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Paul Laurence Dunbar, who died 100 years ago last week, was the first African-American poet to make a living from his writing. He was well known during his lifetime for poetry he wrote in black dialect, a fame he came to despise.

Okkervil River is a body of water near St. Petersburg in Russia. It's also the name of a band based in Austin, Texas. Its songwriter and singer draws from the primal violence heard in some traditional folk tunes and the blues.

NPR Music's Song of the Day features a new track every weekday, with analysis of the music, links to each artist's Web sites and, of course, a chance to hear the song itself. Here, Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson talks about recent selections by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Kurt Elling and more.

Debbie Elliott reads from listeners' letters on the Scouting tradition of the Pinewood Derby, and the 1960 presidential election.

Susan Stamberg talks with three independent booksellers about their choices for summer reading, which range from historical novels to short story collections.

Photographer William Claxton began making a name for himself in the 1950s, taking photos of some of the world's top jazz artists. Then got the opportunity of a lifetime — he was commissioned to document the American jazz scene at a moment when the genre was at its height.

In 1918, Robert Frost inscribed a handwritten poem in the cover of a friend's book. It remained hidden from the world for 88 years, until a graduate student at the University of Virginia recently discovered it. It appears this week in the Virginia Quarterly Review.

The author of the critically acclaimed 1996 novel Infinite Jest was found dead in his Claremont, Calif., home on Friday.

Around the world, hip-hop gives a voice to the voiceless. Our photo essay spotlights rappers in Senegal, who shout out their frustrations about living in poverty and their dreams of a better future.

The 400 Years Project is a pictorial collection of Native American life. It addresses colonization while centering the Native voice.