Ferkakta Wisdom: On Christopher Sorrentino’s “Now Beacon, Now Sea: A Son’s Memoir”
The guiding emotions of Sorrentino’s memoir of his father are bewilderment and hurt....
To Rouse and Repel: A Conversation with Maggie Nelson on the Rhetoric of Freedom
Meredith Maran interviews Maggie Nelson on her new book, “On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint.”...
“A Very Strong Effect on the World”: A Conversation with Phillip Lopate
The noted essayist discusses his new anthology of essays, “The Golden Age of the American Essay: 1945–1970.”...
“Gathered Fitfully from My Own Memory”: On Józef Czapski’s “Memories of Starobielsk”
A collection of essays on the Polish experience in World War II by Józef Czapski, translated by Alissa Valles....
An Innocent Abroad: Joan Didion’s Midlife Crisis
Because of her failure to see beyond the world that raised her, Didion almost wasted two decades of literary production....
Let Us Now Praise Famous Californians
Wayne Catan reviews Matthew Specktor's latest book, "Always Crashing in the Same Car: On Art, Crisis, and Los Angeles, California."...
Growing Up Fast, Never Growing Up: On Erika Schickel’s “The Big Hurt”
Lily Houston Smith explores “The Big Hurt” by Erika Schickel....
Justice for the “Restless Dead”
Adela Pineda Franco contemplates “The Restless Dead,” the recently published book by Cristina Rivera Garza....
Feeling Other: On Rajiv Mohabir’s “Antiman: A Hybrid Memoir”
Babi Oloko explores “Antiman: A Hybrid Memoir” by Rajiv Mohabir....
All the Eternal Questions: On Meghan O’Gieblyn’s “God, Human, Animal, Machine”
Art Edwards explores “God, Human, Animal, Machine” by Meghan O’Gieblyn....
A New Look at the Hobo
Reconsidering the tradition of “hobo” letters....
Confronting the Wild Years: On Hayden Herrera’s “Upper Bohemia”
Heather Scott Partington dwells on “Upper Bohemia,” a memoir by illustrious biographer Hayden Herrera....
