Poets & Writers Theater

In this CBS Sunday Morning video, Washington Post book critic Ron Charles recommends books for the summer, including the novels Godwin by Joseph O’Neill (Pantheon, 2024), Same as It Ever Was (Doubleday, 2024) by Claire Lombardo, and Bear (Hogarth, 2024) by Julia Phillips, who is profiled in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“Books aren’t dangerous. At least, they’re not dangerous to those of us who want to create an equitable and just society,” says author Ibram X. Kendi in this Washington Post video which takes a look at the history and common themes of banned books in America.

In this CBS Sunday Morning video, Washington Post book critic Ron Charles gives his book report on new recommendations for the summer, including Sanjena Sathian’s debut novel, Gold Diggers (Penguin Press, 2021), Great Circle (Knopf, 2021) by Maggie Shipstead, and The Man Who Lived Underground (Library of America, 2021) by the late Richard Wright, which is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“We were the unwanted, the unneeded, and the unseen, invisible to all but ourselves,” reads Washington Post’s Robin Givhan from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s latest novel, The Committed (Grove Press, 2021), in this conversation with the Pulitzer Prize–winning author on how history and memory have shaped his life and writing. 

Washington Post book critic Ron Charles takes a humorous look at Helen Oyeyemi’s sixth novel, Gingerbread (Riverhead Books, 2019), for his Totally Hip Video Book Review series. Oyeyemi answers questions about her new novel in a recent installment of our online series Ten Questions.

After procrastinating and receiving wisdom from Obi Wan Cannoli, the Washington Post’s Ron Charles reveals his favorite novels of 2016 in less than two minutes, which include Annie Proulx’s Barkskins (Scribner, 2016), Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers (Random House, 2016), and Michael Chabon’s Moonglow (HarperCollins, 2016). 

In this animated short film by Phil Borst, which was commissioned by the Washington Post, Victoria Chang reads the conclusion of her poem “The Boss Calls Us at Home.” Chang’s fourth book of poetry, Barbie Chang (Copper Canyon Press, 2017), is featured in Page One in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Book critic Ron Charles provides a humorous plot summary of Daniel Handler's new novel, We Are Pirates (Bloomsbury, 2015). You can read Charles's full review of the book in the Washington Post.

In this animated video, David Sedaris shares an anecdote about a humbling plane ride and the people who keep us honest and kind. For more stories from Sedaris about leadership, character, and writing, listen to the Washington Post's new On Leadership podcast.

Last month Ron Charles interviewed poet Carl Phillips, whose most recent collection, Silverchest, was published by FSG in April 2013, as part of the Hill Center Poetry Series, cosponsored by the Library of Congress and the Washington Post.

On April 11 the author of five books of poetry and two essay collections, including Power and Possibility: Essays, Interviews, Reviews (University of Michigan Press, 2007), read her poem "Haircut" at the opening presentation of the Hill Center Poetry Series, cosponsored by the Library of Congress and the Washington Post.

The book critic at the Washington Post has a little fun with Publishers Weekly's recent announcement that E L James, the author of the Fifty Shades trilogy of adult romance novels, is the Publishing Person of the Year.

The Washington Post fiction critic Ron Charles stars in this addition to the current video craze that has produced such gems as the recently released Sh*t Agents and Editors Say.