a conversation with joyce carol oates in just a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> and by contributions to your pbs stationviewers like you. ♪ >>> thank you. ♪ >>> so please welcome joyce carol oates back to this program. her latest novel, "a book of american martyrs," begins with an abortion doctor's murder. over the next 700 pages we see the consequences of that act ripple through two very different and yet intimately linked american families. joyce carol oates, as always, an honor to have you back on this program. >> thank you. >> i was just speaking to you before we came on the air, all of your books, people love your work and you are an american treasure, and yet this book has been reviewed in a way that -- i don't know -- first of all, do you read your reviews? >> i have read some of them. >> yeah. so the reviews have been beautiful about this book, which really got me thinking, what is it about an issue that is as old as the issue of abortion, that is as well-worn as the issue of abortion, that is as controversial as the issue of abortion, that you have found a way to give a treatment to that has ev

a conversation with joyce carol oates in just a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪

join me next time with a conversation with author joyce carol oates. that's next time.ou then. ♪ ♪ >>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. >>> thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ milan's monumental cemetery. while there are many evocative cemeteries in europe, this one -- with its emotional portrayals of the departed and their heavenly escorts -- in the melodramatic art styles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries -- is in a class by itself. it's a vast garden art gallery of proud busts and grim reapers, heartbroken angels and weeping widows... soldiers too young to die. acres of grief, hope, and memories. >>> good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. tonight, first a conversation with artistic director ronlt battle. actress michelle monaghan joins us about "the path." robert battle and actress michelle monaghan in just a moment. >>>. ♪ ♪ ♪

join me next time with a conversation with author joyce carol oates. that's next time.ou then. ♪ ♪ >>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. >>> thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ steves: westminster abbey. this most-historic church in the english-speaking world is where kings and queens have been crowned and buried since 1066. while it was first built in the 11th century, much of what we see today is 14th century. when there's a royal wedding, the world looks on as, amid all this splendor, thousands of britain's glitterati gather under these graceful gothic arches. the centerpiece is the tomb of edward the confessor, who founded the abbey. and surrounding edward are the tombs of 29 other kings and queens. this is the tomb of queen elizabeth i. her royal orb symbolizes she was queen of the entire globe. the abbey is filled with the remains of people who put the "great" in britain -- saints, musicians, scientists, and soldiers. for lovers of english literature, strolling through poets' corner can be a pilgrimage in itself. king henry vii's lady chapel, with its