March/April 2004 Editor's Note The Life of a Poet A Conversation with Anthony Hecht The Pulitzer prize-winning poet speaks with NEH Chairman Bruce Cole about the links between poetry and painting. In Search of the Word Do You Speak American? A new documentary investigates the different ways of speaking American English, from Maine and Ohio to Louisiana and California. By Will Schroeder From AOK to Oz Slang prhases are being culled from music, movies, and sports for a comprehensive historical dictionary. By Jessica Weintraub Life among the Lexicographers The Dictionary of American Regional English records what is local about our language. By Joseph M. Romero A Landmark Case Brown v. Board: 50 Years Later A Supreme Court ruling fuels the Civil Rights Movement. By Michael J. Klarman A Tense Time in Tennessee Thurgood Marshall wins a case and nearly loses his life. By Janis Johnson Notes from Vienna Mastering Mozart Thirty teachers travel to Austria to study the composer's operas. By Richard Benedum Around the Nation In Focus Craig Newbill delves into New Mexico's history. By Ruthanne Doetzer