Books & the Arts

The Partisan Reviewer

The Partisan Reviewer The Partisan Reviewer

In two recent essay collections, Tim Parks explores why we bother with reading and writing books.

Jul 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld

Woody Guthrie

Top 10 Woody Guthrie Songs Top 10 Woody Guthrie Songs

Guthrie composed some of the most powerful protest songs ever written.

Jul 15, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Peter Rothberg

Gabby Douglas at the 2012 Olympic trials in San Jose, California (Peter Read Miller)

Out of Sight, Top of Mind Out of Sight, Top of Mind

A new book conveys the powerful role photography plays in sports. But the photographers are still something of a mystery.

Jul 15, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Ian F. Blair

Nicole Eisenman’s Path to Genius

Nicole Eisenman’s Path to Genius Nicole Eisenman’s Path to Genius

In the early 2000s, the painter rediscovered a strain of modernism that doesn’t aspire to purity or certainty, but rather is willing to remain, as de Kooning once put it, “wrapped ...

Jul 14, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

Lies After the War

Lies After the War Lies After the War

We went to Bull Run, or was it Manassas, one of those, past Battlefield Ford, past Glory Days bar in the strip mall, or was it before the mall was built, or was it after the mall…

Jul 14, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Miller Oberman

Europe’s Other Migration Crisis

Europe’s Other Migration Crisis Europe’s Other Migration Crisis

Eastern European countries are attempting to deter immigration today for the same reason they tried to halt emigration a century ago: to protect themselves as ethnic nations.

Jul 13, 2016 / Books & the Arts / John Connelly

Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices

Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices

At a time when populism is in vogue, the Nobel Laureate has gone in the opposite direction. We need to read her and listen to the people she hears.

Jul 6, 2016 / Books & the Arts / John Palattella

Instagram and the Fantasy of Mastery

Instagram and the Fantasy of Mastery Instagram and the Fantasy of Mastery

A “look” is a kind of instant style: quickly executed and dispatched, immediately understood and overcharged with incident. It is time for a new view.

Jun 29, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Ricky D’Ambrose

The Big Friendly Director

The Big Friendly Director The Big Friendly Director

Steven Spielberg, who has never shown much interest in human-scaled cinema, makes his self-portrait three stories tall in The BFG.

Jun 28, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

15 Short Texts in Search of Hilla Becher

15 Short Texts in Search of Hilla Becher 15 Short Texts in Search of Hilla Becher

One of the creations of her and her husband’s artistic partnership was the seemingly perfect fusion of their visions.

Jun 22, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Jana Prikryl

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