Podcast Interview with John Vogel
The idea that art can have a transforming effect comes with that engagement, the dialog with art.
Critics
Art on the Brain: Anjan Chatterjee
Feb 06, 2023
Movies with My Mother—and James Agee
Nov 24, 2014
Essay by Marc Schiffman
I could still hear the movie voices circling at the bottom of the staircase like lost and scared children in a forest.
Love and Lit in the Time of Acne
Apr 07, 2014
Theme Essay by Laurie Weisz
Not all critics rival Harold Bloom’s elephantine pomposity, but I’d rather read a book myself first.
Who Cries for Critics Now?
Mar 31, 2014
Theme Essay by Emily Boghossian
We inherit our passions—perhaps from critics like Douglas Crimp, perhaps from professors like Ross.
George Orwell’s Radiant Idleness
Mar 10, 2014
"My Favorite Critic" by Fred Setterberg
As a perennial book reviewer, he assailed 'the disgusting tripe' penned by book blurbers.
Why Mainstream Critics Fail Writers of Color
Feb 24, 2014
Theme Essay by Aimee Phan
I’ve heard writers complain about editors passing on manuscripts because 'they already have a Korean book on their list.'
Zadie Smith Talks About Death—Thank God
Feb 21, 2014
"My Favorite Critic" by Lorraine Berry
Smith makes criticism approachable, without dumbing it down.
Don’t Kill the Critics
Feb 17, 2014
Editor’s Note by Martha Nichols
The old infrastructure for evaluating literature is crumbling beneath my feet, and not for the right reasons.
"Wake up, New York Review of Boys!"
Feb 17, 2014
Theme Essay by Amy Hoffman
Suppressing women’s writing—which, make no mistake, is what our culture does—is suppressing our thought.
Literary Criticism Is Dead
Feb 17, 2014
Theme Essay by Ron MacLean
The online reading public has made clear that it does not want tastemakers telling them what to like.
