Workmanlike Surrealism: On Alex Danchev’s “Magritte: A Life”Alex Danchev’s final book is a sparkling biography of a prolific, popular artist....PETER PLAGENSBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Madness as Method: On Andrew Hussey’s “Speaking East: The Strange and Enchanted Life of Isidore Isou”A new biography of the founder of Lettrism, the “avant-garde of the avant-garde.”...MARIUS HENTEABIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
What If?: New Insight into the Friendship of Virginia Woolf and T. S. EliotA newly opened archive of Eliot’s letters sheds light on his friendship with Woolf....MEGAN QUIGLEYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Ghosts of the Avant-Garde: On Johanna Drucker’s “Iliazd: A Meta-Biography of a Modernist”A remarkable account of the life, work, and afterlife of an elusive modernist artist....ROSS WILSONBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Are You Listening?Sophia Stewart on Stephen Sondheim, Georges Seurat, Sam Francis, and the recovered power of the muse....SOPHIA STEWARTBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Doing Something: On Keisha N. Blain’s “Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America”A biography of activist Fannie Lou Hamer compares her work to today’s activists....ELWOOD WATSONBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A Solo on the Pipe: On Julia Copus’s “This Rare Spirit: A Life of Charlotte Mew”Declan Ryan gleans new insights on poet Charlotte Mew from “This Rare Spirit,” a biography by Julia Copus....DECLAN RYANBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHYPOETRY
“A Home in the Neon Heat of Nature”: A New Biography of Czesław MiłoszCynthia Haven’s “Czesław Miłosz: A California Life” captures the formative dynamics of exile....CORY OLDWEILERBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Lee’s FaultJohn Reeves reviews Allen C Guelzo's new biography of Robert E. Lee....JOHN REEVESBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Season of HardwickZachary Fine on the resurgence of Elizabeth Hardwick....ZACHARY FINEBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Exile on Man Street: On Tracey Thorn’s “My Rock ’n’ Roll Friend”A provocative biography of Lindy Morrison, drummer for the Australian indie-rock band The Go-Betweens....GINA ARNOLDBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A House of One’s Own: On Deborah Levy’s “Real Estate”At the crux of Deborah Levy’s concerns is how to live a creative life as a woman....MIA LEVITINBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Boas and His StudentsMichael S. Roth explores “Gods of the Upper Air” by Charles King....MICHAEL S. ROTHBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Philosopher’s Trail: On Samantha Rose Hill’s “Hannah Arendt”Shaan Sachdev reviews “Hannah Arendt” by Samantha Rose Hill, a new book in Reaktion Books’s Critical Lives series....SHAAN SACHDEVBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
“He Soars So Incredibly High”: A Conversation about Robert Walser with Susan BernofskyVeronica Esposito speaks to Susan Bernofsky, author of the long-awaited biography of Robert Walser, “Clairvoyant of the Small.”...VERONICA ESPOSITOBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A Love Story Finally Brought to Light: On Liz Brown’s “Twilight Man”A biography chronicling two gay men during the US Gilded Age....VESPER NORTHBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A Would-Be Emperor Too Good to Be TrueNilanjan Bhowmick reviews Supriya Gandhi's biography of Dara Shukoh, "The Emperor Who Never Was."...NILANJAN BHOWMICKBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
History Is Happening: On Edmund de Waal’s “Letters to Camondo”An epistolary biography of a midcentury French businessman and patron of the arts....JAKE FUCHSBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Untold Story of the CIA’s MK Ultra: A Conversation with Stephen KinzerStephen Kinzer discusses his new biography, “Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control.”...JAMES PENNER, ED PRIDEAUXBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Darwin of the ClassicsA new biography of Milman Parry, who transformed our understanding of Homer, and oral culture in general....TIM RILEYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
On Lives and CounterlivesTwo solid biographies of the late Philip Roth, one authorized, one not....STEVEN G. KELLMANBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Highsmith Was a Troll: On Richard Bradford’s “Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires”Maria Rybakova plumbs the depths of “Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires. The Life of Patricia Highsmith” by Richard Bradford....MARIA RYBAKOVABIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Becoming Day Keene: The Pre-Pulp Career of Gunard HjertstedtCullen Gallagher digs up the working-class roots of noir master Day Keene....CULLEN GALLAGHERBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Conversations on ImperfectionA memoir through interviews shines light on the president of CalArts and American history....VESPER NORTHBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
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