Jesse McCarthy

Jesse McCarthy is an assistant professor of English and African and Africa American studies at Harvard and an editor at The Point.

Toni Morrison’s Revolution in American Literature

Toni Morrison’s Revolution in American Literature Toni Morrison’s Revolution in American Literature

As with Pilate, the fierce outsider and moral conscience of Song of Solomon, Morrison never asked for the proverbial seat at the table. Instead, she pulled the entire table over to...

Dec 16, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy

Toni Morrison’s Cosmos

Toni Morrison’s Cosmos Toni Morrison’s Cosmos

Like a new planet, she shifted the flow of gravity in American culture.

Aug 8, 2019 / Jesse McCarthy

Mathias Énard’s Alternative Cosmopolitanism

Mathias Énard’s Alternative Cosmopolitanism Mathias Énard’s Alternative Cosmopolitanism

Ranging across the Mediterranean, his novels map out the intermediate space between East and West.

Aug 24, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy

The Way Forward in France

The Way Forward in France The Way Forward in France

This week’s legislative elections offer an opportunity to steer President Emmanuel Macron in the direction of justice and away from a moneyed autocracy.

Jun 5, 2017 / Jesse McCarthy

Wideman’s Ghosts

Wideman’s Ghosts Wideman’s Ghosts

A profound sense of hope and despair haunts John Edgar Wideman’s new work of nonfiction.

Nov 29, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy

Why Does Ta-Nehisi Coates Say Less Than He Knows?

Why Does Ta-Nehisi Coates Say Less Than He Knows? Why Does Ta-Nehisi Coates Say Less Than He Knows?

The journalist’s best-selling memoir offers eloquent testimony to the vulnerability of black life, but it surrenders too much to despair.

Nov 15, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy

Letters Icon

Letters From the September 28–October 5, 2015, Issue Letters From the September 28–October 5, 2015, Issue

Ishmael Reed on life in the Major League; Scott Walker as Nixon’s protégé…

Sep 10, 2015 / Letters / Our Readers and Jesse McCarthy

Eric Garner protest

The Work of Art in the Age of Spectacular Reproduction The Work of Art in the Age of Spectacular Reproduction

The Internet gives us an unearned relation to the present, and the visual art of JR is perfectly aligned with it.

Aug 13, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy

Paul Beatty (credit: Hannah Assouline)

Paul Beatty’s Savage Satire Paul Beatty’s Savage Satire

The Sellout takes aim at black middle-class foibles and fantasies.

Jul 30, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy

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