Claire

Art sometimes imitates life. And then again, life often imitates art. Just ask Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and her husband, Franco Nero. In the new romantic comedy, "Letters to Juliet," the 73-year-old Redgrave plays a widow named Claire who had left the love of her life, Lorenzo (Nero), 50 years earlier when she was a student in Verona, Italy. Before she had left, Claire did what numerous women in love have done over the centuries, write a letter about her love affair to the Shakespearean heroine, Juliet, and tack it on the wall of the courtyard where the fictional character had lived.

Claire Anna Baker's first L.A. solo show, at Edward Cella Art + Architecture, is a strikingly sophisticated exploration of gesture in the context of painterly abstraction. Each of the five large, ink-on-polyester paintings installed in the gallery's main space revolves around a stroke of liquid black, set against a ground of pale, softly modulated blues, oranges and pinks. Though far too large to have been made with a single movement, each stroke is a vision of lightness and spontaneity.

Son A Novel Lois Lowry Houghton Mifflin: 393 pp., $17.99, ages 12 and up It's been 19 years since the publication of Lois Lowry's pioneering Newbery Medal winner, "The Giver," which painted a bleak picture of a future society in which color does not exist, love is suppressed and sameness is revered. No one would have guessed that almost two decades later, "dystopian" would be its own genre in the young adult biblioscape, giving rise to blockbuster franchises such as "The Hunger Games," "Divergent," "Matched" and now, a follow-up from the author who's credited with starting it. "Son" is the Rashomon-style conclusion to "The Giver," told from the perspective of the young birth mother whose infant was saved in the original book.

Peggy Hesketh is no stranger to facing her fears. For her debut novel, “Telling the Bees” (Putnam, $27), Hesketh comprehensively researched and observed the world of beehives and bees - an insect to which she is highly allergic. It is this same drive to face her fears that had Hesketh on the phone with us for an interview -- an activity, she confesses, that's extremely difficult for her. “Telling the Bees” revolves around Albert Honig, an elderly bachelor beekeeper who lived a painfully reserved past and continues to live a solitary present-day existence.

To capture the unique inflections of Temple Grandin, an autistic pioneer whose life is the subject of a new HBO film, Claire Danes spent weeks listening to recordings of Grandin on her iPod, practicing her gruff abruptness. She became so immersed in "Temple-speak," as she put it, that when she saw Grandin recently in Los Angeles to promote the film, "I slipped immediately back in Temple mode," the actress admitted. "It was very embarrassing," Danes said, shaking her head at the recollection.

Peggy Hesketh is no stranger to facing her fears. For her debut novel, “Telling the Bees” (Putnam, $27), Hesketh comprehensively researched and observed the world of beehives and bees - an insect to which she is highly allergic. It is this same drive to face her fears that had Hesketh on the phone with us for an interview -- an activity, she confesses, that's extremely difficult for her. “Telling the Bees” revolves around Albert Honig, an elderly bachelor beekeeper who lived a painfully reserved past and continues to live a solitary present-day existence.

It's hard not to admire the visual artistry in co-writer-directors Alexei Kaleina and Craig Macneill's "The Afterlight," with its beautifully composed shots of lyrical, sometimes-ominous countryside and near-painterly, lived-in interiors; Zoe White's cinematography is nothing short of masterful. At the same time, it's hard to embrace this glacially paced, symbolism-heavy film's elusive — when it's not being elliptical — story about a city couple's escape to rural life. Andrew (Michael Kelly)

DNA or not, we know we are related to the Neanderthals (July 11). Some can be found in politics, sports, etc. CLAIRE GRAY Montebello

Fred (I Don't) Claire is a mess. MIKE THOMAS Canoga Park

Travel wish lists: An article in Sunday's Travel section about travel wish lists credited Frederic Chopin as the composer of "Claire de Lune." Claude Debussy was the composer.

