Even after 50 years of accolades, including a Pulitzer Prize at 26 for his Doonesbury comic strip, Garry Trudeau reckons he may have gotten too much too young. And despite her mastery of the written word, Joyce Carol Oates is skeptical about how well conversation can express the complexities of thought and emotions.

Natalie Merchant has experienced enough for several lives: teen rock star, fiercely independent solo artist, mother, wildly successful environmental campaigner. She’s been around the world and back, and she's done it in her own inimitable style.

A fatal accident in his teens would come to define life for Darin Strauss. Also, from champion skier to acclaimed composer, Steven Mackey has never lost his rhythm.

Singer-songwriter Valerie June has been knocked down, but never out, by heartbreak, illness, and hardship. Now in his early 60s, choreographer and dancer Stephen Petronio has built a life and a body of work by deciding whose rules he is prepared to follow.

Writer Tochi Onyebuchi and visual artist Stephen Powers are both trying to change the world, one word at a time.

Playwright Sarah Gancher and folk musicians Jay Ungar and Molly Mason travelled far to find home.

Poet Terrance Hayes and clarinetist Anthony McGill have been resolute in pursuit of their destinies.

Deborah Eisenberg and Shira Erlichman fought inner conflicts in search of personal peace.

Early on, singer-songwriter David Gray and writer Aleksandar Hemon struggled to be heard at home. But when they found acceptance abroad, their own countries—and the world—soon caught up.

Author Yiyun Li and choreographer Miguel Gutierrez make work that fuels—and is fueled by—self-understanding.