The Whip Descends
/Why do we read the same story over and over? In Virginia Woolf's case, it's to learn again how great art emerged from her strange life of privilege and grief.
Read MoreAmerican Exceptional
/Adam Begley's long and exhaustive biography of iconic 20th century author John Updike reads like one long string of new books and new love affairs - but does it capture the man?
Read MoreSummer Reading 2015, Part 2
/Our Summer Reading feature continues...
Read MoreSteep, Bloody Engagements
/The success of the documentary Blackfish has thrown a spotlight on orcas not as the "killer" whales of the ocean but as victims; a dazzling new natural history broadens the picture to show us truly magnificent alien beings.
Read MoreThe Book and the Boy
/A thousand years ago, a refined lady at the Japanese Court wrote the first and one of the greatest novels of all time, The Tale of Genji; Dennis Washburn does the latest translation of this immense work, with stunning results.
Read MoreSmall in the Distance
/a poem
Read MoreA Moon, A Girl … Romance!
/Sure, we all know Superman, Wonder Woman, and Spider-Man - but what about the also-rans? Who played the Captain and Tennille to the Avengers' Sonny and Cher? Zach Rabiroff looks at the heroes who didn't quite make the prime-time cut.
Read MoreAll Our Revels Ended
/For decades, famed academic and critic Harold Bloom has been tilting against the windmills of cultural fads and forgettings. But in his latest (and last?) book, he strikes a different pose.
Read MoreEntire Lost Silence Drifts
/a poem
Read MoreCaved-in and Chopfallen
/The brutal realities of the urban landscape are both indicted and illuminated in the paintings of Jerome Witkin. Brett Busang examines the life and work of this inner city Canaletto.
Read MorePoor People are Like Oysters: The Life of Giovanni Verga
/Most people today know him only from the libretto of one short opera, but in his own day, he was a famous poet, playwright, and scholar - and a compulsive litigant. Luciano Mangiafico looks at the life of Giovanni Verga.
Read MoreIt’s a Mystery: “Trust is the mother of deceit”
/A trio of mysteries cum thrillers from Stephen King, Peter Lovesey, and Mike Lawson—each one in its own way stylish, suspenseful, and sharp.
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