By Chris Lombardi

She was the first to picket the White House and lead hunger strikes in U.S. prisons. She sent glamour girls canvassing for votes and helped write the Civil Rights Act. Mary Walton’s biography makes sure you’ll never forget Alice Paul.

By Alex MacAaron With 6 million readers of Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir, clearly, the new movie has big shoes to fill. It may not succeed, but Julia Roberts and the film’s designers give us a lot to enjoy.

By Susan Delson

Twenty-five years after Sylvia made her sardonic, chainsmoking entrance, she and her creator are as feminist and unapologetic as ever. The WVFC interview.

By Ainslie Uhl

From the New York Times columnist, a book on what happens after we say ‘I do’—and how to make a marriage better.

Jones, a star of the New York scene for decades, offers up two poems of pain and desire, perfect for a steamy August Friday.

Alexandra MacAaron reviews Cathleen Schine’s The Three Weissmanns of Westport.

MacArthur winner Perillo’s poems hint what life is like in what Zorba called “the full catastrophe” — life without the frills of hiding places.

Award-winning poet and teacher J.C. Todd on how memories of caring for one loved one blend into the ritual with another.

Julianna Baggott has the resume and energy of a village of writers. In this week’s poem, she reflects on some of her book-cover blurbs; in the video, she reads from one of her best-selling children’s books, The Prince of Fenway Park.

Our weekly roundup from the Web, from women racing in Palestine to remembering a now-classic revolutionary novel.