CATEGORIES

When Isis Was Queen

At the ancient Egyptian temples of Philae, Nubians gave new life to a vanishing religious tradition

Jonathan Franzen Thinks People Can Change

Even if his new book suggests it’s nearly impossible to make it stick.

Big Apples

The tree expert who turned the five boroughs into his personal orchard.

Tess Holliday – Bombshell

Model and body positivity activist Tess Holliday channels her inner Pamela Anderson for this sexy shoot.

Colson Whitehead Subverts the Crime Novel

In a country born of theft, everyone is an accomplice.

The Unwritten Rules of Black TV

For decades, Black writers and producers have had to tell stories that fit what white executives deemed “authentic.” Can a new generation finally change that?

1,960 minutes with …Isaac Fitzgerald

A pilgrimage with the most gregarious member of the literary internet.

And Not a Drop to Drink

A neo-noir set in an even thirstier Hollywood.

Anthony Veasna – Infinite Self

Anthony Veasna so died unexpectedly last winter, before his debut short-story collection, Afterparties, was released. Everyone remembers him differently.

Katie Kitamura – The Interpreter

Katie Kitamura’s hypnotic new novel asks, What happens when your main character is a passive witness to her own life?

Fiction – Bump

To those who accuse me of immoderate desire, I say look at the oil executives. Look at the Gold Rush. Look at all the women who want a ring and romance and lifelong commitment, and then look again at me.

The Weird Science of Edgar Allan Poe

Known as a master of horror, he also understood the power—and the limits—of empiricism.

The World Kodak Made

The tech giant of the 20th century changed the way Americans saw themselves and their country— and built the city where it made its home. Now Kodak and Rochester are trying to reinvent themselves, and escape their history.

The Other Black Girl

Zakiya Dalila Harris introduced by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

The Power of Refusal

New novels by Rachel Cusk and Jhumpa Lahiri explore women’s struggle to withdraw and create.

Stacey Abrams Writes A Thriller

How she became a novelist, what politics and writing have in common, and why, at the end of every good story, someone’s got to die

Alison Bechdel's Spiritual Sprint

In her new memoir, the cartoonist runs, climbs, bikes, skis, spins, and Solo exes her way toward transcendence.

Ehrlich Speaks to Mother-Writers

Lara Ehrlich, author of the short story collection Animal Wife (Red Hen Press, 2020), has a deep narrative investment in the ways the world denies women power and agency. In October 2020 that commitment took a new shape with the first episode of her podcast, Writer Mother Monster, a much-needed balm for those of us balancing mothering and writing in the midst of a global pandemic. Aimed at dismantling the myth that women can “have it all,” her podcast is a series of interviews with mother-writers working in all genres, at varied points in their careers, who candidly discuss the joys and complications of that dual identity. Ehrlich, herself a mother-writer—her daughter turns five this year—spoke about what she has gleaned from these exchanges and how they’ve influenced her own approach.

Mads Mikkelsen – ‘Oh, That's Right. I'm This Guy.'

Mads Mikkelsen is known for playing villains in America and more nuanced roles in Denmark. He takes everything and nothing seriously.

The Awful Wisdom of the Hostage

What a new memoir reveals about endurance—and extreme remorse

Asian Americans Are Ready for a Hero

After going from “model minority” to invisible minority to hunted minority, the community needs a new generation of cultural and political leaders

Beirut – After The Blast

Last summer’s explosion in Beirut killed hundreds of people and damaged much of the city. My efforts to repair my apartment reveal a lot about how Lebanon works—and doesn’t.

The Culture Pages – The Queen of Fractured Fairy Tales

Hlen Oyeyemi writes magical, unsettling novels in which nothing remains fixed. She has lived her life that way, too.

I Am Mangoes … A Sweet Treat at Its Peak

One summer day in the early 2000s, Pennsylvania dentist Bhaskar Savani sat outside the arrivals gate at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport waiting for his father to emerge.

Anything for You

In Kazuo Ishiguro’s latest novel, artificial intelligence meets real sacrifice.

Sidewalk Art

The lamentable state of Russia’s roads and sidewalks has long been fertile ground for memes and jokes. Irkutsk artist Ivan Kravchenko decided to turn the problem into an art project. For over two years he has been patching ruts in city sidewalks with colorful ceramic tiles.

Sputnik V: First Place or Long Shot?

The Russian vaccine seems top-notch, but low public trust and a botched rollout remain formidable barriers to returning to normalcy.

the Valley of the Dead

On the Trail of a Russian Movie Star

Food & Drink

Food & Drink

POLAR YOUTH

Misha Smirnov has the day off. There are the traditional eggs for breakfast and the usual darkness out the window.