The Coronavirus Means Curtains for Artists The Coronavirus Means Curtains for Artists
The loss of revenue from live events is only the start of this particular disaster.
May 7, 2020 / William Deresiewicz
Conditions of Emergence: On Elena Ferrante Conditions of Emergence: On Elena Ferrante
In the pseudonymous author’s Neapolitan Novels, the price of leaving Naples is that you can never be at home again.
Sep 24, 2015 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Why Philanthropy Won’t Solve the Higher-Ed Crisis Why Philanthropy Won’t Solve the Higher-Ed Crisis
Relying on the rich to make college affordable for poor students reinforces the system that created those inequalities in the first place.
Jul 2, 2015 / Feature / William Deresiewicz
Diminishing Returns Diminishing Returns
The writings of Tom McCarthy are a case study in the application of theory to fiction.
May 12, 2015 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Why Has ‘My Struggle’ Been Anointed a Literary Masterpiece? Why Has ‘My Struggle’ Been Anointed a Literary Masterpiece?
With its lack of art and absence of thought, the blockbuster Norwegian novel disappoints.
May 13, 2014 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Dread and Wonder Dread and Wonder
The unflinching fiction of Ludmilla Petrushevskaya.
Mar 5, 2014 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Passing the Signal Along Passing the Signal Along
The task of a critic has to do with the nature of the knowledge we call art.
Feb 28, 2013 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
‘I Was There’: On Kurt Vonnegut ‘I Was There’: On Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut sought to fool us with his eyes wide open.
May 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Beattitudes: On Ann Beattie Beattitudes: On Ann Beattie
Ann Beattie is an artist of the things we don’t say, or can’t, and that find expression anyway.
Nov 22, 2011 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
The Children’s Hospital: On David Foster Wallace The Children’s Hospital: On David Foster Wallace
Vulnerability was what made David Foster Wallace so beloved, but it often led him to surrender too much in his fiction.
Jun 15, 2011 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz