The Notes The Notes
I stay in bed and listen for any music. Today is cheerful, it has overshot itself and is tomorrow. I’m left behind, waiting for the birds to return. They’ve moved on. I now know th…
Mar 6, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Victoria Chang
How Pelé Sold Out How Pelé Sold Out
A new Netflix documentary revisits the soccer star’s illustrious World Cup career during a pivotal period in Brazilian history.
Mar 4, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Miguel Salazar
The World Lawrence Ferlinghetti Built The World Lawrence Ferlinghetti Built
As a poet, publisher, and bookstore owner, he helped foster a literary ecosystem where politics and culture for the better seemed possible.
Mar 3, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
France’s New Culture Warriors France’s New Culture Warriors
The notion that the French state would bolster academic freedom by enhancing oversight of what is considered appropriate research is ludicrous on its face. But there’s a deeper iro...
Mar 3, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Cole Stangler
Playboi Carti, Rap Iconoclast Playboi Carti, Rap Iconoclast
His recent album Whole Lotta Red boasts not just rockstar appeal but a sense of self-discovery and experimentation.
Mar 2, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Kearse
Danielle Evans’s Poignant Histories of the Present Danielle Evans’s Poignant Histories of the Present
Her new fiction collection The Office of Historical Corrections gives an intimate retelling of some of the debates and protests that defined the last decade.
Feb 25, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Jessica Lynne
The Front Lines The Front Lines
On Atlantis, Dear Comrades!, and A Glitch in the Matrix.
Feb 24, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
New York City and the Persistence of the Atlantic Slave Trade New York City and the Persistence of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Even after slave trade was banned, the United States and New York City, in particular, were complicit in allowing it to persist.
Feb 24, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Gerald Horne
What Comes After Meritocracy? What Comes After Meritocracy?
The long-standing focus by liberals on meritocratic advancement has isolated the working class.
Feb 23, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Elizabeth Anderson
Elena Ferrante’s Class Dramas Elena Ferrante’s Class Dramas
Her latest novel, The Lying Life of Adults, mines the contradictions of class identity.
Feb 22, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson