Essays Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Essays

Making #Charlottesville
Aniko Bodroghkozy writes about the tiki torch march in Charlottesville and the media-savvy aspects of the alt-right.
Aniko BodroghkozySep 6, 2023
- Politics
Perma-noon: On Light Pollution and the Way We Talk About the Natural World
In a preview of LARB Quarterly no. 39: “Air,” Lauren Collee explores the history of light pollution.
Lauren ColleeSep 4, 2023
- LARB Lit
- Science & Technology
How to Destroy a Creative Industry (And How to Save It)
Alessandro Camon discusses the WGA/SAG strike as a turning point for Hollywood.
Alessandro CamonSep 3, 2023
Against the MFA Contrarians
Joel Cuthbertson defends the creative writing MFA as an educational, not a vocational, enterprise.
Joel CuthbertsonSep 2, 2023
“Mobility” by Lydia Kiesling
Post-Soviet geopolitics, oil wars, and the climate crisis provide the backdrop for a young woman’s coming-of-age in a novel that seamlessly intertwines the political with the personal. Check out our Fall 2023 pick for the LARB Book Club: “Mobility” by Lydia Kiesling.
Aug 31, 2023
Rereading George Eliot One Year After “Dobbs”
Dara Rossman Regaignon explores what George Eliot’s Victorian fiction can tell us about the complexities of pregnancy, viability, miscarriage, abortion, and intent.
Dara Rossman RegaignonAug 28, 2023
Oh, We Knew Agnew: On Spiro Agnew’s Lasting Legacy
Jerald Podair, Zach Messitte, and Charles J. Holden reconsider the legacy of Spiro Agnew.
Charles J. Holden, Jerald Podair, Zach MessitteAug 27, 2023
- History
- Politics
Propaganda, Outrage, and Entertainment
Kathryn Cramer Brownell on the electoral transformations wrought by cable news and the evolving media landscape.
Kathryn Cramer BrownellAug 23, 2023
- Politics
- Television
Mobsters, Union Leaders, and Studio Moguls: The Infamous 1945–46 Warner Brothers Strikes
In an excerpt from his forthcoming book “The Warner Brothers,” Chris Yogerst elucidates the history of the big Hollywood strikes of the 1940s.
Chris YogerstAug 22, 2023
- Film
- History
Lack of Charisma Can Be Comforting
Anna Dorn learns to love Taylor Swift.
Anna DornAug 21, 2023
- Film
- Music
The Deep Story Beneath the Big Lie
The engine of the right-wing movement is a narrative about social disgrace, according to Anthony Nadler and Doron Taussig.
Anthony Nadler, Doron TaussigAug 16, 2023
- Politics
On the Preposterousness of Centering a Fat Body: Liberation and Exile in Iiu Susiraja’s Self-Portraits at MoMA PS1
Nina Herzog explores the exhibition of Iiu Susiraja’s photographs at MoMA PS1 in Queens, New York.
Nina HerzogAug 15, 2023
- Art & Architecture
After the Leap: Marriage and Philosophy in George Eliot and Søren Kierkegaard
Clare Carlisle analyzes the theme of marriage in the life and work of two great 19th-century thinkers and writers, George Eliot and Søren Kierkegaard.
Clare CarlisleAug 14, 2023
The Handover
Jonah Siegel explores the complicated implications of repatriating art.
Jonah SiegelAug 10, 2023
- Art & Architecture
- Politics
Withering Green Rush: California Cannabis Breeding at a Crossroads
In a preview of LARB Quarterly no. 38: Earth, Ali Bektaş examines one of the state’s most contentious and consequential industries.
Ali BektaşAug 5, 2023
- LARB Lit
- Science & Technology
Sharing Speech: On Translation as Conversation
Robin Myers writes about her experience of migrating to Mexico City and coming to translate Spanish poetry.
Robin MyersAug 2, 2023
- Memoir & Essay
- Poetry