Reading John Leonard: A Tribute Reading John Leonard: A Tribute
For the critic John Leonard, “books are where we go alone to complicate ourselves.”
Feb 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / E.L. Doctorow
The Complete History of Every One: On Zoe Strauss The Complete History of Every One: On Zoe Strauss
Zoe Strauss has turned the streets of Philadelphia into a museum for her photography.
Feb 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
The Flesh Underneath: On ‘Every Twelve Seconds’ The Flesh Underneath: On ‘Every Twelve Seconds’
Timothy Pachirat’s gut-wrenching account of slaughterhouse work.
Feb 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Ted Conover
Jonathan Blitzer: El País’s Journey to the Mainstream Jonathan Blitzer: El País’s Journey to the Mainstream
How did a newspaper that once represented a progressive alternative to the status quo ultimately come to be firmly identified with the state itself?
Feb 2, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Francis Reynolds
Tom Paine Would Not Have Approved of Mitt Romney Tom Paine Would Not Have Approved of Mitt Romney
Romney misattributed the key quote of his Florida victory speech to the pamphleteer. But that's hardly the only reason why Paine would have decried the Bain Capitalist.
Feb 1, 2012 / Books & the Arts / John Nichols
The Future Is Not What It Used to Be: On ‘El País’ The Future Is Not What It Used to Be: On ‘El País’
El País, Público and Spain’s Second Transition.
Jan 31, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Blitzer
Lucas’s Tuskegee Experiment Lucas’s Tuskegee Experiment
George Lucas’s Red Tails, Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness.
Jan 31, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Looking Back at the UFW, a Union With Two Souls Looking Back at the UFW, a Union With Two Souls
A Q&A with Frank Bardacke, whose new book Trampling Out the Vintage complicates the legend and legacy of Cesar Chavez.
Jan 25, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Gabriel Thompson
A Spoonful of Sugar: On the Affordable Care Act A Spoonful of Sugar: On the Affordable Care Act
Obama and America's hundred-year struggle over healthcare reform.
Jan 25, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Bernard Avishai
Complaint Complaint
Walk out the front door, the dog tugs Boyishly at the leash. I sit at my desk. A breeze Floats up from Oakdale on the hottest day of the year. This is the climate of reason. But in the climate of no reason I look out the window at midnight. My mother appears in a red coat, raking the leaves. Always she wore that coat in autumn, The tattered wool, the large Black buttons, But only to rake leaves. Why my house was built on the dividing line I cannot say. Walk out the front door, Somebody dies. Walk out the back, The rabbit jumps out of his hole. Bedroom in one world, kitchen in another— You could say it’s always September here, Every day the first day of school. The bus is waiting. I’ve got books, my lunch, My gym clothes in a plastic bag.
Jan 25, 2012 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach