Does black feminist literary study have any business examining the canonical works of dead white male authors? Ann duCille thinks it does. A short story by Ernest Hemingway, although set in Africa, is dominated by the actions and thoughts of three white characters. DuCille offers a critique of that story, "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber," bringing to the fore considerations of race, gender, and class.

George Orwell's novel Animal Farm is, in large part, about how power corrupts. The novel has been adapted by Jon Tracy for the stage. Also, what kind of power did Harry Bridges wield, and for what purposes? Ian Ruskin stars in a film about one of the greatest labor leaders in US history.

Fifty years ago, a dictator was ousted and socialism began to took root in Cuba. How do Cubans who supported the revolution then feel about it now? And how have Cubans coped with hardships brought on by, among other things, the USSR's collapse? Robert Arellano's novel Havana Lunar is about a young, idealistic Cuban doctor. David Strug has studied older Cubans' understandings of the revolution.

Domestic terrorism comes in many forms, including the kind perpetrated by the killer of abortion provider George Tiller and that practiced by the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Eleanor Bader puts Dr. Tiller's May 31 slaying in Wichita in political and historical context. And Susan Choi's latest novel A Person of Interest was inspired by the Unabomber's attacks on scholars.

According to Diane Fujino, the Black liberation movement of the 1960s played a key role in radicalizing many Asian Americans, including Yuri Kochiyama, who found a mentor in Malcolm X, and Richard Aoki, a prominent early member of the Black Panthers. Novelist Nina Revoyr takes another angle on the Japanese experience in the US; The Age of Dreaming is about a Japanese silent film star in Hollywood. (Encore presentation.)

James Baldwin gave a talk about history and human potential at the Masonic Temple in San Francisco on December 16, 1964. And the Indonesian dissident and author Pramoedya Ananta Toer spoke on KPFA in 1999 about his political activities, long incarceration, and now-legendary writing. (KPFA 60th Anniversary Special.)