Lit Hub Daily: December 22, 2025
THE BEST OF THE LITERARY INTERNET
TODAY: In 1894, Claude Debussy’s symphonic poem, “Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune,” premieres. It is based on Mallarme’s 1876 poem of the same name.
- “She has told everyone who can read or feel what it means to be a black man or woman in this country.” James Baldwin on Louise Meriwether’s Daddy Was a Number Runner. | Lit Hub Criticism
- Why is criticism a time-honored side gig for artists? “Art and criticism are not quite as spiritually opposed as some artists in particular like to imagine: they are at base attempts to pin down something ineffable.” | Lit Hub Art
- Claire Thompson explains why clearing stormfall with a chainsaw is a lot like writing prose. | Lit Hub Craft
- “It was as if there had been a cosmic violation.” Rosa Lyster reports on the trial of the (tree) killers. | Harper’s
- Carrie Courogen remembers Rob Reiner’s particular genius. | Los Angeles Review of Books
- Angela Flournoy on the enduring appeal of the friendship novel. | Hammer and Hope
- Isle McElroy on the fast-casual-ization of culture | The Scoop
- Take a look inside the Animal Goncourt, “ the most important, if not the only, literary prize dedicated to animals and animal welfare.” | The New York Times
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