Books & the Arts

King Kong King Kong

The horror film that unfairly tarnished the reputation of good gorillas everywhere.

Dec 15, 2008 / Books & the Arts / William Troy

Persona Persona

A nurse and her suddenly mute patient in Bergman's hands becomes nothing less than a work of art.

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch

Pixies, Sheilas, Dirtbags and Cougar Bait: Modern Slang Pixies, Sheilas, Dirtbags and Cougar Bait: Modern Slang

There's more slang than dictionaries can capture, but two new lexicons speak volumes on the riches of language.

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Caleb Crain

Back Talk: Thelma Golden Back Talk: Thelma Golden

The director of the Studio Museum in Harlem talks about gentrification, MFA burnouts and how artworks speak to us.

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Christine Smallwood

That Girl: The Captivity and Restoration of Patty Hearst That Girl: The Captivity and Restoration of Patty Hearst

Was Patty Hearst really a rebel in search of a cause?

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Rick Perlstein

In Congo Square: Colonial New Orleans In Congo Square: Colonial New Orleans

Two new books uncover the colonial origins and musical roots of New Orleans.

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Jelly-Schapiro

The Pragmatist The Pragmatist

We get it. He's pragmatic. But what does that mean--politically and philosophically?

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Chris Hayes

Jules and Jim Jules and Jim

Henri-Pierre Roche's novel about three friends during World War I was long out of print until François Truffaut turned it into a landmark of the French New Wave.

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch

Poem Including History Poem Including History

A curb the color of nausea. Parking lot gravel splintered with glass, dog shit, receipts. Storage sheds--a row of lamp-lit doors deepening as dusk thickens. Now, night, they're all that's left and traffic's excuse for music moving through the room.

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Joseph Massey

Close Encounters of the Third Kind Close Encounters of the Third Kind

In Spielberg's blockbuster aliens encounter human beings and, amazingly, aren't horrified at what they find.

Dec 9, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch

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