Richard Wagner’s Pandemonium Richard Wagner’s Pandemonium
The contested life and afterlife of the composer.
May 18, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Mina Tavakoli
Jordan Peterson’s New Rules Are Old News Jordan Peterson’s New Rules Are Old News
The Canadian contrarian is back with another book. It isn’t any better than the last one.
May 18, 2021 / Column / Katha Pollitt
How Theater Can Help Us Survive How Theater Can Help Us Survive
The saga of Chilean director and playwright Oscar Castro is a vivid example of how art can help us endure—and thrive.
May 6, 2021 / Ariel Dorfman
Helpful Men: Defending Philip Roth, Dismissing Virginia Woolf Helpful Men: Defending Philip Roth, Dismissing Virginia Woolf
Like most women who write, I live my life according to the firmly stated judgments of literary men.
May 6, 2021 / Alyssa Harad
Philip Roth and His Defensive Fans Are Their Own Worst Enemies Philip Roth and His Defensive Fans Are Their Own Worst Enemies
Why did it take a sexual assault scandal to raise red flags about a deeply flawed biography?
Apr 30, 2021 / Jeet Heer
Blake Bailey’s Life as a Man Blake Bailey’s Life as a Man
The disgraced writer’s Philip Roth biography is a document of a misogynist literary world. But I had to read the book to get the whole story.
Apr 28, 2021 / Katha Pollitt
The Craft of John Edgar Wideman The Craft of John Edgar Wideman
A conversation with one of the greatest living Black American writers on work, life, and why good fiction is like a game of basketball.
Apr 26, 2021 / Q&A / Elias Rodriques
How ‘Things’ In Fiction Shape the Way We Read How ‘Things’ In Fiction Shape the Way We Read
Sarah Wasserman’s recent book looks at how the objects we take for granted in stories can reveal even deeper meaning.
Apr 13, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Sophie Haigney
Celebrate Women’s Month Every Month Celebrate Women’s Month Every Month
The future is feminist.
Mar 19, 2021 / OppArt / Andrea Arroyo
In the Vicinity of Genius In the Vicinity of Genius
How a friendship with Glenn Gould created an unlikely cultural critic.
Mar 12, 2021 / Jeet Heer