Books & the Arts

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 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 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

Man How to Listen Man How to Listen

the horizon has an edge. It is a place & we live here, under the grass, over the earth. No pomegranate tree grows under there, there where only demons bring fruit.

Dec 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Riggs

The Great Squid Hunt: On Matt Taibbi

The Great Squid Hunt: On Matt Taibbi The Great Squid Hunt: On Matt Taibbi

In Griftopia Matt Taibbi argues that America has been corrupted by the merger of crime and policy, of stealing and government.

Dec 9, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Chris Lehmann

Take the Back Seat: On Chinese Consumerism

Take the Back Seat: On Chinese Consumerism Take the Back Seat: On Chinese Consumerism

Can the world sustain a country the size of China with an appetite for the good things in life on par with America's?

Dec 9, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Richard McGregor

Kilito’s Way: On Abdelfattah Kilito

Kilito’s Way: On Abdelfattah Kilito Kilito’s Way: On Abdelfattah Kilito

In The Clash of Images Abdelfattah Kilito creates a touching portrait of a young man coming of age in French-occupied Morocco.

Dec 9, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami

Obama’s Bizarre Celebration of a Slave Republic’s ‘Compromises’ Obama’s Bizarre Celebration of a Slave Republic’s ‘Compromises’

The president said many objectionable things in selling his tax- cut plan, but his assertions about America's history of compromising was too much to stomach.

Dec 8, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Kai Wright

Lennon’s Last Interview: ‘The Sixties Showed Us the Possibility’ Lennon’s Last Interview: ‘The Sixties Showed Us the Possibility’

It was 30 years ago today.

Dec 8, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Jon Wiener

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