HARUKI MURAKAMI

French author Annie Ernaux has staunchly defended a woman's right to abortion after winning this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.

This year’s Nobel Prize season approaches as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered decades of almost uninterrupted peace in Europe and raised the risks of a nuclear disaster.

(BritBox/Netflix/HBO Max via AP) (Uncredited)Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. — AP Film Writer Lindsey BahrMUSIC— Jewel's first new studio album in seven years "Freewheelin' Woman" finds her leaning into a soulful and groove-heavy sound. — America's national parks are undeniable gems, but not a monopoly. "Our Great National Parks," a five-part Netflix series, takes a global view of public lands and the wildlife that inhabits them. Former President Barack Obama produced and narrates the series debuting Wednesday.

This week’s new entertainment releases include Jewel’s first new studio album in seven years, former President Barack Obama narrating a five-part Netflix series about U.S. public lands and the return of “The Brothers Garcia” with a new name.

Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi says he was surprised by the international popularity of his Oscar-winning film “Drive My Car,” but attributes it to the universality of the short story by Haruki Murakami on which it is based

Japan Film Drive My Car Film director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, with actor Hidetoshi Nishijima and producer Akihisa Yamamoto, unseen, speaks during a news conference on their award winning film "Drive My Car" in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Japan's "Drive My Car" has won an Oscar for best international feature. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) (Hiro Komae)TOKYO — (AP) — Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi says he was surprised by the international popularity of his Oscar-winning film “Drive My Car,” but attributes it to the universality of the short story by Haruki Murakami on which it is based. The 3-hour-long story of grief, connection and recovery won an Academy Award last month for best international feature film. “So I found ‘Drive My Car’ and ‘Uncle Vanya’ wonderfully intertwined as if they translated each other,” Hamaguchi said.

Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi says he was surprised by the international popularity of his Oscar-winning film “Drive My Car,” but attributes it to the universality of the short story by Haruki Murakami on which it is based.

Haruki Murakami’s stir fry, Maurice Sendak’s chicken soup with rice—only the most gifted writers have made meals on the page worth remembering.

Japan’s “Drive My Car” has won the Oscar for best international feature.

(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File) (Eugene Hoshiko)TOKYO — (AP) — Playing James Taylor’s “Never Die Young” and going back to songs that marked the antiwar movement in the 1960s, author Haruki Murakami added his voice to protests against the war in Ukraine with a special edition of his Japanese radio show. “By the end of the show, I have a feeling that you’ll be more inspired to bring an end to war. With his youth years overlapping with the antiwar movement, his words — and choice of songs — gave a deeper meaning and relevance to the conflict in Ukraine. Murakami chose the version performed by the Weavers, whose records were banned on the radio because of their antiwar message. Murakami said that King probably meant that individual rights could be the first to be taken away when the law says so.

Playing James Taylor’s “Never Die Young” and going back to songs that marked the antiwar movement in the 1960s, Japanese author Haruki Murakami added his voice to protests against the war in Ukraine with a special edition of his Tokyo radio show.

Drive My Car is a rare adaptation of the Japanese novelist's work that brings his unique atmosphere to screen better than anything before.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s beautiful Oscar-nominated film builds a nonverbal vocabulary for its audience out of sound and soundlessness.

“Drive My Car” is a three-hour Japanese drama in which the opening credits don’t even arrive until 40 minutes in.

This week’s new entertainment releases include an album and companion book by Dolly Parton, the comedy-thriller “Fresh” starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Roger Allam playing a French crime-buster in “Murder in Provence.”.

Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and adapted from a 2014 short story by Haruki Murakami, the film dramatizes some of the celebrated author's trademark themes: loss, guilt, the interplay of art and life.

In Drive My Car, a vehicle becomes a meditative space for confessions, regrets, and revelations.

Associated Press Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle have named their picks for the best movies of 2021.

The New York Film Critics Circle on Friday named “Drive My Car,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s three-hour emotional epic and Haruki Murakami’s short story adaptation, the best film of the year.

In many works of art, clothes are more than mere decoration; they are vital elements of story: Your weekly guide to the best in books

The best-selling novelist’s understated love letters to his T-shirts convey how we give life to our things and vice versa.

