Books & the Arts

The Short, Quixotic History of North Korean Internationalism

The Short, Quixotic History of North Korean Internationalism The Short, Quixotic History of North Korean Internationalism

Benjamin R. Young’s Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader explores how the country turned to isolationism after a failed influence campaign in the mid 20th century.

Oct 26, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Brian Ng

A family watches the solar eclipse in Germany, 1999.

Richard Powers’s Radical Parenting Lessons Richard Powers’s Radical Parenting Lessons

His new novel Bewilderment examines the challenges of raising a child in a slowly dying world.

Oct 25, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Adams

John Keats’s Politics of Pain and Renewal

John Keats’s Politics of Pain and Renewal John Keats’s Politics of Pain and Renewal

Anahid Nersessian offers a radical and unforgettable reading of the British writer’s odes—one that upends our sense of his poetic project.

Oct 21, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David B. Hobbs

“Squid Game”’s Capitalist Parables

“Squid Game”’s Capitalist Parables “Squid Game”’s Capitalist Parables

Netflix’s breakout series depicts a world of violent and macabre individualism and desperation.

Oct 20, 2021 / Books & the Arts / E. Tammy Kim

The Mysteries of the Childhood Memoir

The Mysteries of the Childhood Memoir The Mysteries of the Childhood Memoir

Richard Wollheim’s Germs is a brilliant and curious example of a genre dedicated to unraveling the riddles of a time we have a hard time remembering.

Oct 20, 2021 / Books & the Arts / John Banville

Nation Poetry

We Came Here to Get Away From You We Came Here to Get Away From You

Port Townsend, Washington Downhill, a skeleton of an orca suspended: a female beached; belly full, at that time, of seal and fish; the seal and fish full, at that time of poison. T…

Oct 19, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Donika Kelly

Nation Poetry

In the New Year In the New Year

Sun on my face and the train slips into the tunnel. Dim reflection confronts. Perhaps I am lacking in something substantial like iron, or virtue. How easy it is to hurt someone, ho…

Oct 19, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Natasha Rao

“Gossip Girl” and the Demented Culture of Fame

“Gossip Girl” and the Demented Culture of Fame “Gossip Girl” and the Demented Culture of Fame

HBO’s reboot of the teen drama explores how the rich and famous make their lives consumable for the rest of us.

Oct 19, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz

Jonathan Franzen’s God

Jonathan Franzen’s God Jonathan Franzen’s God

A multigenerational saga about a Midwestern family, Crossroads is like most of Franzen novels—with one exception: Every plotline leads to the big guy himself.

Oct 18, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Rumaan Alam

New York City’s State of Permanent Crisis

New York City’s State of Permanent Crisis New York City’s State of Permanent Crisis

How New Yorkers trying to ward off catastrophe paved the road to the privatized city.

Oct 14, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Nick Juravich

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