Essays Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Essays

The Retreat
Keziah WeirJun 22, 2019
- LARB Lit
Germany’s New Mini-Reichs
Timothy Wright chronicles the mini-state movement in Germany.
Timothy WrightJun 22, 2019
- Around the World
- Politics
The Art and Politics of Desire: On "Shtisel"
Libby Lenkinski explores the progressive political potential of a TV series about Israel's ultra-Orthodox community.
Libby LenkinskiJun 21, 2019
- Television
The Thief: On the Rediscovery of Luis de Carvajal the Younger’s Memoir
Ilan Stavans narrates the rediscovery of Luis de Carvajal the Younger’s long-lost memoir.
Ilan StavansJun 20, 2019
Poem Dreamt on a Plane, or, Fragility
Javier ZamoraJun 19, 2019
The Vanishing Black Woman Spy Reappears
What a newly discovered letter from “Mary Bowser,” a slave turned Civil War spy, reveals about race in postbellum America.
Lois LeveenJun 19, 2019
- History
- Nonfiction
Big Little Lies, "Tell-Tale Hearts"
For Dear TV, Jane Hu and Phil Maciak put Big Little Lies, season two, episode two under surveillance — it's disappointing.
Jane HuJun 17, 2019
- Dear Television
Concerning the Meaning Molecule in Poetry
"Long ago a man told me, If you write poetry / keep your subjects small;" Brenda Hillman's poem "Concerning the Meaning Molecule in Poetry."
Brenda HillmanJun 15, 2019
- LARB Lit
- Poetry
The Quest for B. Cooper
On the trail of a mysterious big-game hunter in colonial-era East Africa.
David MacDougallJun 14, 2019
- Around the World
- Nonfiction
Reading the Rainbow: A Pride Reading List
Sarah Neilson invites us to read the rainbow in a broad and diverse LGBTQIA+ reading list for Pride Month.
Sarah NeilsonJun 14, 2019
- Gender & Sexuality
Cannibal
"I’ve been thinking a lot about cannibals lately. Fairy tale cannibals. Biblio-cannibals." Anna Journey's essay appears in LARB's Occult Issue.
Anna JourneyJun 14, 2019
All Included
Paul La FargeJun 12, 2019
Mother of Cups
Zoe TuckJun 11, 2019
Writing About Binyavanga Wainaina
On the Kenyan author’s rich — and discomfiting — intellectual legacy.
Raksha VasudevanJun 11, 2019
Big Little Lies, "What Have They Done?"
For Dear Television, Phil Maciak considers season two of Big Little Lies, and what director Andrea Arnold has in store for people with kitchens like that.
Phillip MaciakJun 10, 2019
- Dear Television
The Suburban Uncanny
Colin DickeyJun 10, 2019