January/February 2002 Editor's Note A New Chairman Perspectives: A Conversation with Bruce Cole The new chairman talks about what art means to history and what he sees ahead for the Endowment. American Originals The Long Shadow of Invisible Man A film on Ralph Ellison and his novel delves into his position as a black man in America. By Lisa Rogers The Reluctant Cadet A glimpse of the young would-be farmer who became a military hero and the president of the United States. By John Y. Simon The Rise and Fall of Ulysses S. Grant A new film tells how he survived vicissitudes to remain the most loved man of his century. By Lynn Fabian Lasner Window into the Mideast Of Poets, Prophets, and Politics For centuries, poetry has expressed the soul of the Arab world. By Rachel Galvin On the Road in Virginia From Skyscrapers to Barns and Everything in Between A new book roves through four centuries of Virginia's architecture. By Paulette W. Campbell Speaking of History Thaw of the Ice Curain Stories from both sides of the Bering Sea come together in a new exhibition. By Margaret Ford Eavesdropping on a Generation Yiddish programs from the Golden Age of radio hit the airwaves. By Maggie Riechers Around the Nation In Focus New York's David Cronin works to teach global understanding. By G. Stephen Thurston