The 2021 Nobel Prize for literature is announced early this morning, Rousseau on Protestant and Catholic critical thinking.

Nobel Literature FILE - A Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020 file photo of a Nobel Prize medal. The Nobel Prize in Literature is due to be awarded on Thursday Oct. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) (Jacquelyn Martin)STOCKHOLM — (AP) — The 2021 Nobel Prize for literature is being announced Thursday, an award that has in the past honored poets, novelists and even a songwriter, Bob Dylan. The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895. ___Read more stories about Nobel Prizes past and present by The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/NobelPrizesCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Japan Murakami Library A journalist visits the university's new international house of literature as known as The Haruki Murakami Library" at Waseda University Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 in Tokyo. It's designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and featuring the world of Murakami and his works. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) (Eugene Hoshiko)TOKYO — (AP) — A library devoted to Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami's writings, scrapbooks and record collection opens next week in Tokyo as a spot for literary research, cultural exchange and a gathering spot for his fans. “I feel a bit nervous seeing it while I’m still alive.”Murakami said he will contribute as much as possible to the library. Beginning in 2018, Murakami has hosted a “Murakami Radio” show on Tokyo FM on which he plays his favorite music and sometimes takes requests and questions from listeners.

A library devoted to Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s writings, scrapbooks and record collection opens next week in Tokyo for research, cultural exchange and a gathering spot for his fans.

Rendering a work in a new language often becomes a collaboration between the interpreter and the original text: Your weekly guide to the best in books

“Titane” has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making Julia Ducournau the second female filmmaker to win the festival’s top honor in its 74 year history.

Murakami has a remedy for those who need relaxation from stress and worries in time of a pandemic - Brazilian Bossa nova music. (TOKYO FM via AP)TOKYO – Japanese author Haruki Murakami has a remedy for those who need relaxation from stress and worries in a pandemic — bossa nova. “As we are going through a time of anxiety, I hope to help you relax even just a little bit,” Murakami said as he hosted a live music event, “Murakami Jam — Blame it on the Bossa Nova,” bringing together renowned Japanese performers of bossa nova, jazz and classical music. Despite the pandemic, Murakami — known for bestsellers including “A Wild Sheep Chase," “The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" and “1Q84” — said he still maintains a daily routine including running and writing, but the frequent world traveler has stayed in Japan. Murakami, who on his radio show has expressed concern about prejudice and discrimination against coronavirus patients, said he finds that the rhythm of bossa nova has a healing effect.

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2018, file photo, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami signs his autograph on his novel "Killing Commendatore" during a press conference in Tokyo. Murakami said politicians need to reduce public uncertainty and fear over the coronavirus by speaking sincerely about the pandemic. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)TOKYO – Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami says politicians need to help reduce public uncertainty and fear over the coronavirus and gain people's support by speaking sincerely about the pandemic. Murakami has hosted “Murakami Radio” shows almost every two months since August 2018 on Tokyo FM. Murakami began writing while running a jazz bar in Tokyo after graduating from university.

American poet Louise Gluck speaks with the media, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, outside her home in Cambridge, Mass. Gluck, a professor of English at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., won the 2020 Nobel Prize for literature "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal." (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)STOCKHOLM – Louise Glück, an American poet long revered for the power, inventiveness and concision of her work and for her generosity to younger writers, has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. “As one of our most celebrated American poets, we are thrilled that Louise Glück has received this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature," Michael Jacobs, chairman of the Academy of American Poets, said in a statement. In 2018, the award was postponed after sex abuse allegations rocked the Swedish Academy, which names the Nobel literature committee, and sparked a mass exodus of members.

Murakami said comparing the fight against the coronavirus to a war, as politicians often do, is inappropriate. Its not a war to kill each other but a fight of wisdom to let us all live, he said. Murakami has hosted his Murakami Radio every two months since August 2018 on Tokyo FM. Murakami began writing while running a jazz bar in Tokyo after graduating from university. Murakami said he worries the post-corona world may be a more closed and selfish place even if it has better protection.