Savage Beauty: The Top 3 Poems Of 2011
()Poet Tracy K. Smith's three favorite poems of 2011 blur the private and public, the personal and political, and will refresh how you look at language and the world.
![Book vines Book vines](http://web.archive.org./web/20111230211948im_/http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/12/27/poetry_sq.jpg?t=1325114335&s=11)
Truth And Beauty: 2011's Best American Poetry
Critic David Orr shares his five favorite American poetry collections of 2011.
()![At 29,029 ft. above sea level, Mount Everest — also called Mount Chomolungma — is the highest mountain on Earth. At 29,029 ft. above sea level, Mount Everest — also called Mount Chomolungma — is the highest mountain on Earth.](http://web.archive.org./web/20111230211948im_/http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/12/28/istock_000011611236large_sq.jpg?t=1325121011&s=11)
True Grit: 'Into The Silence' Scales Everest
Wade Davis tells the story of the British climbers who tried to scale Mount Everest in the 1920s.
()![Illustration: A music staff with books on it. Illustration: A music staff with books on it.](http://web.archive.org./web/20111230211948im_/http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/12/27/music_sq.jpg?t=1325017625&s=11)
Staff Picks: The Best Music Books Of 2011
NPR Music presents 12 titles ranging from album cover art to disco to Def Jam to metal to MTV.
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