In this issue, NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) interviews the 51st Jefferson Lecturer, Sam Mihara, Alyson Foster delves into the life of writer Constance Fenimore Woolson; and Alison Macor revisits the award-winning 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives.

Sam Mihara was nine years old when he was sent to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming.

“Everything we brought with us had to fit in one suitcase. We didn’t know where we were going.” —Sam Mihara

The strong-willed Constance Fenimore Woolson was more than Henry James’s close friend; she was “a writer above all else.”

“Her life was extraordinary, and it was full of the kinds of contradictions and tensions that the best writers do not attempt to shy away from or resolve.” —Alyson Foster

The World War II film The Best Years of Our Lives was an instant blockbuster, the second-highest grossing film in a decade.

“It had stars, it had a big budget, and it was willing to feature a main character struggling with war trauma.” —Alison Macor