Shelf Life: On Poets and Painters Shelf Life: On Poets and Painters
Tibor de Nagy’s Painters & Poets; Bill Berkson’s For the Ordinary Artist; William Corbett’s Albert York.
Mar 23, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
The Three Faces of Steve: On Stephen Sondheim The Three Faces of Steve: On Stephen Sondheim
Finishing the Hat makes clear Stephen Sondheim’s belief that being an artist requires intellectual vigilance.
Mar 23, 2011 / Books & the Arts / David Schiff
A Parade of Arrogance: On John Dower A Parade of Arrogance: On John Dower
During war, John Dower explains, “the system filters out the thoughtful and replaces them with the faithful.”
Mar 23, 2011 / Books & the Arts / George Scialabba
Out of the Mouths of Birds Out of the Mouths of Birds
Is there a human language without birdsong in it?
Mar 22, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko
Hiroshima to Fukushima Hiroshima to Fukushima
The problem with mankind wielding nuclear power isn’t about backup generators or safety rules—it’s our essential human fallibility.
Mar 17, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Schell
Brackets, Brackets, Everywhere Brackets, Brackets, Everywhere
Alter-reviews of Stoppard and music old and new, Reed on the Washington Post's decision to bracket their writers into right-leaning and left-leaning and reader mail.
Mar 17, 2011 / Blog / Eric Alterman
Remembering the Triangle Fire Remembering the Triangle Fire
After 100 years, the tragedy still inspires outrage and grief. Why does it have a hold on us?
Mar 16, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Freeman
My Monster, My Self: On Nicholas Carr and William Powers My Monster, My Self: On Nicholas Carr and William Powers
With our tiny screens and cellphones, we have become prosthetic gods, the whole world in our handhelds. Are we not also monsters?
Mar 16, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Gary Greenberg
A Minor Exception: On W.C. Minor and Noah Webster A Minor Exception: On W.C. Minor and Noah Webster
The career of W.C. Minor is a reminder that the legacy of Yale's lexicographers is no less noteworthy than that of its deconstructionists.
Mar 16, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Kendall
As If: On Barbie Zelizer As If: On Barbie Zelizer
Most journalists think that words are more important than images. Barbie Zelizer thinks they are wrong.
Mar 16, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Victor Navasky