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Culture

Essays from the world of letters, art, and ideas.

The Past Is Never Dead: On TV’s Backstory Problem

Elizabeth Alsop explores the ubiquity—and limitations—of the “trauma backstory.”

Elizabeth AlsopApr 29

Television

True Life: I Called Off My Wedding
In an excerpt from LARB Quarterly no. 41, “Truth,” Sarah Yanni accounts for what she left behind when she called off her wedding—and what she...
Sarah YanniMay 1
- LARB Quarterly
- Memoir
The Past Is Never Dead: On TV’s Backstory Problem
Elizabeth Alsop explores the ubiquity—and limitations—of the “trauma backstory.”
Elizabeth AlsopApr 29
- Television
A Past That Must Be Denied: Borges in Japan
Ryan Shea revisits Guillermo Gasió’s 1988 anthology “Borges en Japon, Japon en Borges.”
Ryan SheaApr 28
- Fiction
The “Nacirema” Dream: The Story of an Asian American Studio
Jonathan van Harmelen reveals a lesser-known, unappreciated history of American film through the work of Asian American makers and studios.
Jonathan van HarmelenApr 25

From the Archive

“Another University Is Possible”: Thoughts on Student Protests and Universities in Postcolonial Africa

The modern university is an efficient site for the neoliberal commoditizing of knowledge.

Desiree LewisDec 9, 2015

I Understand Thee, and Can Speak Thy Tongue: California Unlocks Shakespeare’s Gibberish
In honor of National Talk Like Shakespeare Day, Frank Bergon writes about Shakespeare’s possible use of the Basque language.
Frank BergonApr 23
- Cultural Studies
- History
Legacies of Eugenics: An Introduction
In the first of a series, Osagie K. Obasogie explores the history and persistence of eugenics in science, medicine, and elsewhere.
Osagie K. ObasogieApr 17
For the Love of Glamour: American Aristocracy from Twain to Trump
Are people—and the United States—doomed to be the subalterns of the aristocrats?
Mark EdmundsonApr 14
- History
- Politics and Economics
Watching Pixels Die: Sony, HBO, and “The Last of Us”
Maria Bose and Jason Willwerscheid analyze corporate moves to adapt prestige video games into prestige TV.
Jason Willwerscheid, Maria BoseApr 12
- Television
Ocean of Sound
Theo Spielberg appreciates Fatima Al Qadiri’s haunting score for the 2019 Senegalese film “Atlantics.”
Theo SpielbergApr 11
- Film
- Music
Power over Spice Is Power over All: Extractivism and Indigenous Knowledge in Frank Herbert’s “Dune”
Devin Griffiths reads Frank Herbert’s “Dune” as a novel of environmental protest.
Devin GriffithsApr 5
The Morality of Memoir, or, Daddy I Want Coffee!
On this special episode, hosts Medaya Ocher, Kate Wolf, and Eric Newman talk about the ethics and politics of memoir in the wake of several recent...
LARB Radio HourApr 2
Allegorical Moments: Lyn Hejinian’s Life in Writing
Nine poets and critics commemorate the late Lyn Hejinian.
Barrett Watten, Abigail Lang, Vladimir Feshchenko, Roberto Harrison, Jeanne Heuving, Alan Golding, Carla Harryman, Kit Robinson, Rae ArmantroutMar 31
- Memoir
- Poetry

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