it,) and talks about the significance of Black queer poetry and its capacity to expand our concept of love. We also discuss the poets and writers who have influenced and shaped Brown's own artistic journey, his reflections on winning the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for “The Tradition,” his thoughts on the importance of diverse voices in literature and the role of poetry in fostering empathy and understanding in a divided world.

  Nicole Chung has written two memoirs in five years—both about loss and family.  The first is the highly acclaimed All You Can Ever Know which was a finalist for National Book Critics Circle Award. It explores the circumstances of her adoption as a Korean American by a white family who were advised take a colorblind approach to parenting, the implications of that decision for Chung, her successful search as an adult to find her birth family, and the loving support of her adoptive parents.  Her recently released second memoir A Living Remedy deals with the deaths of her adoptive parents within a two year period, how the healthcare system failed her father, and Chung’s struggle to balance the duties of a mother with that of a daughter as her terminally-ill mother who lived across the country went into hospice as the country shut down due to the pandemic.  A Living Remedy deftly navigates personal loss with a hard look at broader societal issues and Chung discusses balancing between the two, the extraordinary difficulty in writing this memoir that has at its center the abiding love she shares with her parents, most particularly her mother, and finding grace as she learned to live with grief.  Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov.

Today we’re closing our celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by re-visiting our 2017 conversation with the acclaimed Washington DC-based dancer and choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess.  Burgess and I spoke as his dance company was marking its 25th anniversary; so, the podcast is a retrospective of his philosophy and vision as a pioneering Asian American choreographer as well as a look at his first quarter century creating and leading the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company-- a company the Washington Post has called “a national dance treasure.”  In this podcast, we discuss his background: growing up in New Mexico as the child of Korean immigrants, his exposure to diverse cultures, and the development of his passion for dance, his education at renowned institutions like Juilliard and the London Contemporary Dance School, and how these experiences shaped his artistic voice. Burgess talks about the fusion of multicultural influences in his dance and choreography, blurring the boundaries between contemporary dance, ballet, and traditional Korean movement. We gain insight into his creative process: how he develops ideas, collaborates with dancers, and brings his artistic vision to life. And we explore Burgess's perspective on the role of arts and culture in our daily lives and their ability to foster understanding and empathy.  Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov.

This is a two-part podcast: we begin with Christine Bial, the Director of Arts and Humanities Grants at Mid-America Arts Alliance which is a partner with National Endowment for the Arts in the Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant Program. She gives an overview of the program, its goals, scope, and examples of some of the programming. She also shares what was learned in the program’s first year. Then we hear from a grantee: Stephanie Shine is the supervisor and Lauren Gunn is the teaching artist for Feast of Crispian-South an outreach program of the Tennessee Shakespeare Company. Feast of Crispian-South partners with the Memphis VA Medical Center facilitating sessions in which veterans use the language of Shakespeare to express their own thoughts and feelings. Shine and Gunn give an overview of Feast of Crispian-South, how it got its start, its six years of work with veterans, and the power of Shakespeare’s language for veterans. They also discuss the Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant, what it allowed them to do, what they learned through the community engagement initiative, and how they hope to expand the program. Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov.

Jason Rhee is an emerging documentary filmmaker who is editing his first film: EJ Lee: All-American . Eun Jung Lee, known as EJ, was a college basketball star in the 1980s, nicknamed "the Korean Magic Johnson of NCAA women's basketball."  She went on to work at her alma mater, University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) as an assistant coach and recruiter for over twenty years. In 2022, at the age of sixty, after years of rejections, she finally was named head coach of a college basketball team in Texas.  Jason Rhee had been a comedy writer but was so taken with EJ's journey that he became a documentary filmmaker to be able to tell her story. In the podcast, we talk about EJ, how her story moved him so deeply, the connections he saw between EJ and his recently deceased mother-- an undocumented immigrant from Korea who had endured a great deal of hardship--and how EJ's story also speaks to the larger Asian-American experience in the United States. He also talks about the importance of basketball in his own life and the sisterhood he sees in the team EJ is now coaching. We discuss his pivot to doc filmmaking, his fellowships at Kartemquin and the Center for Asian-American Media, and the challenges and joys of documentary film.  Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov. 

