May Membership Fund Drive

Read LARB’s hottest takes and keep our lights on. This May, any memberships will be matched by the Whiting Foundation up to $20,000!

Over the past 13 years, LARB has published thousands of reviews, essays, and interviews, all accessible and completely free. We rely on you to make that happen. To directly support our writers, editors, and staff, join our membership program this May. When you join, the Whiting Foundation will match your membership purchase up to a total of $20,000—taking your support twice as far.

This month, we’re looking back on 30 of our most beloved pieces from the LARB archive. We’re also looking forward to the next issue of our print journal. Select pieces will be going up over the next few weeks. Become a member to receive a copy of the Truth issue delivered right to your door.

There Is No Point in My Being Other Than Honest with You: On Toni Morrison’s Rejection Letters
Melina Moe writes about the rejection letters Toni Morrison sent as an editor at Random House.
Melina MoeMar 26, 2024
- Cultural Studies
- History
Gender Criticism Versus Gender Abolition: On Three Recent Books About Gender
Grace Lavery reviews Julie Bindel’s “Feminism for Women: The Real Tribute to Liberation,” Helen Joyce’s “Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality,” and Kathleen Stock’s “Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism.”
Grace LaveryJul 31, 2023
- Gender & Sexuality
- Politics
Recovering a World: On Franny Choi’s “The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On”
Sharon Lin reviews Franny Choi’s “The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On.”
Sharon LinJun 10, 2023
- Poetry
Take a Lesbian for a Drink: On 50 Years of Rita Mae Brown’s “Rubyfruit Jungle”
Trish Bendix shows how Rita Mae Brown’s 1973 novel “Rubyfruit Jungle” has inspired five decades of lesbian pop culture.
Trish BendixMar 31, 2023
- Fiction
- Gender & Sexuality
Fuck the Poetry Police: On the Index of Major Literary Prizes in the United States
Dan Sinykin breaks down the Post45 Data Collective set on literary awards compiled by Stephanie Young and Juliana Spahr.
Dan SinykinJan 9, 2023
The Avenging Goddess of Screenwriters: Remembering Mary C. McCall Jr.
J. E. Smyth commemorates a landmark anniversary of forgotten screenwriter and guild president, the sharp-tongued, blacklisted Mary McCall.
J. E. SmythNov 18, 2022
Violent Acts of Alien Intelligences: On Cixin Liu’s “The Three-Body Problem” and Mark Bould’s Climate Criticism
Sungshin Kim and Kurt Guldentops read Cixin Liu's Three-Body Problem trilogy against Mark Bould's criticism.
Kurt Guldentops, Sungshin KimMay 21, 2022
- SF
“An Alternative Literary History”: A Conversation with Kyle Schlesinger
The publisher of Cuneiform Press discusses his new book, “A Poetics of the Press,” a documentary history of small-press publishing.
Paul VangelistiMar 13, 2022
- Poetry
Lost Beneath the Waves of Time: Jane Gaskell in/and the ’60s
Remembering one of the most celebrated — and now largely forgotten — writers of an unforgettable decade.
Rob LathamFeb 21, 2022
- Fiction
The Earth Is Doing Our Thinking for Us: A Conversation with Amitav Ghosh
Andrew Malmuth interviews Amitav Ghosh on his latest book about the climate crisis.
Andrew MalmuthNov 8, 2021
- Nonfiction
My Palestinian Poem that “The New Yorker” Wouldn’t Publish
Fady JoudahJun 7, 2021
Creating a Literary Culture: A Short, Selective, and Incomplete History of LGBT Publishing, Part I
Michael Nava walks through the history of gay and lesbian publishing, from 1940 to 1980, in this first installment of a three-part series for the L.A. Review of Books.
Michael NavaJun 5, 2021
- Gender & Sexuality
“Between the Lines”: A Conversation with Diane di Prima
Hilton Obenzinger interviews poet Diane di Prima, who recently passed away in October 2020.
Hilton ObenzingerJan 27, 2021
- Poetry
Race Consciousness: Fascism and Frank Herbert’s “Dune”
Jordan S. Carroll on the alt-right's love of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series.
Jordan S. CarrollNov 19, 2020
- Politics
- SF
Rumaan Alam’s “Leave the World Behind” Examines What Happens When You Can’t
Elena Sheppard reviews Rumaan Alam's new novel, "Leave the World Behind."
Elena SheppardNov 17, 2020
- Fiction
Reading Shakespeare in the Anthropocene
Daniel Swift reviews "Literature and Nature in the English Renaissance: An Ecocritical Anthology," a new book by Todd Andrew Borlik.
Daniel SwiftJan 15, 2020
- Literary Criticism
- Politics
The Poetics of Autism
Travis Chi Wing Lau discusses two recent books on autism and literary studies.
Travis Chi Wing LauMay 2, 2019
- Literary Criticism
Pavement Nymphs and Roadside Flowers: Prostitutes in Paris After the Revolution
Victoria DaileyMar 1, 2019
- Around the World
- Gender & Sexuality
“The Only Form in All the Arts”: On Rachel Cusk’s Autobiographical Fiction
Morten Høi Jensen considers the form of “Transit: A Novel” by Rachel Cusk.
Morten Høi JensenApr 3, 2017
- Fiction
Ursula Nordstrom and the Queer History of the Children’s Book
An essay on pioneering children’s book editor Ursula Nordstrom.
Kelly BlewettAug 28, 2016
- Gender & Sexuality
- Young Adult & Children’s Literature
Waiting For Chavez: The Farm Workers Union and the Future of Labor Organizing
Apr 21, 2013
The Education of a Vietnamese American Writer
"I stole home and robbed my parents of their American Dream."
Andrew Lam, Mariam LamMay 12, 2012
- Education