The Short of It

Rising Above Rising Above

An anecdotal history of New York City street art.

Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Nick Stillman

‘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

Sloveniafest Sloveniafest

What is it about Slovene poetry that has attracted so many American poets?

Nov 18, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Jordan Davis

The Idiocrats The Idiocrats

Why do Internet boosters continue to confuse social networking with art?

Nov 4, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Provan

Seeing Past the Ivy: Do Literary Mandarins Put Reading At Risk? Seeing Past the Ivy: Do Literary Mandarins Put Reading At Risk?

Why the commentariat's response to hand-wringing about "the decline of reading" condescends to the large mass of nonspecialist readers.

Oct 21, 2008 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz

Krapp’s Last Horse Krapp’s Last Horse

With his new play Kicking a Dead Horse, Sam Shepard is still stranded in a prairie of tough-guy cliché.

Oct 7, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Akiva Gottlieb

Darkness Becomes Him Darkness Becomes Him

A French pundit's short journey from Maoism to the cult of moi.

Sep 23, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Scott McLemee

Music’s Measures Music’s Measures

A jazz writer pays tribute to his longtime collaborator on The Penguin Guide to Jazz.

Aug 12, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Brian Morton

Staged Reading Staged Reading

How Judith Thompson's play about Abu Ghraib falls short.

Jul 29, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Alisa Solomon

Uncomplicated Uncomplicated

Slavoj Žižek's newest book may cause readers to conclude that the superstar philosopher has misplaced his marbles.

Jul 14, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Miller

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