In the Country of No Country In the Country of No Country
In the country the buildings seem smooth as if their faces were lifted by benevolent surgeons— so laid-back, they rarely make a mistake. And their doors—true the wood seems insecure when bothered by cathedral fantasies but they remain upright, with a steadfast reach like people who speak clearly in crisis. To some the local is not alive—it is a process that has stopped, like a factory machine the day of the big shutdown. But to others, who see past the horizon of the cliché industry returns to the valley an extravagant, steampunk renaissance fair.
Oct 23, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Jerome Sala
After the Euphoria: On the Arab Uprisings After the Euphoria: On the Arab Uprisings
What are the new rules of the political game in the Middle East? Nobody knows, but Marc Lynch’s The Arab Uprising is a useful guide.
Oct 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Patrick Cockburn
What Goes With What: On Richard Tuttle What Goes With What: On Richard Tuttle
Richard Tuttle’s sculpture seems to proclaim “No spirit but in things.”
Oct 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
Madrigal Madrigal
People snap like asparagus stems. Oh no? She is flying along the base paths and the sun is nestled in her hat. She has the color of a stone roof which clearly enjoys it. If the year could do without spring, I’m guessing it would. The planet, mild analgesic, revolving around a similarly gaseous idea awash in consonants.
Oct 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Charles North
Uninvisible: On Dorothy B. Hughes Uninvisible: On Dorothy B. Hughes
In The Expendable Man, the story of an innocent under suspicion is given a racial twist.
Oct 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Charles Taylor
Breather Breather
(after Henri Michaux) How you work at it. Give it a rest Misfortune. Relax. Better let’s both take a breather. See what the other is all about. I destroy you. My theater my harbor and my hearth. A gold cave. O new horizon (and real mother) I let myself go in your vaster light and amplitude along with the horror.
Oct 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Charles North
On Feminism and Sadomasochistic Sex On Feminism and Sadomasochistic Sex
Katie Roiphe's Newsweek cover story ignores the fact that in every century and decade, sadomasochistic erotica has broken into the mainstream.
Apr 16, 2012 / Blog / Dana Goldstein
Scott Sherman: Is the Renovation of New York’s Public Library Modernization or Cultural Damage? Scott Sherman: Is the Renovation of New York’s Public Library Modernization or Cultural Damage?
Will the new president's mega-million-dollar makeover of the main library scare off scholars and leave the branches begging?
Dec 6, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Press Room
Support Child Literacy With Jennifer Egan and Goodreads Support Child Literacy With Jennifer Egan and Goodreads
There's rarely been as enjoyable and community-minded a way to help support children's literacy.
Jul 12, 2011 / Blog / Peter Rothberg
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