Books & the Arts

Olivia Laing’s Banal Avant-Garde

Olivia Laing’s Banal Avant-Garde Olivia Laing’s Banal Avant-Garde

In a recent essay collection, Funny Weather, the British writer reveals the limits of her critical method.

Dec 3, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Dilara O’Neil

Susan Taubes’s ‘Divorcing’ Asks: How Far Can the Novel Take You?

Susan Taubes’s ‘Divorcing’ Asks: How Far Can the Novel Take You? Susan Taubes’s ‘Divorcing’ Asks: How Far Can the Novel Take You?

The sole book she released during her life was a work of ahead of its time in terms of style, irreverence, and experimentation.

Dec 2, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Schaffer-Goddard

John Wilson’s Magically Poignant Urban Histories

John Wilson’s Magically Poignant Urban Histories John Wilson’s Magically Poignant Urban Histories

His documentary series for HBO is a head-spinning interrogation of the chaos of New York City life.

Dec 1, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

Rhyme

Rhyme Rhyme

Body, teach my mind to age. Rage has taught me nothing. Pain has taught me only to rage at pain. Blame has taught me nothing. But I still blame. Here lies one taken in their prime.

Dec 1, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Mario Chard

Pronoun Study

Pronoun Study Pronoun Study

They paid them to cut their olive trees down. You paid them to cut their olive trees down. We paid them to cut their olive trees down. They paid you to cut your olive trees down. W…

Dec 1, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Ari Banias

The Long Roots of Endless War

The Long Roots of Endless War The Long Roots of Endless War

A new history shows how the glut of US military bases abroad has led to a constant state of military conflict.

Nov 30, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Immerwahr

How Monopolies Have Taken Over Our Everyday Lives

How Monopolies Have Taken Over Our Everyday Lives How Monopolies Have Taken Over Our Everyday Lives

Once you put on your “monopoly decoder ring,” David Dayen writes in his new book, you start to see how monopolies influence almost every part of American society.

Nov 30, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Bryce Covert

Bryan Washington on Fiction ‘Outside the Bounds of Trauma’

Bryan Washington on Fiction ‘Outside the Bounds of Trauma’ Bryan Washington on Fiction ‘Outside the Bounds of Trauma’

A conversation about writing emphatically about marginalized communities, Houston’s diversity of cuisines and peoples, Japanese literature, and more.

Nov 25, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Rosemarie Ho

Diane Cook’s Morality Tales for Our Climate Future

Diane Cook’s Morality Tales for Our Climate Future Diane Cook’s Morality Tales for Our Climate Future

Her debut novel, The New Wilderness, examines the dynamics between parent and child in a world beset by the bleakest of environmental scenarios.

Nov 24, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Zack Graham

Annie Ernaux’s Memoirs Ask a Radical Question

Annie Ernaux’s Memoirs Ask a Radical Question Annie Ernaux’s Memoirs Ask a Radical Question

How can one life be used to remember the collective pain of a generation’s political and cultural upheaval? 

Nov 19, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Audrey Wollen

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