What W. E. B. Du Bois’s Forgotten Romance Novel Taught Me About Writing
Dark Princess showed how the genre can open our minds to fantastic possibilities.
August
A poem by Helen Hunt Jackson, published in The Atlantic in 1876
How Should Feminists Have Sex Now?
A new memoir on the unfinished sexual revolution explores the difficulty of enacting one’s political beliefs in intimate spaces.
All Because Salman Rushdie Wrote a Book
Just as the mind recoils at the sight of a single book burned, the spilled blood of an author inspires revulsion.
The Incredible Adventures of the Ever-Changing Comic Book
Modern comics and graphic novels have managed to keep our attention by not settling on one format or plot: Your weekly guide to the best in books
‘The Greatest Talker of His Time’
Felix Frankfurter was an eloquent liberal champion of judicial restraint. Is it time for a reappraisal?
‘History Is Human’: Remembering David McCullough
With the death this week of David McCullough, we lost an author who understood how to find the stories that made history feel relevant and real.
The ‘L.A. Woman’ Reveals Herself
A visit to Eve Babitz’s newly opened archives reveals how she constructed her unique public persona.
Have a Difficult Childhood? These Writers Did Too.
Humans have been telling stories about neglected or endangered children for millennia. Here are eight compelling ones.
The Dark Absurdity of American Violence
Jamil Jan Kochai’s story collection reveals the surreal farce of the War on Terror.
Escaping the Patriarchy for Good
In her 1963 novel, The Wall, Marlen Haushofer offered a character who has agency and a desire to make the world and herself anew.
12 Books to Help You Love Reading Again
Focusing on anything, let alone a book, has been hard lately. These are the titles that reignited our love for literature.
Modern Men Are Still Figuring Out Fatherhood
What will it take to separate fatherhood from anger and violence? Your weekly guide to the best in books.
Don’t Call Them Trash
Romance novels celebrate female pleasure and aspiration.
Benediction
A poem for Wednesday
The Wedding Present
As a young woman, I had a friendly correspondence with a German soldier right after World War II. I’ve been thinking about the silence at the core of our exchange ever since.
The Dark Side of American Cheerfulness
The shadowy history of a modest emotion
Mohsin Hamid’s Empty Parable
The author’s novel about race transformation fails to take an old idea to new places.
His Mother’s Life Was a Mystery He Needed to Solve
A landmark novel from the island of Guam is both a brutal story of war and a beautiful act of resurrection.
Bring the OJ
A poem for Sunday