A Poet’s-Eye View of Occupy Berkeley

Staff / Truthdig Nov 21, 2011 When he caught wind of conflict between students and police on campus, former poet laureate and UC Berkeley professor Robert Hass rushed to the scene on Nov. 9, only to witness local riot police beating students -- and eventually his wife and him, too -- with billy clubs. (more) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Last Weiner

BLANK Jul 5, 2011 For some light holiday reading, we offer this satirical little ditty composed by Larry Beinhart, the wordsmith who wrote the novel that gave birth to the movie "Wag the Dog" At last, a winning solution to one of our nation's most compromising and costly political problems" . Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Truthdigger of the Week: Gil Scott-Heron

Staff / Truthdig Jun 4, 2011 Talk about speaking truth to power. Our pick for Truthdigger of the Week, Gil Scott-Heron, served as a living example of that idea with his provocative artistry, mixing poetry, music and activism in his signature style over the course of four decades until his death on May 27 at age 62. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Leonard Cohen Lands Spain’s Top Literary Prize

Staff / Truthdig Jun 2, 2011 We will resist the impulse to do a cheesy riff on the lyrics of Leonard Cohen in reporting that the 76-year-old Canadian singer and poet is this year's winner of Spain's prestigious Prince of Asturias literary award. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Stewart Schools O’Reilly on Common

Staff / Truthdig May 17, 2011 And that's just for this round between the two TV talkers -- but who's counting? Once again, Jon Stewart set his comic act aside for a more serious debate with Fox News' leading loofah enthusiast Bill O'Reilly, this time over the White House's shocking inclusion (more). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Common Performs at White House, Earth Continues Rotating on Its Axis

Staff / Truthdig May 12, 2011 Despite the collective outrage and alarm of noted hip-hop scholars Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, the artist known as Common turned up on Wednesday to perform a spoken word piece at a celebration of poetry at the White House. And lo, it was good. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Debating Common Sense

Staff / Truthdig May 12, 2011 The White House's invitation to hip-hop artist Common for a “Celebration of American Poetry” event Wednesday evening has angered conservatives who have worked themselves into a frenzy about the intellectual rapper's lyrics. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

André Naffis-Sahely on Mahmoud Darwish

BLANK Jun 19, 2010 André Naffis-Sahely looks at three volumes -- “A River Dies of Thirst,” “Mural” and “If I Were Another” -- that helped make poet/author Mahmoud Darwish a pillar of Palestinian literature.André Naffis-Sahely looks at three volumes that helped make poet/author Mahmoud Darwish a pillar of Palestinian literature. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Peter Stothard on Christopher Hitchens

BLANK May 28, 2010 Christopher Hitchens reveals a life in contradictions in "Hitch-22," a brilliant memoir that is at turns comic, self-deflating and sexually frank. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

Larry’s List: Gay Animals Edition

Staff / Truthdig Dec 9, 2009 Today on the list: the power of same-sex liaisons, poetry in the Bible and more. Update Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Poe’s Poems Fetch Big Bucks at Auction

Staff / Truthdig Dec 5, 2009 Edgar Allan Poe may have died penniless, but his poems are now worth a heap of money -- $662,500, to be exact. On Friday, an unidentified bidder at a Christie's auction in New York paid just that much for a first-edition collection of poems by the master of the macabre, titled "Tamerlane and Other Poems" and printed under the vague pseudonym of "A Bostonian." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Mike Huckabee

Staff / Truthdig May 19, 2009 Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was visited by the GOP Muse and out plopped this elephant patty of a poem. The chef-d'oeuvre comes at a time when Republicans and Leon Panetta are calling for an apology from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the CIA for accusing the agency of "misleading" her on their interrogation methods. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )