Books and Ideas

Edafe Okporo’s Manifesto for the Migrant

Edafe Okporo’s Manifesto for the Migrant Edafe Okporo’s Manifesto for the Migrant

A conversation with the activist and writer about his new book Asylum and the intersections of oppression that face LGBTQ migrants and refugees. 

Jul 18, 2022 / Books & the Arts / John Washington

Wilmington, North Carolina, commemorates the 1898 Wilmington coup and race massacre

It Can Happen Here: A White Supremacist Coup That Succeeded It Can Happen Here: A White Supremacist Coup That Succeeded

A vivid reminder that rural Americans are on the front lines of democracy.

Jul 15, 2022 / Laura Flanders

Richard Seymour

Richard Seymour’s World Is Full of Wonder Richard Seymour’s World Is Full of Wonder

The author’s latest book is a wide-ranging collection of left-wing ecocriticism catalyzed by his own ecological awakening.

Jul 15, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Lewis Gordon

Resurrecting the American Century Is a Huge Mistake

Resurrecting the American Century Is a Huge Mistake Resurrecting the American Century Is a Huge Mistake

It’s time to focus on the more modest goal of salvaging a unified American republic

Jul 14, 2022 / Andrew J. Bacevich

Fernando Pessoa's ID card, 1900.

The Literary Games of Fernando Pessoa The Literary Games of Fernando Pessoa

Did Pessoa truly control his alter egos? Or did his creations, in many ways, control him?

Jul 14, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Ilan Stavans

Tove Ditlevsen’s Unsentimental Education

Tove Ditlevsen’s Unsentimental Education Tove Ditlevsen’s Unsentimental Education

The Danish novelist and poet was a rare writer—one who shunned sentiment but not empathy in her stories.

Jul 13, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

The Gilded Age of Magazines

The Gilded Age of Magazines The Gilded Age of Magazines

The decline and fall of the glossy.

Jul 12, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Kevin Lozano

The Democrats at a Crossroads

The Democrats at a Crossroads The Democrats at a Crossroads

Michael Kazin’s new book examines the contradictory past and uncertain future of the Democratic Party.

Jul 11, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Nicholas Lemann

Tom Cruise poses in a navy tuxedo with black bow tie.

The Rise of Bad Art and the Decline of Political Candor The Rise of Bad Art and the Decline of Political Candor

Though the language of cliché has switched from the middle-class respectability of the 1950s to our current obsessions with “inclusion” and concern for the marginalized, the practi...

Jul 11, 2022 / Column / David Bromwich

totem pole shadow

A Different Kind of Trans Book: On Imogen Binnie’s “Nevada” A Different Kind of Trans Book: On Imogen Binnie’s “Nevada”

A classic of new trans lit, this novel wasn’t written to appease a non-trans readership. 

Jul 7, 2022 / Books & the Arts / McKenzie Wark

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