The Commonsense Critic: A Personal Tribute to Helen Vendler
Cinque Henderson writes a personal tribute for Helen Vendler.
Archive
Sustained, Energetic Engagement with the Object: On Becca Rothfeld’s “All Things Are Too Small”
Kenneth Dillon reviews Becca Rothfeld’s “All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess.”
Some Other I Before Me: On Seeking Guidance From AAPI Memoirs
For AAPI month, Rajpreet Heir writes about the creative guidance she’s found in memoirs by AAPI authors.
Chloe Martinez’s “The open door”
In an excerpt from LARB Quarterly no. 41, “Truth,” Chloe Martinez presents a new poem about what happened, what could have happened, and why it all matters.
California Communism and Its Afterlives: On Robert W. Cherny’s “San Francisco Reds”
Matt Ray and Matthew Wranovics review Robert W. Cherny’s “San Francisco Reds: Communists in the Bay Area, 1919–1958.”
Pearl Jam Won’t Back Down
A. J. Urquidi finds that the Pearl Jam cottage industry is “still alive” and rockin’ in the free world of the Forum.
Out of the Mouth of Bots: Child Genius and Generative Machines
In an excerpt from LARB Quarterly no. 41, “Truth,” Emily Wells and Aaron Bornstein scrutinize a pair of child geniuses.
Ozempic: Reshaping Desire Since 2023
Ozempic is a drug against addiction. Is it also a drug for … virtue? wonders political scientist Krzysztof Pelc.
A Fair’s in Order
Brittany Menjivar catches a Rave Wave and accepts Grogu’s invite to an exhibition of nerds at the L.A. County Fair.
What Was the Sitcom? On Grace Lavery’s “Closures”
Isabel Bartholomew reviews Grace Lavery’s “Closures: Heterosexuality and the American Sitcom.”
Spooky Entanglements: “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Constellation,” and “The Signal”
Michael Szalay on twinned productions and other IP shenanigans in “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Constellation,” and “The Signal.”
A Psychomagical Afternoon with Alejandro Jodorowsky
Legacy Russell’s “Black Meme”
Writer and curator Legacy Russell joins Kate Wolf to discuss her new book, “Black Meme,” which theorizes the history of viral images of Blackness in America from the dawn of the 20th century to the present.
The Patient Is a White Gay Man: A Conversation with Jonathan Alexander
Christine Hyung-Oak Lee speaks with Jonathan Alexander about his memoir “Stroke Book: The Diary of a Blindspot.”
Beamed from Within: On Harlan Ellison’s “Greatest Hits”
Greg Cwik reviews the new compilation of work from writer Harlan Ellison.
Here Be Monstrous Architects: On Joshua Comaroff and Ong Ker-Shing’s “Horror in Architecture”
Stephanie Schoellman reviews Joshua Comaroff and Ong Ker-Shing’s “Horror in Architecture: The Reanimated Edition.”
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405All-Things-Are-Too-Small.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Cut-Paper-Abstraction-scaled.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202404LARB41_D1_v2_Cover-scaled.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405San-Francisco-Reds.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Eddie-Pearl-Jam-Urquidi-scaled.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Gro%CC%88nsaker_pa%CC%8A_piano_34-BC_-_Birger_Carlstedt.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Menjivar-LA-Fair-scaled.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Closures-Heterosexuality-and-the-American-Sitcom.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Quantum-Turtle-picture2_3000px-scaled-1.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Jodorowsky-Hicks-scaled.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Russell-RH.png)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F201209jonathanalexander-ee-1.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202405Greatest-Hits.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F2024059781517914844_large.jpg)