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During his lifetime, South African poet Dennis Brutus made incredible contributions to the fight against apartheid. Brutus died on December 26, 2009, after successfully battling segregation in athletics with global recognition. Fresh Air remembers the life and achievements of Brutus in this interview from 1986.

The British are crazy for actor and comedian Russell Brand, but he's not content to stop with his compatriots. With a comic triumph as a bad-boy rocker in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and a startlingly frank memoir called My Booky Wook, Brand is shooting for Stateside stardom.

Wil Haygood talks to Steve Inskeep about the life and career of Sugar Ray Robinson, including his many fights against rival boxer Jake LaMotta. Haygood is the author of a new biography of Robinson called Sweet Thunder.

Robin D.G. Kelley spent 14 years on a new book, which some are calling the definitive work on a jazz legend. In Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, he portrays the great pianist as a trained musician, a psychiatric case and a father.

Author Aravind Adiga was not interested in stuffy classics or long, drawn-out historical accounts. But Edmund Wilson's history of socialism, To the Finland Station, proved to be anything but dull — it's electrifying.

The star of NBC's 30 Rock talks to Terry Gross about his tough childhood, how he made the grade in the comedy college that was Saturday Night Live, and why even though he may cry a little on the radio, "the funny bus is still sitting downstairs." (Rebroadcast from Oct. 22, 2009)

For many readers, Louisa May Alcott is synonymous with her most famous character, Jo March, the spirited sister in Little Women. But author and filmmaker Harriet Reisen says Alcott's life "was no children's book." Reisen's The Woman Behind 'Little Women' premieres Monday night on PBS.

From Osvaldo Golijov's cross-cultural musical fiesta to the chestnut-colored voice of Rolando Villazon, NPR Music's Tom Huizenga and All Things Considered host Guy Raz spin a few of the most notable classical recordings of the past ten years.

Author Fernando Pessoa may have been a loner who lived most of his life in a single room in Lisbon, Portugal. But he wasn't alone: He created numerous literary alter egos. Rabih Alameddine describes Pessoa's work, The Book of Disquiet, as one of life's great miracles.

Young adult books sell well, but the genre is not without flaws. That's why young adult author Garret Freymann-Weyr is encouraging teens to venture into the adult shelf. She has three books for smarties that anyone — young or old — will enjoy.