CATEGORIES

Mapping My Mother

In isolation, a writer connects her mother’s attempt to protect her from “never-being-able-to-leave-Cuba-itis” to her own desire to protect her children amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keeping My Mother Alive

In Greece, a son who has returned to his mother’s home to care for her during the Covid-19 crisis contemplates what the global pandemic can reveal about our character.

Broken Novels, Ruptured Worlds

A Conversation with Michelle de Kretser

Hands

The mortar landed close, maybe two hundred meters away.

Desegregating Language - The New Afrikaans Crime Novel

Encountering postapartheid Afrikaans fiction for the first time, particularly the fast-paced crime novels of Deon Meyer, the author finds that the most unexpected element is the new lack of segregation between Afrikaans and English.

Assembly

The students noticed an opening at the bottom of the fence, a tear in the wires. On the other side of the fence was the outside, which they only saw from the bus window when they were on their way to or from school.

The Quiet Storm

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Old Guard is an unlikely superhero film, both patient and intimate. But she’s always been uncompromising.

Going Over the Line

In Josephine Decker’s new film, Shirley (and in life generally), being a muse is a trap.

Young & Restless

Traci returned from a boarding school in the summer of 1982 to spend time with her family before going off to college.

Culture & Critics

So Sad, Can’t Stop Laughing

Edie Falco– Words to Live By

Actress Edie Falco on the art of not always following the rules

Dead Heat

With Dead to Me, Liz Feldman has created the best “traumedy” on television.

The Doctor Is In

As Dr. Maya Jacobs on Carol’s Second Act, Ito Aghayere delivers the laughs.

The Royal We

Michelle and Robert King, the husband and wife team behind The Good Fight and Evil, are Hollywood’s reigning power couple.

Show Her The Money

Kirsten Dunst schemes her way into our hearts as striving single mom Krystal stubbs on Showtime's On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

R.G. BELSKY

Social distancing may have been common among working writers before it was a necessity, but not all members of that tribe adhered to the stereotype.

What About Murder?

Reference Books Reviewed

VAL,QUEEN OF SCOTS

ONE OF THE LIVING LEGENDS OF MYSTERY WRITING, VAL McDERMID HAS ENTERTAINED READERS AND DRIVEN THE GENRE FORWARD FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, BUT SHE WAS NO OVERNIGHT SUCCESS

THE BEAUTIFUL DARK

Barry Gifford and the Noir Revival

the Hook

Intriguing First Lines

IVY POCHODA

It may seem odd to equate Greek drama and athletics with contemporary mysteries. But author Ivy Pochoda sees a logical intersection with the violence, structure, and drive inherent in these subjects.

PUSHING WATER

Write what you know” is the hoariest piece of writing advice, as well as the one most often misapplied. As Stephen King said in his outstanding book On Writing, what if you want to write about serial killers or intergalactic space flight?

Grand Dame Guignol

Sometimes over the top, other times way over the top, Grand Dame Guignol was grisly, memorable entertainment buoyed by the sort of movie stars they no longer make: actresses whose talent, intensity, and willingness to take risks with their images made the wildly melodramatic seem frighteningly real.

EDITH MAXWELL aka MADDIE DAY

Cozies certainly provide solace from many of the dark edges of the actual world,” says Edith Maxwell.

AN OATH AND A TERRORIST

It was the late 2000s and the United States government was engaged in a global hunt for Osama bin Laden.

When Anime Becomes a Refuge For Patriotism

In addition to entertainment, China’s Bilibili offers nationalism to its young audience

The Fast and the Curious

Pro wrestling, raunchy comedy, children’s books, action flicks.... There’s not much that John Cena won’t try. And at age 43, he’s just getting started.

The Old Man Who Lives Two Floors Below

Down the first twist of stairs and Josie hears she is not alone, like hearing a tree in the wind beyond her bedroom window. The old man: splay-legged before his door like a failing easel, he moves slow as death.

Our Nations, Ourselves

A Conversation with Robin Hemley

Translating History

A Conversation with Isabel Fargo Cole