Joking About Vulnerability

The novelist's new nonfiction book is a meditation on the violent, intense sport, which her father exposed her to when she was a child. Despite her interest in boxing, Oates finds it difficult to watch live fights.

Composer John Harbison recently won the Pulitzer Prizer. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new CD featuring songs inspired by the poet Mirabai.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg believes that the American disdain for foreign language education is a holdover from our isolationist past -- and a detriment to our culture.