In light of Amy Tan’s recent National Humanities Medal, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Mother’s Day fast approaching, it seems like a fitting time to re-air my 2010 conversation with the author. In this podcast, Amy Tan explores her life and work, particularly her novel and early NEA Big Read selection  "The Joy Luck Club." Tan discusses her upbringing, her relationship with her mother, growing up in a Chinese-American household and the cultural disconnect she faced and how these experiences have influenced her writing. Tan discusses her writing process, the themes of family and identity that are present in her writing, shares her thoughts on the importance of writing and the creative process and reflects on the impact of her novel "The Joy Luck Club" and its influences on other writers and readers. She also talks the significance of the NEA Big Read initiative and its ability to enlarge our imaginations and stimulate conversation.  Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov.

In this episode, we speak with Meg Medina, a Newbery award-winning author  and the current Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Meg has written numerous books for kids and young adults, including "Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass," “Burn, Baby, Burn” and the Merci Suárez triology which she just concluded.  In this interview, Meg talks about growing up in the multi-cultural hotbed of Queens, NY as the first child born in North America to Cuban parents and her role as linguistic and cultural translator for the family. She discusses the importance of family’s storytelling to her own writing, not finding herself on the pages of books she read as a kid, but still treasuring the escape that books offered. We talk about her ten years of classroom teaching and her transition to children’s literature, her mining of her own experiences as kid in her writing process, her belief in the power of stories to create empathy and understanding, and the importance of authenticity and diversity in young adult literature and in stories that represent a wide range of experiences and perspectives. We also talk about her role as Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People's Literature where she’s create a framework she’s calling “Cu[](file:///C:/Users/reedj/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif)ntame!” which is designed to highlight the joy to be found in reading and create spaces where kids that share joy with each other and with their families. And yes, we talk about Merci Suárez! Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov.

We’re celebrating the life and music of pianist, composer and 1994 NEA Jazz Master Ahmad Jamal who passed away on April 16, 2023. In this 2012 interview,  he discusses his legendary career as a pianist, composer, and innovator in jazz which he always called American classical music.  Our conversation covers Jamal's early influences including his great hometown of Pittsburgh, his unique approach to improvisation, and his collaborations with other jazz greats. Jamal also shares his thoughts on improvisation,  the importance of listening, the power of collective creativity, and the evolution of  American classical music over the years. As you’ll hear, Ahmad Jamal was extremely thoughtful, candid, and full of good humor. Enjoy! Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov.

Today’s podcast goes behind the scenes with two members of Arena Stage’s creative team: dramaturg and literary manager Otis Cortez Ramsey-Zöe and casting director Joseph Pinzon. Both share their insights and experiences working on the current revival of  Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches.” We’ll learn about the work of a dramaturg and a casting director and how they approached “Angels” a work with such a rich and complex history. We also discuss theater in general, theater in Washington DC in particular, and the challenges this landmark play of the 20th century poses for audiences in the 21st century. Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov. And follow us on Apple Podcasts

This is the second of a two-part podcast with jazz artist Regina Carter. In part one, we traced Regina’s musical evolution, her upbringing in Detroit and the influence of that city on her musical development, and her transition from European classical music to jazz, and her move to NYC where she played with a variety of artists from Dolly Parton to Max Roach. We pick up today’s podcast where we left off: Regina had released her first two solo albums and joined Wynton Marsalis to tour with his Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio, Blood on the Fields. Today’s music-filled podcast explores Carter’s solo career and the albums she created centered on family’s history from Motor City Moments (her love letter to Detroit) to Southern Comfort (which traces her father’s southern roots). We discuss the experience of her being the first jazz artist to play and record with Paganini’s famed violin “The Cannon,” her collaboration with NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron, her receiving the MacArthur Award at a pivotal moment in her life, her work as a hospice volunteer, her commitment to teaching the next generation, and her thoughts about the violin and music.  Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov.