Society & Culture

Arnold Rampersad edited The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry. His two-volume biography of writer Langston Hughes is now out in a second edition. It was praised by critics as one of the best biographies of a black American writer. He's associate dean for the humanities at Stanford University.

Journalist Scott McCartney, who follows the airline industry, writes the weekly column "The Middle Seat" for the Wall Street Journal. McCartney is the journal's travel editor and deputy bureau chief in Dallas, Texas.

Leisure suits, big hair and the Bee Gees are just part of the draw of a new book, Bar Mitzvah Disco. With essays from Jonathan Safran Foer, Sarah Silverman and others, the book documents bar and bat mitzvahs from the 1970s through the '90s.

The new film Brokeback Mountain, directed by Ang Lee, stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. Based on a short story by Annie Proulx, it describes the relationship between two young men in the West in the 1960s.

It's been a busy couple of years for the law, from the controversy over gay marriage to nominations to the Supreme Court. From a linguist's point of view, dictionaries are crucial in the world of jurisprudence.

Jimmie Dale Gilmore's new album — his seventh — is called Come on Back and it's a memorial to his late father. He died of ALS in 2000. The album includes version of his dad's favorite songs like Pick Me Up on Your Way Down and Walkin' The Floor Over You. Gilmore was born, raised and lives in Texas. He has been recording solo albums since 1988, when he released Fair and Square.

Investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell writes for The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., and specializes in unearthing new evidence from Civil Rights era criminal cases. His coverage has led to the convictions of four Ku Klux Klan members, starting with Byron De La Beckwith for the assassination of Medgar Evers. Recently, Edgar Ray Killen was found guilty of orchestrating the murders of Civil Rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. Next week Mitchell will be honored with the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism.

The novel Veronica by Mary Gaitskill.

Graphic novelist Harvey Pekar emerged from obscurity in the surprise film hit American Splendor. His new graphic novel, The Quitter, offers details of Pekar's upbringing in 1950s Cleveland.

In today's sexual politics, are women equal — and are men even needed? That's the question New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd asks in her new book, 'Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide'.

Actor and singer Tab Hunter's new book, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, reveals his secret status as a homosexual in Hollywood. Hunter was a teen heartthrob in the 1950s and 1960s, starring in over 50 films including Damn Yankees, That Kind of Woman, and more recently, John Waters' Polyester.

Blurring the line between church and state threatens civil liberties and privacy, says former president Jimmy Carter. That's the case he makes in his new book, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis.

The new film The Weatherman stars Nicholas Cage and Michael Caine. Film critic Daivd Edelstein has a review.

Two writers describe how their lives have been shaped: Kim Ponders was an Air Force pilot during the first Gulf War; and Nicole Lea Helget grew up on a turbulent Minnesota farm in the 1980s.

The animated feature Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is the latest big-screen adventure featuring an inept man and a clever dog. The characters, fan favorites in Great Britain, are the work of Nick Park.

Film director John Madden's new film, Proof, is based on the stage play of the same name by David Auburn. It stars Anthony Hopkins and Gwyneth Paltrow. Madden's previous films include Shakespeare in Love (which won seven Academy Awards) and Mrs. Brown.

Alan Alda played Hawkeye Pierce for 11 years in the television series M*A*S*H and has acted in, written, and directed many films. He has starred on Broadway, and his avid interest in science has led to his hosting PBS's Scientific American Frontiers.

Since 1999, Mariska Hargitay has played a police detective specializing in sex crimes on the NBC drama, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Earlier this year, she won the Golden Globe for best actress in a dramatic series.