The Letters Behind One of American Poetry’s Most Infamous Books The Letters Behind One of American Poetry’s Most Infamous Books
The Dolphin Letters, 1970–1979, which collects the correspondence between Elizabeth Hardwick and Robert Lowell, is an extraordinary philosophical inquiry into what is permissible i...
Jan 8, 2020 / Dustin Illingworth
Eka Kurniawan’s Disorienting ‘Kitchen Curse’ Is a Punk Critique of Colonialism Eka Kurniawan’s Disorienting ‘Kitchen Curse’ Is a Punk Critique of Colonialism
The Indonesian writer’s short story collection tells tales of hope and disappointment from Reformasi, the period following the ouster of the country's dictator Suharto.
Jan 7, 2020 / Noah Flora
The Tiki Bar Resurgence of the Trump Era The Tiki Bar Resurgence of the Trump Era
It’s tacky and willfully inauthentic. Of course it’s popular again.
Jan 6, 2020 / Jackson Arn
Rewriting Roman Myths From the Perspective of Their Victims Rewriting Roman Myths From the Perspective of Their Victims
Nina MacLaughlin reimagines Metamorphoses from the perspective of the women in the text, exploring sexual violence, agency, and power dynamics of all kinds.
Jan 6, 2020 / Sophie Haigney
The Bitter (Occasionally Brave) Legacy of Selling Blackness The Bitter (Occasionally Brave) Legacy of Selling Blackness
Brenna Wynn Greer’s Represented tells the story of black civil-rights-era entrepreneurs who coaxed American corporations to cater to black people—for better or for worse.
Jan 2, 2020 / Aaron Ross Coleman
How Chemists, Chinese Factories, and ‘Dark Web’ Dealers Spread Fentanyl Across the US How Chemists, Chinese Factories, and ‘Dark Web’ Dealers Spread Fentanyl Across the US
Ben Westhoff’s Fentanyl, Inc. is one of the first books to address what the Centers for Disease Control has called the “third wave” of the opioid crisis.
Dec 30, 2019 / Daniel Kolitz
William Greider Knew What Ailed the Democratic Party William Greider Knew What Ailed the Democratic Party
…and how to fix it. We will miss him.
Dec 27, 2019 / John Nichols
One Family’s Story and the Meaning of Migration in 21st Century America One Family’s Story and the Meaning of Migration in 21st Century America
Jason DeParle’s A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves tracks the three decade journey of the Comodas family from the Philippines to Houston, Texas.
Dec 27, 2019 / Q&A / Noah Flora
The Low Point? The Low Point?
President Trump on Thursday found time to insult 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg after she was named Time’s Person of the Year, an honor he has coveted for year…
Dec 24, 2019 / Column / Calvin Trillin