Martha Foley’s Granddaughters
What the esteemed literary editor never knew about the life of her troubled son, David Burnett
By Jay Neugeboren July 18, 2024
To Catch a Sunset
Reflections on allergies, anxieties, and the limits of familial love
By Sandra Beasley July 11, 2024
The Next New Thing
In architecture, the gulf between the traditional and the modern seems wider than ever before
By Witold Rybczynski July 4, 2024
Imperfecta
Her brother’s disease leads a writer to challenge how we conceive of human abnormality in the emerging era of gene editing
By Pamela Haag June 20, 2024
The Widower’s Lament
After the death of the poet Wendy Barker, her grieving husband turns to the literature of loss
By Steven G. Kellman March 4, 2024
The World at the End of a Line
The grandson of one of American literature’s Lost Generation novelists reflects on his namesake’s love of the sea
By John Dos Passos Coggin April 13, 2023
The Goddess Complex
A set of revered stone deities was stolen from a temple in northwestern India; their story can tell us much about our current reckoning with antiquities trafficking
By Elizabeth Kadetsky March 2, 2023
Last Rites and Comic Flights
A funeral in a 1984 Japanese film offers moments of slapstick amid the solemnity
By Pico Iyer July 28, 2022
The Believer
When nobody would touch Joyce’s manuscript, Sylvia Beach stepped in
By Keri Walsh June 15, 2022
Chekhov’s Journey
Finding the ideal of freedom in a rugged prison colony
By James McConkey Thursday, September 1, 2005
Beaten Boys and Frantic Pets
A close reading of Tom Sawyer reveals why Mark Twain isn’t nearly as funny as he thinks he is
By Adam Gussow Thursday, September 1, 2005
Custom and Law
After the death of his father, a not-notably observant Jew turns to the mourning rituals of his faith
By Melvin Jules Bukiet Thursday, September 1, 2005
Turning the Tide
How Rachel Carson became a woman of letters
By William Howarth Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Not So Fast with the DDT
Rachel Carson’s warnings still apply
By Reed Karaim Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Roosevelt Redux: Part Two
Robert M. Ball and the battle for Social Security
By Thomas N. Bethell Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Summer Visitors
Buy a house in Maine and they will come. And come.
By Ann Beattie Wednesday, June 1, 2005
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