The Flow of Life The Flow of Life
Is Saul Bellow the central American novelist since Willa Cather and William Faulkner?
Sep 10, 2015 / Books & the Arts / David Mikics
September 2, 1973: J.R.R. Tolkien Dies September 2, 1973: J.R.R. Tolkien Dies
“One is puzzled to know why the author should have supposed he was writing for adults.… There is little in The Lord of the Rings over the head of a seven-year-old child.”
Sep 2, 2015 / 150th Anniversary / Richard Kreitner
How a Harper Lee Novel Unfit to Print Was Turned Into Found Money How a Harper Lee Novel Unfit to Print Was Turned Into Found Money
The decision to publish was purely a marketing decision. It turned out to be a shrewd one.
Aug 18, 2015 / Richard Lingeman
July 31, 1965: J.K. Rowling is Born July 31, 1965: J.K. Rowling is Born
“As the rest of the wizarding world teeters on the brink of catastrophe, what Harry really wants to know is: Did Dumbledore love me or what?”
Jul 31, 2015 / 150th Anniversary / Richard Kreitner
Farewell to Citizen Doctorow Farewell to Citizen Doctorow
The novelist’s many essays in The Nation demonstrate his glittering style, eloquence, and firm moral vision.
Jul 23, 2015 / Lived History / Richard Lingeman
June 30, 1936: Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone with the Wind’ Is Published June 30, 1936: Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone with the Wind’ Is Published
"Margaret Mitchell gives us our Civil War through Southern eyes exclusively, and no tolerant philosophy illumines the crimes of the invaders."
Jun 30, 2015 / 150th Anniversary / Richard Kreitner
Blackness as Being, Whiteness as Nothingness Blackness as Being, Whiteness as Nothingness
Nell Painter and Herman Melville on American racism as existentialism.
Jun 23, 2015 / Greg Grandin
June 16, 1938: Joyce Carol Oates Is Born June 16, 1938: Joyce Carol Oates Is Born
"Oates believes strongly in the authority of the individual’s experience of reality."
Jun 16, 2015 / 150th Anniversary / Richard Kreitner and The Almanac
This Week: Moving Feminism Forward This Week: Moving Feminism Forward
We’ve come a long way, but we’ve a long way to go in progress for women’s rights.
Mar 9, 2013 / Blog / Katrina vanden Heuvel
Passing the Signal Along Passing the Signal Along
The task of a critic has to do with the nature of the knowledge we call art.
Feb 28, 2013 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz