Her most famous work may be the novel The Color Purple, but Alice Walker says she is a poet at heart. Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for The Color Purple in 1983, the first African-American woman to do so. Now the poet-turned-novelist has two new books, of poetry and prose. She joins us. Read an article.

The last time an American president asked Congress for a declaration of war was in 1941, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Longtime CBS and NBC News correspondent Marvin Kalb says this new normal undercuts Congress' constitutional authority and undermines America's reputation worldwide. Read a Q&A with Kalb.

Middle East scholar Rashid Khalidi says America has not been working for peace in its efforts to mediate the Israel-Palestine conflict, including President Obama's backtracking on freezing West Bank settlements. He joins us.