Mother Natures: On Elisabeth Badinter Mother Natures: On Elisabeth Badinter
In The Conflict, the French intellectual takes American mothering to task.
May 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Szalai
Love, Sam: On the Letters of Samuel Beckett Love, Sam: On the Letters of Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett wants you to have a less bad day.
May 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Aaron Thier
The Road to Hi Hat The Road to Hi Hat
Sunrise hurt the cat-owl’s eyes. Crows go to ground in the slim valley. Past Hard Shell, around through Softshell’s barnless swallows. Transhumance older than the hills: Up the mountain in May to see the spindly sourwood flowers. Down in the fall with the firelit honey. Even the river stones show early autumn: wet scarlet, sugar-maple bronze.
May 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Merrill Gilfillan
Cradle Knoll Cradle Knoll
All the bloodhounds in the world touch down. Wardens come from miles around. Last night a lazy dream, footage of a full range tossing under storm, wild zydeco wind up from the south via Hurricane Gap, leaves in the air, gullies surging, foaming brick-red— Van Gogh’s hair, sickle-cut, or General Sherman’s. Grouse drum on hazy ridges. Down the road a place called Muses Mills. White-throated sparrows sing their whisper-song. All the bloodhounds in the world can’t pin it down.
May 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Merrill Gilfillan
‘I Was There’: On Kurt Vonnegut ‘I Was There’: On Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut sought to fool us with his eyes wide open.
May 16, 2012 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Why the Friendship Segregation on HBO’s ‘Girls’ Speaks to a Bigger Problem Why the Friendship Segregation on HBO’s ‘Girls’ Speaks to a Bigger Problem
For all our talk about the multiracialism of the millennial generation, the lack of interracial social connections is more than a coincidence.
May 10, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Salamishah Tillet
Jazz Fest and the Ghosts of New Orleans Jazz Fest and the Ghosts of New Orleans
In a city divided by extremes, the festival brings together all kinds of people to cook up something marvelous.
May 9, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Eric Alterman
Grand Flattery: The Yale Grand Strategy Seminar Grand Flattery: The Yale Grand Strategy Seminar
Why are Yale and other top universities teaching a Grand Strategy seminar if the conditions that seemed to call for grand strategizing no longer exist?
May 9, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Thomas Meaney and Stephen Wertheim
An Enduring Condition: On War Time An Enduring Condition: On War Time
For Mary Dudziak, we are now experiencing a time of permanent war, one that does not bother everyday Americans.
May 9, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Peter Maass
funeral coffee tea funeral coffee tea
my stepmother called regarding the arrangement for my dad’s funeral she is actually my second stepmother and she wanted to do things informally in a manner that my dad would’ve liked you should understand that this stepmother is two years younger than I am and that she is very very cute well this was it the funeral banquet will be in the church hall but it won’t just be coffee tea and cookies it would be coffee tea and my dad’s favorite sandwich peanut butter and bananas what could I say? it’s true I said that that was his favorite sandwich but his favorite meal was steak and lobster and it was a dead silence on the other end of the phone
May 9, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Michael Casey