The Gutted Writ: On Habeas Corpus The Gutted Writ: On Habeas Corpus
Habeas corpus rescued Walter Rideau from an unjust prison sentence, but during its long history the great writ has been used to muffle the sighs of prisoners as much as to reliev...
Dec 22, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Robert Perkinson
Shelf Life: On Philip Guston, Carolee Scheemann and Ilya Kabakov Shelf Life: On Philip Guston, Carolee Scheemann and Ilya Kabakov
The truly consequential choices an artist makes are never experienced as choice but as necessity.
Dec 22, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
Spin Cycle: On Tim Wu and Kevin Kelly Spin Cycle: On Tim Wu and Kevin Kelly
Tim Wu and Kevin Kelly speak for a new technocracy, and their new books epitomize its myopia, libertarianism and frustration with the political system.
Dec 22, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Paul Duguid
Improbable, Incredible: On Afropop Improbable, Incredible: On Afropop
Defying adversities imposed by borders has been one of Afropop's key modes of transcendence.
Dec 22, 2010 / Books & the Arts / K. Leander Williams
The American Civil War Still Being Fought The American Civil War Still Being Fought
Some dispute the role of slavery as the central cause of the war, but we remain prisoners of the past if we do not face this fact.
Dec 21, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner
An Inventory of the Missing: On Frederic Tuten An Inventory of the Missing: On Frederic Tuten
Frederic Tuten's Self Portraits is a backward glance on life that's vital, wistful and filled with sweet ache.
Dec 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Ben Ehrenreich
Options Open: On Kurt Schwitters and Blinky Palermo Options Open: On Kurt Schwitters and Blinky Palermo
Kurt Schwitters and Blinky Palermo made art that was deliberately elusive, that does not want to be pinned down.
Dec 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
One of the Various: On Thomas Sayers Ellis One of the Various: On Thomas Sayers Ellis
The best poems in Skin, Inc. have an excellent unconscious feeling, even when the news is bad and Thomas Sayers Ellis knows nobody is going to want to listen.
Dec 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Jordan Davis