A Political and Literary Forum
Simone de Beauvoir’s relationship with her readers was a mutually demanding collaboration.
Vivian Gornick
Michel Houellebecq’s Islamophobia and chauvinism have made him a favorite intellectual of right extremists. So why does he appeal to so many on the left as well?
Martin Gelin
The Florentine humanist’s description of the Black Death in the Decameron remains one of the most thoughtful accounts of a society living under a pandemic.
Paula Findlen
Garth Greenwell’s Cleanness movingly depicts the vulnerabilities of queer desire, but it also continues a long tradition of exoticizing Eastern European sexuality.
Marta Figlerowicz
An ancient pilgrimage route inspires a project of cooperative storytelling which pairs writers with detained immigrants, such as the Mexican horticulturalist in this story.
Lytton Smith, David Herd
Celebrated novelists John Crowley and Elizabeth Hand discuss Hand’s new novel and the ways that historical fiction can and cannot answer our questions about the past.
John Crowley, Elizabeth Hand
Many revere Latin as the soul of Western civilization. But its beauty should not keep us from reckoning with its history.
Joel Christensen
When conservatives declare the death of the English major, they highlight the need for the critical thinking skills that English departments excel at teaching.
Jonathan Beecher Field
A timely new documentary celebrates Morrison’s novels, but downplays the enduring power of her work as an editor and essayist.
Joy James
Science fiction author Ted Chiang wrote the story for the Academy Award–winning film Arrival. Now his new collection of short stories gives us further glimpses of possible futures.
John Crowley
A radical revisioning of our creative writing programs.
Boston Review
Poets, philosophers, playwrights.
Rosie Gillies
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Robin D. G. Kelley
Alex de Waal
Michael Patrick Lynch
Jedediah Britton-Purdy, Amy Kapczynski, David Singh Grewal
Joshua Cohen, Boston Review
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