Writing and Writers

The Church of the Open Road

The writer Colum McCann biked across America, searching for a God.

By Colum McCann

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The Best Artist Residencies to Escape and Focus on Creating

Yaddo may not be in the cards, but from a chateau near Paris to a California desert cabin, here are programs that foster writing, music and artistic talent and can be booked for days or weeks.

By Emily Goligoski

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How Impermanence Became Central to Japanese Thought

Transience has come to inform so much of Japan’s culture — even its sense of self.

By Aatish Taseer and Moe Suzuki

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Francis Davis, Sharp-Eared Jazz Critic and Husband of Terry Gross, Dies at 78

He wrote prolifically about various aspects of the arts and popular culture. But he kept his focus on jazz, celebrating its past while worrying about its future.

By Adam Nossiter