Books & the Arts

Three Poems by Ange Mlinko Three Poems by Ange Mlinko

"After Sappho (The Volcano)," "The Children's Museum," "Threading the Q"

May 31, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko

Remembering Gil Scott-Heron Remembering Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron's political legacy was vast and his connections to social movements deep.

May 28, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Peter Rothberg

Ed Schultz, Laura Ingraham, a Crude Word, a Classy Apology Ed Schultz, Laura Ingraham, a Crude Word, a Classy Apology

It was a bad week for a good man, but the MSNBC host will be back to give voice to working men and women.

May 27, 2011 / Books & the Arts / John Nichols

The Monster and Monterrey: The Politics and Cartels of Mexico’s Drug War

The Monster and Monterrey: The Politics and Cartels of Mexico’s Drug War The Monster and Monterrey: The Politics and Cartels of Mexico’s Drug War

When organized crime and drug violence came to Monterrey, the city turned to the military for help. It was a choice many would come to regret.

May 25, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Nik Steinberg

Heroine Blues: On Dorian Lynskey and Sara Marcus Heroine Blues: On Dorian Lynskey and Sara Marcus

Whoever sings them and however great they sound, rebel songs can't do your fighting for you.

May 25, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Franklin Bruno

Bob Dylan’s Top Ten Protest Songs Bob Dylan’s Top Ten Protest Songs

Bob Dylan turns 70 on Tuesday. To mark the occasion I've assembled a list of what I consider his top ten protest songs with accompanying videos.

May 19, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Peter Rothberg

Strauss-Kahn Lightens Gingrich’s Baggage Strauss-Kahn Lightens Gingrich’s Baggage

Yes, Gingrich, our yard-sale Don Juan, Perked up at the news of Strauss-Kahn: Compared with a rape charge, some feel, Philandering’s not a big deal: Affairs, for which Newt has repented, Involved only those who’d consented. But still his campaign’s going south: His foot still gets stuck in his mouth.  

May 18, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Calvin Trillin

An Imperfect Life: On George and W.B. Yeats

An Imperfect Life: On George and W.B. Yeats An Imperfect Life: On George and W.B. Yeats

Perfection of the life or of the work? The correspondence between W.B. Yeats and his wife George shows the complexities of art and life entwined.

May 18, 2011 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach

Trials: On Janet Malcolm

Trials: On Janet Malcolm Trials: On Janet Malcolm

Janet Malcolm can be brutal in her judgments, but it is the casual brutality of keen observation.

May 18, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Miriam Markowitz

Swarf Swarf

If you have seen the fine metallic filings flying onto the fellow who crimps copper into flashing and fashions pivot hinges from brass, you have seen it. This is not the late Bronze Age. There are no palace economies, only the economy of one man milling metal to earn the flimsy dollars that keep him fed. When you knock on his door he quiets the grindstone raises his polycarbonate visor and greets you swathed in a swarm of gold— not war gold or altar gold but the metalsmith’s hard-won residue: swarf.  

May 18, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Erica Funkhouser

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