Books & the Arts

Fanny and Alexander Fanny and Alexander

Ingmar Bergman's life-affirming story of the Ekdahl family would be his last feature film. No one ever made a better exit.

Dec 8, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch

Easy Rider Easy Rider

Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper revved up their motorcycles and, like Jack Kerouac, inspired a generation of young people to hit the road.

Dec 8, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch

Do the Right Thing Do the Right Thing

New York City's second most-famous Mookie delivers pizza and fights the power in Spike Lee's breakthrough film. Some critics predicted its provocative portrayal of race tensions wo...

Dec 8, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Listening to Odetta Listening to Odetta

Her voice a force of nature and her theatrical sense undimmed, Odetta-made music of extraordinary compassion, intuition and grace.

Dec 4, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Bruce Shapiro

Epic Moments: ‘Milk,’ ‘Australia,’ ‘Wendy and Lucy’ Epic Moments: ‘Milk,’ ‘Australia,’ ‘Wendy and Lucy’

Gus Van Sant's Milk, Baz Luhrmann's Australia, Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy.

Dec 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Trilling’s Sandbags: Lionel Trilling’s Critical Essays Trilling’s Sandbags: Lionel Trilling’s Critical Essays

Re-reading a literary critic who regarded intelligence as a moral imperative.

Dec 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Stefan Collini

Jarring Bottles: The Paintings of Giorgio Morandi Jarring Bottles: The Paintings of Giorgio Morandi

The paintings of Giorgio Morandi render new meaning to the term natura morta.

Dec 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Arthur C. Danto

‘Lost as Food and Won as a Coast’ ‘Lost as Food and Won as a Coast’

Is a new, computer-generated poetry anthology as intriguing--and boring--as the lifework of any fairly prolific poet?

Dec 2, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

Beyond the Bailout State Beyond the Bailout State

If original thinking doesn't find a home among the Obama administration's Clinton-era Brainiacs, how can we move beyond the bailout state?

Dec 1, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Steve Fraser

Spreading the Wealth: Knowledge as Social Inheritance Spreading the Wealth: Knowledge as Social Inheritance

Amid the ruins of a new gilded age, the devalued and depressed American people are ready to demand more.

Nov 25, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Mark Engler

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