What Are They Reading? What Are They Reading?
In the midst of a wicked winter, I like to curl up with some sultry nature writing. My father instilled in me a fascination with the natural world.
Mar 9, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Teresa Stack
Advertisements for Myself Advertisements for Myself
Solo theatrical performances are like ads. Everyone claims to hate them but nevertheless finds the good ones irresistible. A good ad acts like a tonic, making a new idea easy to sw...
Mar 4, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Kalb
My Dinner With Aleksander My Dinner With Aleksander
In 1964 an important if somewhat obscure Polish writer and public intellectual named Aleksander Wat arrived at the University of California, Berkeley, and began the work that wou...
Mar 4, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Benjamin Paloff
Notes of a Native Daughter Notes of a Native Daughter
The title does neither the book nor its author any favors.
Mar 4, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Gene Seymour
Raw Material Raw Material
Since Miles Davis died on September 28, 1991, the merchandising machine has been in overdrive, pushing repackaged classics (Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain), niche compilations a...
Mar 4, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Brian Morton
A Passion for Hatred That Mocks Christ’s Message A Passion for Hatred That Mocks Christ’s Message
Mel Gibson's movie is a blood libel against the Jewish people.
Mar 2, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Robert Scheer
Blind Faith Blind Faith
From the moment when Mel Gibson began promoting The Passion of the Christ--was it only ten years ago?--he has insisted that his goal was to be true to the Gospel text.
Feb 26, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
The Pleasures of Crime The Pleasures of Crime
Despite their indifference to genre fiction, American publishers of literary novels have consistently made exceptions for homegrown crime writers.
Feb 26, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Hillary Frey
The End of the Affair The End of the Affair
It's been a while since Cuba, that caiman-shaped Caribbean isle, ceased to be a place on the map.
Feb 26, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Achy Obejas
The Old Couple The Old Couple
Please tell me how the shoehorn manages to keep Its shape the same for centuries. At dusk my ignorance Slips away and hides its eggs in the woods.
Feb 26, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Robert Bly