A sign at College of the Mainland Library in Texas City, Texas, announces April as "National Poetry Month."
Each April The Diane Rehm Show helped the country celebrate National Poetry Month. Diane interviewed poet laureates, she discussed the meanings of specific poems and asked how the role of poetry has changed in our society.
Here we are in the middle of April, so it seemed like the perfect time to go back and listen to one of these shows.
In 2015, Diane dedicated one of her “Readers Review” segments to “Brown Girl Dreaming,” by Jacqueline Woodson. A memoir in verse, it won the 2014 National Book Award for young people’s literature.
The book of poems tell Woodson’s story of growing up in South Carolina and New York City, and her developing awareness of race.
The original segment aired on April 29, 2015.
Rethinking leadership in the U.S. African AmericanStudies professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. says Americans have looked to the political class to create a just democracy for too long – and it hasn't worked. In a new book he argues that we are the leaders we have been looking for and explains what that means for the 2024 election.
Menopause. Once a taboo topic, the "m" word is having a moment – among celebrities, in the media, and in Washington, where President Biden recently signed an order that supports research into women's health. Dr. Sharon Malone says it's about time, and explains why understanding "the change" is critical for a woman's ability to get – and stay -- healthy.
Donald Trump regularly ends his rallies with prayer. He has repeatedly compared himself to Jesus. And last week he started selling a version of the Bible. Robert P. Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute weighs in on Trump’s growing embrace of Christianity.
Donald Trump has made cognitive ability a central issue of the presidential race. But he rarely talks about his own family's experience with dementia. The Washington Post's Michael Kranish on Fred Trump Senior's Alzheimer's disease and what voters deserve to know about a candidate's mental fitness.