Graciously accepting a gift you don’t like is, I imagine, a lot like being asked to blurb a book you don’t like. In both cases, the trick is avoiding hurt feelings, but also trying to minimize the possibility of being Read more >
Yesterday was the 32th anniversary of the death of Samuel Beckett, writer and pioneering experimental playwright (not to mention style icon)—and we’re celebrating by remembering a charming story from his life. There’s a lot of fun to revisit, like the Read more >
It’s a question you’ve obviously held for quite some time, but you’ve never really thought to look it up, right? Luckily, the annals of history actually have the answer to this one. While Charles Dickens was off writing about orphans Read more >
An educated guess: when we think of The Catcher in the Rye, our mind leaps to its precocious and misunderstood protagonist, Holden Caufield. But The Catcher in the Rye wasn’t Holden Caufield’s first published appearance. In 1946, The New Yorker Read more >
In an interview with La Repubblica, Elena Ferrante has spoken out in favor of University of Bologna student and Egyptian activist Patrick Zaki, who was held in pretrial detention for nearly two years for “spreading false news” by writing an Read more >
Thomas Kinsella, one of Ireland’s most revered poets and a translator of the country’s greatest epic saga, has died in his native Dublin at the age of 93. Considered by many to be the most significant poet of a generation that Read more >
These days, I’ve been feeling a little bit like a Scrooge. It’s not that I’m not stoked for Christmas, but December really got away from me, personally. I haven’t seen nearly enough holiday movies. Garlands were not strung. Supermarket eggnog Read more >
As the omicron variant rages through my body this week, I’m enjoying taking my mind of my concerns by solving crossword puzzles. As it turns out, that’s a timeless (or rather, somewhat time-sensitive but historically precedented) pursuit: crossword puzzles became Read more >
As you probably know, today is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a good day for spellcasting, naps, and reading—especially short books that you can knock out in an evening (or even before the sun Read more >
Eve Babitz, known for her joyful, sharp, confessional portrayals of Los Angeles and her personal adventures there, died last Friday of complications of Huntington’s disease at U.C.L.A. Medical Center in Los Angeles. She was 78. Dwight Garner for The New Read more >
The Northman, directed by Robert Eggers and co-written with Icelandic literary hero Sjón, is the story of a 10th-century Viking (played by a shredded Alexander Skarsgård) dispossessed at a young age of his rightful place on the throne, who spends Read more >
The winners of the 2021 Hugo Awards—one of science fiction and fantasy’s most prestigious awards, decided by the popular vote of WorldCon members—were presented on Saturday night at the 79th WorldCon in Washington, DC. Notably, this is the first year Read more >
DCist reports that workers at DC’s indie bookstore Politics and Prose have decided to unionize, joining a growing list of bookstores (and other workplaces) that have unionized this year. If they do unionize, they’ll become the only bookstore in DC Read more >
MFA vs. Anything After a long, long, long illness, the MFA vs. Anything Discourse died in its home on Twitter, surrounded by loved ones who attempted intermittently to revive it for several months. MFA vs. Anything is survived by MFAs, NYC, Read more >
Last Saturday was a good day for New York City. It was a little rainy and overcast—the perfect day to browse the shelves of a bookstore. It was the day Yu and Me Books opened on 44 Mulberry Street, at Read more >
Amanda Gorman’s had a big year: starting in January with her wave-making performance at the presidential inauguration, she’s performed at the Super Bowl, been named the face of Estee Lauder and graced the covers of TIME and Vogue, courted controversy Read more >
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