Hugo Hamilton read from his book, “The Speckled People,” as part of the PEN World Voices Festival on May 3. Hear Hamilton comment on and read from his memoir at Ireland House.

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 86th birthday on April 21, and the entire Commonwealth is preparing to honor her on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee on June 5. So a look at the future of the British monarchy is timely, and one take on this rich topic was offered at Bonham’s New York auction house.

The image of a hood bird of prey, poised on the hand of its master or mistress, is often linked to the medieval age of chivalry. But in fact the sport of falconry is among the oldest forms of hunting practiced today. Learn more about the ancient flight of falconry and see photos of birds of prey here.

Just for the record, the man who wrote, “April is the cruelest month” — this was before April was “National Poetry Month” — T.S. Eliot, was then a bank clerk. Chaucer was a civil servant and Wallace Stevens was an insurance executive.

Listen to the radio documentary “Titanic: Unsinkable Myth,” first broadcast in 1997 and slightly updated here, which explores the artistic legacy of the ocean liner.

Lucille Fletcher was born 100 ago today. A demure Vassar graduate from a working class family, Brooklyn-born Fletcher was the author of two of the most famous radio dramas of all time — “The Hitchhiker” and “Sorry, Wrong Number.” Listen to audio clips here.

The Center for New York City Affairs recently hosted a forum to review the connection between child welfare and juvenile justice in New York City and the state. Listen to the forum here.

The American Kennel Club has released its annual ranking of most popular dog breeds. For the 21st successive year, the Labrador Retriever took the top spot in the country, while the Yorkshire Terrier remained at the top of the pack of favorite breeds for New Yorkers.

Malachy the Pekingese wobbled off with "Best in Show" Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club. The 4-year-old bobbing pompom won his 115th overall best in show title.

Photography by Kathy Landman

Ordinary dogs undergo extraordinary transformations in order to win at dog shows, and among the most eye-catching is the Standard Poodle.

The Poodle is a water dog, and, untended, has a nappy dense coat sort of like good pile carpeting that hugs its rangy body. But in the hands of an expert groomer, a Poodle becomes a dazzling confection, something between a meringue, a soufflé and a topiary hedge.

In the grooming area for the Westminster Dog Show, contenders for Best of Breed, Best of Group, and Best in Show are getting pressed, primped and powdered. See what it takes for dogs to walk the walk in our video and slideshow.

America’s leading show dogs have their own Facebook pages and they're getting lots of traffic.

The 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is right around the corner. Learn more about the new dogs on the block -- from coonhounds to Ceskys to Xolos -- who will be strutting their stuff at Madison Square Garden.

“One day in 1897, Arthur Conan Doyle sat down to write a tale of an odd young man with peculiar skills and changed the world.”

On New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2011 passed into 2012. And with it passed one of the country’s most important cultural institutions. Learn more about the man behind the dance company here.

If there is a lesson to be learned from the post-curtain talk between John Hurt — who has just finished a limited run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater in Beckett’s “Krapp’s Last Tape” — and philosopher Simon Critchley, it’s that if you throw philosophy at an actor, he’ll throw it right back.

This month, Happy Ending Music and Reading series curator Amanda Stern welcomed three Yaddo alums to Joe’s Pub for a program entitled “Reality and Scandal.”

“Krapp’s Last Tape,” which is playing at the BAM Harvey Theater for a limited run through December 18, stars John Hurt as its solitary protagonist in his New York stage debut.

The Asia Society inaugurated its new Asian Arts & Ideas series this month with “The ‘Chindia’ Dialogues." Listen to a conversation between historian Jonathan Spence and the Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh.

The poet Anne Sexton took her own life in 1974, but had she lived, this year would have marked her 83rd birthday. Reason enough, thought the actor Paul Hecht, to organize an elegant tribute to her at the Cornelia Street Café on Nov. 14.