As Jonathan Lethem grew into what critics like to call one of our most important novelists, he became increasingly difficult to pigeonhole; fluid across genres, Lethem's biggest books ("Motherless Brooklyn," "Fortress of Solitute") can feel like sparkling new works from a new author rather than someo… Read full post »

Edmund White is one of the few literary giants of the gay world. "A Boy's Own Tale," his autobiographical novel about a closeted boyhood, was one of the pioneering works of gay literature, and he's also the author of "States of Desire," a seminal travelogue across pre-AIDS gay America, the co-author… Read full post »

Queen Noor is the sort of connection between the Western and Arab worlds that only Hollywood could've dreamed up. Born as Lisa Najeeb Halaby in Washington, D.C.,  educated in the best American schools, she met and married the King Hussein of Jordan while working there as an architect. She soon c… Read full post »

Nearly a year ago, Gwen Cooper was just another Open Salon blogger. She had a novel, “Diary of a South Beach Party Girl,” under her belt, but her memoir, starring her very talented and adventurous blind cat, Homer, hadn’t gotten any buyers. That is, until she posted an excerpt on he… Read full post »

Mac McCaughan and his band Superchunk helped define indie cool at a time when millions of teens and college kids began to reject radio pop and search for something, anything different and authentic. The band's 1990 single, "Slack Motherfucker," (with its brilliant catchphrase: I'm working/but I'm not… Read full post »

The actress Michelle Forbes is getting a lot of attention right now because of her dazzling turn  on HBO's "True Blood" (season finale this Sunday) as the terrifyingly alluring Maryann, an ancient maenad, who seduces an entire town into performing wild acts of mass debauchery. My colleague Laur… Read full post »

We’re excited to launch a new video interview series on Open Salon called Expert Witness. Over the next few weeks we’ll be having video-chats with people who are known for being the best at what they do -- and in coming installments we’ll be soliciting your questions for them.

Today… Read full post »