Archive

Of Possums and Pomposity: T. S. Eliot’s “Complete Prose”
T. S. Eliot was a world-class upper-class grump, but he could be amusing.
Gregory McNameeNov 3, 2021
- Poetry
The Life Arboreal
Barbara Kiser reviews three books about our relationship to trees and the forest.
Barbara KiserNov 2, 2021
- Science & Technology
Somber and Evocative: On Ricardo Wilson’s “An Apparent Horizon and Other Stories”
A poetic, playful new collection of stories about suffering and death.
Damien BelliveauNov 2, 2021
- Fiction
The Excommunicated Communist
Almost unknown in the US, José Revueltas was a writer of unbounded exuberance and astonishing descriptive powers.
Matthew GleesonNov 2, 2021
- Fiction
“Postcolonial Love Poem” by Natalie Diaz
Grappling with the legacy of colonial violence and intervening against the naturalizing impulse of dominant American narratives, this poetry collection is at once tender and urgent. Check out our Fall 2021 pick for the LARB Book Club: “Postcolonial Love Poem” by Natalie Diaz.
Nov 1, 2021
Stephen Crane’s 150th Birthday
Was Stephen Crane the American Dickens?
Frank BergonNov 1, 2021
- Fiction
The Language of Authoritarian Populism
What the linguistic character of Trumpism tells us about the authoritarianism it lubricates.
Wynn CoatesNov 1, 2021
- Politics
How the Light Gets In: On Katie Farris’s “A Net to Catch My Body in Its Weaving”
Olga LivshinNov 1, 2021
The Bolaño Boom: On Javier Serena’s “Last Words on Earth”
Aaron Bady untangles the complex relationship between fiction and reality in “Last Words on Earth,” Javier Serena’s novel inspired by the life of Roberto Bolaño.
Aaron BadyNov 1, 2021
- Fiction
Nine-10ths of a Triumph: On John Steinbeck’s “Murder at Full Moon”
Although not the werewolf novel it was initially reported as being, “Murder at Full Moon” is something even better: a metafictional novel with teeth.
Jess NevinsOct 31, 2021
- SF
On "Evil" and Procedural Failure
Elizabeth Alsop considers the supernatural series Evil alongside neo-procedurals like Mindhunter, Twin Peaks: The Return, and Search Party
Elizabeth AlsopOct 31, 2021
- Television
Selling Menthol: On Keith Wailoo’s “Pushing Cool”
A history of the menthol cigarette and its effects on Black people.
Vesper NorthOct 31, 2021
- History
The Pleasures of Watching Korean Television from the 1980s, Before K-Drama Went Global
Colin Marshall looks back on an earlier era of Korean TV dramas, before the glitz of contemporary K-Drama.
Colin MarshallOct 31, 2021
Political Genius Flying at Low Altitude
Kati Marton’s subtle biography of Angela Merkel teaches much about political culture and how an exceptional individual can shape it.
Franz BaumannOct 30, 2021
- Politics
The Aesthetics of the Void: On Brad Evans’s “Ecce Humanitas”
Reconceiving the sacred, and the violence it authorizes, for a secular age.
James R. MartelOct 30, 2021
- Philosophy & Religion
Colette Liu Tervalon Arrives on the Scene
Jervey TervalonOct 30, 2021