Books & the Arts
The Lost Worlds of Anton Shammas’s “Arabesques”
A new translation of the 1988 novel documents not only the loss and exile created by the Nakba but also the loss and exile created by occupation.
Raja ShehadehKelly Reichardt’s Cinema of Class Conflict
In her latest film, Showing Up, she continues a career-long project of examining the bitter resentments produced by inequality.
Alex KongKatherine Dunn’s Counterculture Parables
Dunn’s books are often described as cult classics, which fits not only in the sense that they inspire devotion but also in the sense that cults of personality always appear in them.
Nora Caplan-BrickerFrom the Magazine

Alasdair MacIntyre and Richard Rorty’s Lifelong Argument
While in many ways their careers ran parallel to each other, the two philosophers disagreed about whether liberalism could—and should—be saved.
George Scialabba
Emma Cline’s Novel of Pool Parties and Class Conflict
Full of suspense and subterfuge, The Guest turns a story about a summer on Long Island into a thriller about what it takes to survive.
Jennifer Wilson
C.L.R. James, Man of Paradox
A new biography examines the revolutionary possibilities and radical contradictions at the heart of James’s life and ideas.
Gerald HorneLiterary Criticism

Janet Malcolm, Reluctant Memoirist
Why was one of the most gifted nonfiction writers of her generation so uncomfortable writing about herself?
Vivian Gornick
The Defiance of Cormac McCarthy’s Late Style
In Stella Maris and The Passenger, McCarthy invites us to consider hopelessness not just to give us hope but to compel us to make use of it.
Nicolás Medina Mora
The Disappearing Acts of Haruki Murakami
In his new book, the novelist examines what it takes to become a great writer.
Rumaan AlamB&A Newsletter
Dance

The Costs and Contradictions of Ballet
Alice Robb’s Don’t Think, Dear and Ellen O’Connell Whittet’s What You Become in Flight explore both the liberating sense of art and the domineering logic of ballet.
Glory LiuIn December of 2017, a #MeToo scandal rocked the ballet world. Peter Martins, the artistic director of New York City Ballet, stepped down from his position amid allegations of sexual harassment and physical abuse from within the company. The accusations included incidents that dated back to early in his tenure… Continue Reading >
History & Politics

What’s the Matter With Contemporary Architecture?
In his new book, Reinier de Graaf attempts to work out why his profession appears to be at an impasse.
Marianela D’Aprile
The Liberal Discontents of Francis Fukuyama
“The End of History?” was more than just commentary; it was an announcement of victory. And yet, nearly a quarter-century later, its author remains unsure if liberalism truly won.
Daniel Bessner
The Palo Alto System
Malcolm Harris’s new history of his hometown dispenses with the sentimental lore and examines how it has long been the seedbed for exploitation, chaos, and ecological degradation.
Jonathan LethemTelevision and Films

What “The Last of Us” Could Never Do
The HBO series exposed all the limits of video game adaptations.
Erin Schwartz
The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down”
Returning over a decade after it was originally canceled, the cult series remains a potent satire of meritocracy and Los Angeles.
Vikram Murthi
Is There Anything Below the Surface in “Beau Is Afraid”?
When mothers and dreams are involved, it is hard not to think of Freud. But in Ari Aster’s latest, very little is left to the imagination.
Jorge CotteHistory

The Crusade Against Civil Liberties During World War I
Adam Hochschild’s latest book, American Midnight, examines a dark era in US history in which Woodrow Wilson and his administration went to war at home as well as abroad.
Eric FonerWith the exception of the Second World War, every military conflict in which the United States has taken part has generated an anti-war movement. During the American Revolution, numerous Loyalists preferred British rule to a war for independence. New Englanders opposed the War of 1812; most Whigs denounced the Mexican-American… Continue Reading >
Poems
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May 10, 2023
Hunt Murderers, Not Poets
In support of arrested Russian poet Evgenia Berkovich.
The Nation and Katrina vanden Heuvel -
April 26, 2023
The Gift of Slam Poetry
A short history of a misunderstood literary genre and the world it created.
Joshua Bennett -
April 5, 2023
Is the American Dream a Long Con?
A conversation with Alissa Quart about her new book Bootstrapped, an examination of how the ideology of individualism helped create the conditions for inequality.
Rhoda Feng -
February 23, 2023
The Possible Murder of Pablo Neruda
Questions have surrounded the legendary Chilean poet’s death for years, and a new inquiry suggests that he might have been poisoned.
Peter Kornbluh
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