Toni Morrison’s Revolution in American Literature Toni Morrison’s Revolution in American Literature
As with Pilate, the fierce outsider and moral conscience of Song of Solomon, Morrison never asked for the proverbial seat at the table. Instead, she pulled the entire table over to...
Dec 16, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy
Toni Morrison’s Cosmos Toni Morrison’s Cosmos
Like a new planet, she shifted the flow of gravity in American culture.
Aug 8, 2019 / Jesse McCarthy
Mathias Énard’s Alternative Cosmopolitanism Mathias Énard’s Alternative Cosmopolitanism
Ranging across the Mediterranean, his novels map out the intermediate space between East and West.
Aug 24, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy
The Way Forward in France The Way Forward in France
This week’s legislative elections offer an opportunity to steer President Emmanuel Macron in the direction of justice and away from a moneyed autocracy.
Jun 5, 2017 / Jesse McCarthy
Wideman’s Ghosts Wideman’s Ghosts
A profound sense of hope and despair haunts John Edgar Wideman’s new work of nonfiction.
Nov 29, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy
Why Does Ta-Nehisi Coates Say Less Than He Knows? Why Does Ta-Nehisi Coates Say Less Than He Knows?
The journalist’s best-selling memoir offers eloquent testimony to the vulnerability of black life, but it surrenders too much to despair.
Nov 15, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy
Letters From the September 28–October 5, 2015, Issue Letters From the September 28–October 5, 2015, Issue
Ishmael Reed on life in the Major League; Scott Walker as Nixon’s protégé…
Sep 10, 2015 / Our Readers and Jesse McCarthy
The Work of Art in the Age of Spectacular Reproduction The Work of Art in the Age of Spectacular Reproduction
The Internet gives us an unearned relation to the present, and the visual art of JR is perfectly aligned with it.
Aug 13, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy
Paul Beatty’s Savage Satire Paul Beatty’s Savage Satire
The Sellout takes aim at black middle-class foibles and fantasies.
Jul 30, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Jesse McCarthy