Shadow // Yaddo Yaddo

Revel in all things Carson McCullers, the wunderkind writer who catapulted to fame in 1940 with the publication of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. On tap: Mary V. Dearborn, author of the biography Carson McCullers: A Life; and Suzanne Vega. 

Audio from 1890, the symbolic power of pizza, blue suede shoes, thinking like a vulture, and more in our season roundup of favorite moments, with Nafis White, Chris Rush, Alexi Worth, Odili Donald Odita, Daron Hagen, Sam Lipsyte, Will Hermes, Lee Clay Johnson, David Gates, Brian Evenson, Ilana Boltvinik, Martha McPhee and Edgar Oliver.

Interdisciplinary artist Nafis M. White on unraveling history, finding resilience and beauty in loss, and enlisting raw materials like hair to explore power and identity.

Leonard Bernstein—the conductor and composer known globally for his charisma and style—comes roaring back into the public discourse. We celebrate Lenny’s relationship with Yaddo via a conversation with one of his mentees, acclaimed composer Daron Hagen. PLUS: Edgar Oliver, “the poet laureate of New York’s dispossessed” (The New York Times), performs an excerpt of his latest one-man show, Rip Tide, an ode to The Pyramid Club, which offered an early haven for artists and outcasts in New York City’s downtown, late ’70s scene. Contributing artists: Joseph Keckler, Ned Rorem.

Art converges with nature, meticulous work that spans decades and continents, making the impossible possible and more, with a feature on internationally acclaimed sculptor Martin Puryear. PLUS: Preview Missy Mazzoli’s “Dark with Excessive Bright”—nominated for a Grammy, fingers crossed!

Forest restoration, how families avoid reality, coming to terms with trauma, healthy ecosystems and more, with luminous storyteller Martha McPhee, author of five novels and the long-awaited memoir, Omega Farm. PLUS: A recap of the Yaddo Artist Reunion! Contributing artist: Joseph Keckler.