Posted 6:46 p.m. Thurs., 01.28.10 - Literary experts look at what made J.D. Salinger, who died Wednesday at the age of 91, so important. The centerpiece of the conversation has to be "The Catcher in the Rye," which was a showcase for what one called the author's "fantastic sense of voice." (Photo is from 1950)

Posted 3:56 p.m. Thurs., 01.28.10 - "The Catcher in the Rye" has maintained huge sales because it's still getting banned somewhere, but it is also almost seamlessly well-written. And Salinger remained in the public focus because of his skill and his insistence that he maintain his privacy.

Posted 11:21 a.m. Thurs., 01.28.10 - A commission to produce a double portrait using an unusual medium took two years for the artist to be satisfied. PSTL Gallery gives viewers the opportunity to view a range of images that are not only clever and sweet but evoke childhood memories. (Image is the property of the artist)

Posted 11:06 a.m. Wed., 01.27.10 - The Climatron has been welcoming visitors for 50 years, and the Missouri Botanical Garden has a new book looking back at those decades -- one that comes with 3-D viewing. After focusing on those 3-D photographs, the Beacon talks with architect and author Eric Mumford about the architectural significance of the building.

Posted 10:45 a.m. Tues., 01.26.10 - Three years after it was commissioned, a choral and chamber orchestra work by avant-garde composer Meredith Monk is almost ready for its world debut at Powell Hall. Monk says, “I work in between the cracks, where the voice starts dancing, where the body starts singing, where theater becomes cinema.” (Photo by Jesse Frohman)

Posted 10:27 a.m. Mon., 01.25.10 - There is no one Russian "community" in St. Louis, but there are many Russians. A new show produced through the Public Policy Research Center Photography Project is the result of giving cameras and lessons to Russian immigrants (some who have lived here for decades) and asking them to record the lives these immigrants have built.