Every spring in Japan, people crowd under blooming cherry trees. They're signs of spring, and remembrances of life's transience.
Master gardener Sadafumi Uchiyama says the blossoms are the quintessential representation of the Japanese principle of mono no aware... beauty in the intertwining of life and death.
Throughout the month of April, To the Best of Our Knowledge will celebrate poetry with a unique take on how we can use the form to process the world around us, and to establish a sense of place and identity in that world.
Ruth Ozeki's novel, "A Tale for the Time Being," is just out in paperback. Anne Strainchamps talks to Ozeki about her book, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Art critic and historian Michael Fried talks about his early days in New York and his friendship with the gifted and difficult dean of American critics, Clement Greenberg.
Historian Maria Rosa Menocal tells Anne Strainchamps about the Golden Age for European Jews when the Moors established an Islamic state in Spain.
Rebecca A. Demarest brings us this story of flight in a remote island community.
Rob Sheffield talks with Anne Strainchamps about his relationship with his late wife and how they communicated by exchanging mix tapes of their favorite music.
