Program 705: Basque and Balkan Carnival; Sicilians; World Lit

Hear how ancient pagan traditions spice up carnival season in the Basque Country and the Balkans — two regions that celebrate the days preceding Ash Wednesday with raucous festivals. Then get two Sicilians' take on what sets Sicily's island culture apart from the rest of Italy. And consider your next armchair journey as Harvard professor David Damrosch recommends authors whose works can transport you to China, Japan, Iran, Brazil, and sub-Saharan Africa.

• Agustin Ciriza, Basque tour guide from San Sebastián, Spain
• Claire Lohiague, Basque tour guide from Hasparren, France
• Slovenia-based tour guide Marijan Krišković
• Benjamin Curtis, author of "A Traveler’s History of Croatia" (Interlink Books)
• Sicily-based tour guides Mari Accardi and Alfio DiMauro
• Harvard professor David Damrosch, author of "Around the World in 80 Books" (Penguin) 

• Basque tour guide Agustin Ciriza specializes in custom tours in the Basque Country and along the Camino de Santiago.
• Benjamin Curtis is the author of "A Traveler's History of Croatia," and posts travel tips about the Balkans on his website.
• The Rick Steves online guide to Sicily.  https://www.ricksteves.com
• David Damrosch chairs the Department of Comparative Literature at Harvard University, and heads the Institute for World Literature. He's written "Around the World in 80 Books" to recommend classic and modern works that "are in conversation with one another and with the world around them." David suggests that Murasaki Shikibu from 11th century Kyoto, Japan, author of "The Tale of Genji," was the greatest female writer and poet of all time.
• Clean the World recycles partally used hotel soap bars.

Program 705 Haiku Awards

Tiny Hotel Soap
First I bathe, then you're off to
Global Soap Project.
— Babette Salus, Springfield, Illinois

Cloud pearls curl proudly
above Lake Superior.
Water winks below.
— Jeffrey Staley, Bothell, Washington

Our flying tin lands.
Sardined passengers await
a can opener.
— Pamela Wilding, San Rafael, California