Books & the Arts

Reconstruction

Reconstruction Reconstruction

We don’t know which came first, the chicken— naturally unsalted (enough to make a grown man cry, remembering sweet nothings) — or the hapless egg, who sat on a wall that may or may…

Apr 7, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Amanda Jernigan

The Cathedral at Ground Zero

The Cathedral at Ground Zero The Cathedral at Ground Zero

Understanding the prosody of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub’s construction also requires an accounting of its extravagance.

Apr 6, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Michael Sorkin

‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ Has Just Enough Gravity

‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ Has Just Enough Gravity ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ Has Just Enough Gravity

If you’re determined to do it, you can wring a story, some themes, and even a moral out of Richard Linklater’s new movie.

Apr 6, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Less Is Moore

Less Is Moore Less Is Moore

Observations is one of the great verbal works of art of the 20th century, in part because of Marianne Moore’s infectious devotion to everything small.

Mar 31, 2016 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach

Joseph Brodsky’s childhood apartment is now a museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Joseph Brodsky, Darker and Brighter Joseph Brodsky, Darker and Brighter

A spellbinding new biography rescues the poet from sentimentality and kitsch.

Mar 24, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Cynthia Haven

After the Last Astronauts Had Left Us, II (Laika)

After the Last Astronauts Had Left Us, II (Laika) After the Last Astronauts Had Left Us, II (Laika)

Yes, they had been brave in the face of it. The Geiger counter                 at navel-gazing. Down here, Earth vespers nothing but its tinfoil sermon. How to Survive These Extrao…

Mar 24, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Safiya Sinclair

Confidence in Mexico

Confidence in Mexico Confidence in Mexico

Nothing is more important for Mexicans than regaining a sense of security in their own lives. But the threat of moral decomposition is growing.

Mar 16, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Enrique Krauze

Margaret Thatcher’s Fogeyism

Margaret Thatcher’s Fogeyism Margaret Thatcher’s Fogeyism

Charles Moore, the prime minister’s authorized biographer, believes the successes of Thatcherism to be self-evident, and he frequently lets his biases show.

Mar 10, 2016 / Books & the Arts / K. Biswas

A European Union?

A European Union? A European Union?

Stefan Zweig’s essays in Messages From a Lost World are a product of his displacement and a sharp reminder to citizens about the agony in the present age of the refugee.

Mar 10, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Gavin Jacobson

A Critic’s Job of Work

A Critic’s Job of Work A Critic’s Job of Work

I don’t see my job as making or breaking an artist. I have other responsibilities toward art.

Mar 9, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

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