Celebrating life as viewed through the lens of art, on this Emmy-winning PBS show, "Articulate with Jim Cotter"

Two or so years ago I had the extraordinary privilege of sitting with Jim Cotter to talk about truth, life, Philadelphia, the students I love—all of it—for his PBS show, "Articulate." Later I set off with his magnificent crew for B-Roll footage, but really: I only wanted to watch, to see how hoverboards, drones, and a lot of really nice people could turn a middle-aged woman into a story. The entire team's incredible care and craft, the expressed interest in making enduring art, stayed with me. The show featuring my segment, released a few months later, has remained a highlight of my career.

"Articulate" has evolved since then, inviting guests like Daniel Handler of Lemony Snicket fame, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Lady Gaga's hat maker, Arturo Rios, and singer songwriter Lisa Hannigan into the studio or under the lights. For anyone who hopes to turn on the TV (or the internet) and find the reprieve of interesting talk, artful hope, and cinematic beauty (I don't know of any other arts show that is so beautifully produced), I strongly urge you to find Articulate.

I wrote about the experience of returning to "Articulate" and sitting in its audience at a live taping for this week's Philadelphia Inquirer story, which can be found here.

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On Articulate (WHYY) with the brilliant Jim Cotter, and his kind and gracious team

The glorious hours I spent in the company with Jim Cotter and his entire team have produced these minutes on film that I will always treasure.

Here are so many of the things I care about—Philadelphia, the Schuylkill, Penn, memoir, story, language—all in one place, all at one time.

I'm not beautiful, as I always say. But maybe it is enough if beautiful things live in my world.

You can watch the segment, which also features literary translation and tenor Stephen Costello, here.

Or watch this evening at 10:30, WHYY TV, or on Sunday at 1 PM.

Articulate—all of you—thank you.

Gary Kramer of Temple University Press: you have opened so many doors. Thank you.

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Love, Flow, Handling: all available for free thanks to WHYY's "Articulate." Enter like this.

My friends, the hour is soon. The chance to see if Beth is smarter than she ever manages to look on "Articulate," that glorious WHYY art show that Beth (still speaking of herself in the third person here) can hardly believe she'll soon be on.

(All thanks to Gary Kramer, by the way, for forging the bridge.)

As part of that program, three of my books will be offered to lucky giveaway winners on three separate social media platforms:

Love on Facebook
Flow on Twitter
Handling the Truth on Instagram 

Look for them and enter in, if having a free signed copy of one of these books is on your wish list.

Speaking of wishes: Wish me lots of luck. By which I mean: Wish me luck in surviving the panic that is slowly creeping in.

Show times on Philadelphia's WHYY:

Thursday, February 25, 2015, 10:30 PM
Sunday, February 28, 2015, 1:00 PM

Finally, can I just say, again and forever, how nice the entire "Articulate" staff is? And what fun it is to spend an hour talking to Jim Cotter. Even when you do just blow in from a storm. Sit down. And start speaking. Looking up minutes later to ask, Wait. Are those cameras actually on?

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