Archive

A Negative Freedom: Thirteen Poets on Formal Verse
Patrick Kurp takes the measure of “Thirteen on Form: Conversations with Poets,” edited by William Baer.
Patrick KurpOct 26, 2017
- Poetry
Asking for a Friend: Is My Boyfriend Just a Boor?
In this installment of Asking for a Friend, Olive answers: what do I do about my boorish boyfriend?
Olga KreimerOct 26, 2017
Talking with Playwright Dan O'Brien About His Haunting Collection
Tim Cummings interviews playwright Dan O'Brien about his new collection, "Dan O'Brien: Plays One."
Tim CummingsOct 26, 2017
Wrapped in Furs: On Bunny Mellon, My Mother, and Women as Currency
Susan Zakin locates her mother’s story and a history of female struggle in Meryl Gordon’s biography, “Bunny Mellon: The Life of An American Style Legend.”
Susan ZakinOct 25, 2017
“My Ántonia” Revisited
Willa Cather’s realist novel “My Ántonia” turns out to be rather unreal when it came to depicting frontier life in all its difficulty.
Robert SlaytonOct 25, 2017
- Fiction
No Fences Make the Best Neighbors: Collective Home Ownership, Kibbutz to Cohousing
Bonnie Johnson looks at intentional communities and asks: just how communal are they?
Bonnie JohnsonOct 25, 2017
- Art & Architecture
- Cultural Studies
Why "Disaster Porn" Storm Reporting is So Tantalizing — And Destructive
Rachel Kraus on sensationalized "disaster porn" storm reporting, and why it hurts more than it helps.
Rachel KrausOct 25, 2017
Return of the Naïve Genius: “David Lynch: The Art Life” and “Twin Peaks: The Return”
Reading any interview with Lynch since the release of "Eraserhead" leaves open the question of whether the director performs his innocent remoteness.
Elsa CourtOct 24, 2017
- Film
- Television
“Don’t We Know Our Own Minds?”: A Rediscovered Russian Woman Writer of the 19th Century
Yelena Furman on “City Folk and Country Folk,” a rediscovered novel by the 19th-century Russian writer Sofia Khvoshchinskaya.
Yelena FurmanOct 24, 2017
- Around the World
- Fiction
On This Day: The Cubs and the Feeling That Stays With You
Sarah Mesle watches the Cubs lose the 2017 National League Championship Series.
Sarah MesleOct 24, 2017
- Dear Television
“A Strange Sort of Periscope”: John Freeman on Poetry and Politics
Angela Stubbs interviews John Freeman about his debut poetry collection, the creative process, and inequality in the United States.
Angela StubbsOct 24, 2017
- Poetry
- Politics
The Party’s Over: Looking Back on Communism
Patrick Iber reviews two new books on communism and its aftermath.
Patrick IberOct 24, 2017
- Around the World
- History
FOMO Spirituality: On Desert Daze
Julia Sizek on the FOMO spirituality of Desert Daze music festival.
Julia SizekOct 24, 2017
A Roadmap to Qur’ans in English
Jack Miles, editor of "The Norton Anthology of World Religions," surveys the numerous English translations of the Qur'an.
Jack MilesOct 23, 2017
- Religion
Hollywood, Los Angeles Spies, and the Underground Battle Against Hitler
Two new books tell the story of how one alarmed volunteer in L.A.’s Jewish community helped take down Nazi spies in the years leading up to World War II.
Chris YogerstOct 23, 2017
- History
- Politics
Coffee as Existential Statement: A Crisis in Every Cup on Valencia Street
Theodore Gioia provides a culinary and cultural tour of the coffee shops on San Francisco’s Valencia Street.
Theodore GioiaOct 23, 2017
- Cultural Studies
- Food & Drink