Author Claire Vaye Watkins was awarded the Story Prize in New York on Wednesday evening for her debut collection, "Battleborn. " As winner she receives $20,000. Two finalists for the prize -- Dan Chaon for "Stay Awake" and Junot Diaz for "This Is How You Lose Her" -- will receive $5,000 each. The Story Prize is the most significant award in the U.S. dedicated to collections of short fiction. The judges cited Watkins for her originality and the audacity of her voice, writing in a release about the prize, “In the ten stories in her first collection, Claire Vaye Watkins takes an unflinching look at the apocalyptic dimensions of our culture's boom-or-bust obsession....

"Project Runway's" Heidi Klum is on the February cover of Marie Claire and inside she talks about her divorce from Seal ("It's not what I wanted...but it's not a real problem"), marrying again ("I don't think so") and younger lovers (“I can understand why a woman finds a young man attractive, because the truth is that when men get older, their shape changes. Younger men train more, and when the clothes come off, it is nice to look at a sexy, ripped body. But I am realistic. I'm turning 40 next year; I don't think I could deal with waking up next to a 25-year-old.” The magazine is out Jan. 15, and "Project Runway" returns for an 11th season on Jan. 24. [Marie Claire]

Claire Danes may be focusing more on the home front than on "Homeland" right about now - she's just welcomed a baby boy with husband Hugh Dancy. Cyrus Michael Christopher Dancy arrived Monday, the actress' rep told People, giving up no other details about the newborn. Nice timing, Cyrus: The wee one arrived the day after "Homeland's" second-season finale . No headline-stealing in this family! Not to mention he's freed up Mom to wear some smashing fashions as she cruises through awards season once again.

Angeleno Claire Thomas is the host of her own ABC television cooking show , " Food for Thought With Claire Thomas ," now in its second season. But she launched her food career with her wildly popular blog The Kitchy Kitchen right out of college -- "an experimental playground," she says, for her writing, photography and passion for food. She's also a commercial director (directing for clients such as McDonald's, Miracle Whip and Del Taco) and food stylist. All of the photos and videos on the blog are shot by Thomas, featuring food, recipes and interviews with wine experts, food producers and chefs.

Cable dramas and network comedies dominated the nominees for the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. In the drama category, cable favorites such as "Homeland," "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "Boardwalk Empire" picked up multiple nominations, while network series were all but overlooked. On the comedy side, the situation was reversed: Only one cable series, "Nurse Jackie," made the cut in the ensemble category, with SAG favoring network sitcoms like "30 Rock," "Modern Family" and "The Big Bang Theory.

A word of advice: Don't strike up a conversation with Mandy Patinkin if you've got anywhere you need to be. Unlike Saul Berenson, the tight-lipped CIA Middle East division chief he plays on the Showtime drama "Homeland," Patinkin is a talkative sort, prone to lengthy but wonderfully entertaining digressions about, say, his bathroom reading habits or the career advice he once got from Gene Kelly. Take, for instance, his response to a question about whether his wife of 32 years, actress Kathryn Grody, minds the thick beard he wears to play Saul Berenson.

To Fred Claire and the Dodgers, after what they have done to improve the team in the off-season: Thanks for nothing. DONALD L. MARGOLIS Encino

Kudos to Bill Plaschke ("Dodger Tradition Can Only Go Just So Far," Sept. 21) for his "Claire" evaluation of the individual responsible for the demise of the Dodgers. LOU ROUBITCHEK Encinitas

WASHINGTON - Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill secured a second term in the Senate, defeating Republican challenger Todd Akin in a hard-fought contest that gained national attention over controversial remarks about rape and pregnancy. McCaskill had been a top GOP target since she was elected in 2006, when Democrats took control of the Senate. On Tuesday, the Associated Press and NBC projected McCaskill would win. In their quest to regain control of the chamber, Republicans considered Missouri one of their best opportunities to pick up a Democrat-held seat this year.