Essays Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Essays

Possums Tell All
Fernando A. FloresJun 9, 2019
- LARB Lit
A Jeremiah of “Limping Iambs”: On Boris Slutsky’s Centennial
Marat Grinberg celebrates the centennial of the birth of Boris Slutsky, “arguably the most misunderstood and idiosyncratic of 20th-century poets.”
Marat GrinbergJun 7, 2019
- Around the World
- Poetry
Grapes: A Short Story
“A world without darkness is unthinkable.” Hiromi Kawakami's short story "Grapes" will appear in LARB's print Quarterly Journal, No. 23: Imitation.
Hiromi KawakamiJun 4, 2019
- LARB Lit
Desperately Seeking Kin: Genetic Longing in the Donor Gamete Context
Anthropologist, author, and filmmaker Diane Tober explores what it means to be human in the biotech age.
Diane ToberJun 4, 2019
- Nonfiction
- Science & Technology
The Desperate Search for the Mark of the Beast
In the Occult Issue of our Print Quarterly Journal, Anna Merlan muses on the contemporary form of the age-old fear known as "salvation anxiety."
Anna MerlanJun 2, 2019
Are Human Rights History?
Human rights were once seen as full of promise. Now they’re seen by many as a troubling neoliberal project.
Stefan-Ludwig HoffmannJun 2, 2019
The Gift of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s 100th Birthday
Emily Sernaker considers “Little Boy” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and his 100th birthday.
Emily SernakerJun 2, 2019
- Fiction
- Poetry
Disney’s Endgame: Corporate Stockholm Syndrome in the Age of the Mega-Franchise
While we crave traditional components like complexity, spectacle, and closure, we experience those things only as an endless flow of branded content.
Dan Hassler-ForestJun 1, 2019
- Film
- SF
+
What sort of model — for narrative, for business — does the Marvel Cinematic Universe offer?
Jun 1, 2019
In Search of the Naples — and Women — of Ferrante’s Novels
A woman goes in search of the real-life setting of a quartet of novels, and faces up to the doubter within.
Lucía BenavidesJun 1, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Cabaret Dancer in Paris
Anna Friedrich tags after a Russian-born cabaret dancer in Paris.
Anna FriedrichMay 30, 2019
- Around the World
- Nonfiction
“I Am Supposed to Look”: Linda Gregg’s Prolific Vision
Gabriel Fine reflects on the legacy and poetry of Linda Gregg.
Gabriel FineMay 29, 2019
- Poetry
Alabama’s Mortal Sounds
Revisiting the primal scene — an Alabama concert.
Drew BratcherMay 28, 2019
- Music
On “Manifesto”
Julian Rosefeldt’s "Manifesto" declares itself as a series of canny thefts.
Martin HarriesMay 27, 2019
- Art & Architecture
- Film
My Friend Marshall
The dean of American music critics on his late friend, public intellectual Marshall Berman.
Robert ChristgauMay 27, 2019
“The Parade” by Dave Eggers
Foreign contractors are sent to a nation newly recovering from a decade-long civil war in order to develop infrastructure, which raises the question: whose role is it to forge peace anyway? Check out our Spring 2019 pick for the LARB Book Club: “The Parade” by Dave Eggers.
May 27, 2019