NPR's Book of the Day

This week, we're celebrating National Poetry Month by revisiting some of our favorite conversations with poets. Ocean Vuong's collection, Time Is A Mother, is about his grief after losing family members. Vuong told NPR's Rachel Martin that time is different now that he has lost his mother: "when I look at my life since she died in 2019, I only see two days: Today when she's not here, and the big, big yesterday when I had her."

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Two figures who defined ‘90s culture are out with new memoirs. First, Brandy Norwood is a Grammy-winning singer and made history as the first Black actress to play a Disney princess on screen. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s A Martínez about her memoir Phases, her beloved roles in Rodger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella and Moesha, and collaborations with Whitney Houston and Monica. Then, Arsenio looks back at The Arsenio Hall Show. In today’s episode, Hall chats with NPR’s Michel Martin about creating must-watch TV – and standout interviews with Magic Johnson and Bill Clinton.

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A few years ago, author Emma Straub saw a story about New Kids on the Block hosting a tropical cruise for their fans. That planted the seed for Straub, whose new novel, American Fantasy, is about a fictional, aging boy band called Boy Talk that sets sail for five days of nostalgia. In today’s episode, the author speaks with NPR’s Justine Kenin about the 50-year-old female fan at the center of the novel. Straub also shares her experience receiving feedback on a draft from New Kids member Joey McIntyre.

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Twenty years into her medical career, Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari, a board-certified OBGYN, had grown increasingly frustrated with the medical profession. She felt that medicine had become more about business and less about caring for patients. Her new memoir, Labor: One Woman’s Work, is about her decision to purchase an RV and convert it into a mobile clinic, which she drove around the country providing medical care. In today’s episode, she talks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about Afsari’s efforts to bring joy back into her profession, how the Dobbs decision impacted her work, and how Labor brings readers into the operating room.

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In the new novel Crucible, director and author John Sayles turns his attention to Henry Ford, Detroit, and automotive labor in the 1920s through World War II. The historical novel focuses less on Ford’s story and more on the cast of characters whose lives were changed by the businessman: Ford workers, labor organizers, young radicals, and many others. Here & Now’s Robin Young recently spoke with Sayles at the West Newton Cinema outside Boston in front of an audience of the author and filmmaker’s fans. They discussed Henry Ford’s top enforcer, cameos by figures like Joe Louis and Diego Rivera in the novel, and how Sayles’ upbringing in Synecdoche, New York has shaped his work.

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