Journalist MICHAEL KAUFMAN. His new book, Mad Dreams, Saving Graces - Poland: A Nation in Conspiracy, charts the rise, fall and resurrection of the democratic movement in Poland. Leading this drive has been Solidarity, the shipworkers' union headed by Lech Walesa. But Kaufman also traces the hidden spiritual undercurrents in Polish history and culture and that make this quest toward self-definition considerably more complex. Kauffman served as Warsaw bureau chief for The New York Times from 1984 to 1987. He has also been bureau chief for the Times in Nairobi, New Delhi and Ottawa.
Photographer Larry Sultan. In a photography exhibit now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Sultan is represented by work from a project he began in 1983 about his family's history. A key feature of the work, and a feature that appears in all of Sultan's work, is capturing subjects at "off" moments, situations where they least expect, or wish, themselves to be photographed.
Historian and writer Simon Schama. His revisionist history of the French Revolution - Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution - has been one of the most talked-about and debated volumes of history in the last several years. Critics have lauded Schama for bringing vividly to life the characters that inspired the five-year popular uprising that changed the modern political order.
Author Rick Bass. His new book, Oil Notes, is a journal based on Bass' experience as a geologist looking for oil throughout the American West. Bass has also written short stories, essays, and environmental journalism.
Television critic David Bianculli reviews "False Witness," a syndicated TV special that re-examines the facts surrounding the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case, the same case chronicled in the book "Fatal Vision," and the subject TV miniseries of the same name.
Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews volumes 6 through 10 of Duke Ellington's "Private Collection," a series featuring previously unreleased Ellington compositions. Kevin says when the first five volumes were released it was a revelation. This new collection isn't quite as brilliant, but it's still a must have for any serious Ellington fan.
Popular music critic Ken Tucker delves into the controversy over the rap group Public Enemy. Public Enemy's first album sold over 800,000 copies and their new song "Fight the Power," (featured in the movie "Do the Right Thing") is climbing the charts. The band however, recently fired its so-called "minister of information," Richard Griffen, for making anti-Semitic statements. In the ensuing political storm, Public Enemy has disbanded for an indefinite period of time.
Artist Chris Burden. He gained fame as a conceptual artist in 1971 when he had a friend shoot him in the arm as part of a performance piece at a Santa Ana gallery. Burden's concern with realism (one critic calls it his greatest strength and greatest weakness) is reflected in a touring retrospective of his works, which include sculpture, and also artifacts of his conceptual pieces.
Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone reviews the work of four black women comics who recently shared the bill at New York City's New Professional Theater. They are: P.J. Jones, Kim Coles, Robin Montague, and Beverly Mickens.
Writer May Sarton. For many readers, Sarton is a heroic figure for her decision to expose her lesbianism in the early 60s, long before it society was tolerant of the gay life, and also for her decision to lead a life of solitude. The author of over 35 novels, books of poetry and essays, Sarton is probably best known for her journals, Recovering, and At Seventy. Her most recent book of poems, The Silence Now, explores themes from the solitude of the aging, to AIDS, to world peace.
Veteran TV journalist David Brinkley. His book, Washington Goes to War, was a surprise best-seller last year and has just been released in paperback. The book, based on Brinkley's personal experiences and reflections, told the story of Washington in the early 40s, and how both the government and town itself were transformed by the responsibilities thrust on them as a result of the war.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the latest recording of Yugoslavian pianist Dubravka Tomsic. Tomsic launched her career in America as a teenager, was a student of Arthur Rubinstein, played with the New York Philharmonic, and made her debut at Carnegie Hall before returning to Yugoslavia. Last year she was rediscovered in America on a number of critically acclaimed compact discs. On July 10 she returns to America to open the Newport Festival.
Feminist writer Barbara Wilson (sometimes Barbara Sjoholm). She's a co-founder of the feminist publishing house, Seal Press. She also writes detective novels whose heroine is a lesbian feminist detective. Her latest novel, The Dog Collar Murders, offers a humorous look at the debates between the S&M and anti-porn factions of the feminist community.
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews a few of the current crop of summer movies - "Great Balls of Fire," "Lethal Weapon II," and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."
Pennebaker, who died Aug. 1, pioneered a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking in documentaries like Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back and The War Room. Originally broadcast in 1989.
Filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker. One of America's foremost documentary producers, Pennebaker has brought his cinéma verité approach to subjects ranging from Castro's Cuba, to Jimmy Carter's energy policy, to Bob Dylan's first tour of Britain. Music has been the source of much of Pennebaker's work. His films have featured the likes of Pablo Cassals, Van Cliburn, jazz singer Dave Lambert, rocker David Bowie, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Director and actor Paul Bartel. Bartel's acting credits include roles in "Fame" and "L.A. Law," but he's best known for his direction of several black comedies, such as "Eating Raoul," which he also co-wrote and acted in. Bartel's new film, "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills," has just been released. It stars Ed Begley Jr. and Jacqueline Bisset.
