Essays Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Essays

The Smartest People in the Room? What Silicon Valley’s Supposed Obsession with Tech-Free Private Schools Really Tells Us
Morgan G. Ames on the problem of letting Silicon Valley tech elites guide conversations on child development and schooling.
Morgan G. AmesOct 18, 2019
- Education
- Science & Technology
How to Forget a Massacre: What Happened in Paris on October 17, 1961
Laurel Berger revisits the events of October 17, 1961.
Laurel BergerOct 17, 2019
- Around the World
- History
Your Spot on the Wall: An Introduction to “Graffiti”
LARB presents Elmaz Abinader’s introduction “Graffiti,” the inaugural anthology from artist collective POC United, published this week by Aunt Lute Books.
Elmaz AbinaderOct 16, 2019
- Around the World
- Politics
Letter to the Editor: Jenny Brown Responds to “Anti-Labor Politics”
Jenny Brown responds to Meredith Goldsmith, Anna Kryczka, and Catherine Liu’s “Anti-Labor Politics,” and the writers respond to her criticism.
Anna Kryczka, Catherine Liu, Jenny Brown, Meredith GoldsmithOct 15, 2019
- Gender & Sexuality
- Politics
AWP: A Crisis of Governance
Matt Burriesci diagnoses the cultural ills of AWP.
Matt BurriesciOct 14, 2019
- Education
- Nonfiction
Seven Minutes to Beauty
Lulu Dewey wonders about real beauty.
Lulu DeweyOct 13, 2019
- Nonfiction
The Moon, the Corps, and the War
A writer reflects on how American volunteerism in Iran changed his life.
Hamid EkbiaOct 13, 2019
The End of Oz: Reflections on the Centenary of L. Frank Baum’s Death
Scott Bradfield on the pleasures and perils of the “Oz” series.
Scott BradfieldOct 12, 2019
- Young Adult & Children’s Literature
“Goodnight Moon,” Almost 75 Years Later
Brian Goedde revisits the children’s classic “Goodnight Moon.”
Brian GoeddeOct 10, 2019
- Young Adult & Children’s Literature
The Medieval Myth of Notre-Dame
Notre-Dame is being restored — either as a sensationalized jewel of contemporary French architecture or as a monument to the “greatness” of France’s past.
Danny SmithOct 7, 2019
On Sex Without Identity: Feminist Politics and Sexual Difference
Isabel Ortiz and Bernadette Grubner talk to philosopher Alenka Zupančič about ontological inconsistency and #MeToo.
Bernadette Grubner, Isabel OrtizOct 7, 2019
- Gender & Sexuality
- Philosophy & Religion
“Why Should I Venerate?”: Walt Whitman at 200
David S. Wallace reflects on Walt Whitman’s bicentennial.
David Schurman WallaceOct 6, 2019
- Poetry
October Dusk
Arthur SzeOct 6, 2019
- LARB Lit
Ghost Hands, Player Pianos, and the Hidden History of AI
Vanessa Chang considers Obvious's "Portrait of Edmond de Belamy" and the history of AI artistry.
Vanessa ChangOct 5, 2019
- Art & Architecture
- Science & Technology
The Latin Epigram: Brevity, Levity, and Grief
Art Beck meditates on the nature of the Latin epigram and offers his translations of Martial.
Art BeckOct 4, 2019
- Poetry
The Single Most Pristine Certainty: Fleur Jaeggy, Thomas Bernhard, and the Fact of Death
Sophie Madeline Dess wonders what reading novels like “Sweet Days of Discipline” and “Wittgenstein’s Nephew” might teach us about death.
Sophie Madeline DessOct 3, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction