Books & the Arts

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

The Wages of Fear The Wages of Fear

Lyndon Johnson launched the War on Poverty in his State of the Union Message exactly forty years ago.

Feb 26, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Katherine S. Newman

Was Strom a Rapist? Was Strom a Rapist?

Months after Strom Thurmond's African-American daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, stepped into history, commentators continue to step around the most explosive aspect of ...

Feb 26, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw

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