Books & the Arts

Olaf Stapledon, 1946.

Olaf Stapledon’s Cosmology of Peace Olaf Stapledon’s Cosmology of Peace

In his science fiction classic Star Maker, he imagines a way to overcome fascism on a galactic scale.

Jun 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jaime Green

Nikki Giovanni standing by the lectern and woman singing during a performance at The Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival., 1973.

How Black Women Writers Got It Done How Black Women Writers Got It Done

Claudia Tate’s 1983 collection of interviews is an important look into the trials writers like Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou faced on their way to mainstream acceptance.

Jun 6, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Marina Magloire

A village in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey after an earthquake in 1983.

Ferit Edgü’s Prescient Fiction of a Turkey in Crisis Ferit Edgü’s Prescient Fiction of a Turkey in Crisis

His books, which examined the plight of eastern Turkey and the vanity of the Istanbul bourgeoise, take on new meaning after the February 6 earthquakes.

Jun 5, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Kaya Genç

Katherine Dunn’s Counterculture Parables

Katherine Dunn’s Counterculture Parables Katherine Dunn’s Counterculture Parables

Dunn’s books are often described as cult classics, which fits not only in the sense that they inspire devotion but also in the sense that cults of personality always appear in them...

Jun 1, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Nora Caplan-Bricker

Jeremy Strong in the finale of “Succession.”

The Janus-Faced End of “Succession” The Janus-Faced End of “Succession”

At once cruel and compassionate, the finale of the much-loved HBO show revels in the space between tragedy and comedy.

May 31, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

Michelle Williams and Hong Chau in “Showing Up.”

Kelly Reichardt’s Cinema of Class Conflict Kelly Reichardt’s Cinema of Class Conflict

In her latest film, Showing Up, she continues a career-long project of examining the bitter resentments produced by inequality. 

May 31, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Alex Kong

George Lucas looks at the Death Star.

What Makes Special Effects Work? What Makes Special Effects Work?

In Empire of Effects, Julie Turnock examines how George Lucas and Industrial Light & Magic transformed the way we make and view movies.

May 30, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Malcolm Harris

The Lost Worlds of Anton Shammas’s  “Arabesques”

The Lost Worlds of Anton Shammas’s “Arabesques” The Lost Worlds of Anton Shammas’s “Arabesques”

A new translation of the 1988 novel documents not only the loss and exile created by the Nakba but also the loss and exile created by occupation.

May 30, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Raja Shehadeh

A student in the Mills College library, 1964.

The Reluctant Feminists of the 1960s The Reluctant Feminists of the 1960s

Wendell Stevenson’s campus novel Margot examines the life of a woman who initially resists the political and sexual education her era offers.

May 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

Liberating a Palestinian Novel From Israeli Prison

Liberating a Palestinian Novel From Israeli Prison Liberating a Palestinian Novel From Israeli Prison

The Trinity of Fundamentals, a book Wisam Rafeedie penned while imprisoned, is a stirring account of dissidence and resistance to the Occupation.

May 24, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Danya Al-Saleh and Samar Al-Saleh

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