All articles from Arts & Letters Daily
“Revolution” initially signaled destruction. Why did the word take on a more optimistic tenor?
“Revolution” initially signaled destruction. Why did the word take on a more optimistic tenor?
“One of the most consequential misunderstandings in the history of literary criticism turns on a single Greek word”
“One of the most consequential misunderstandings in the history of literary criticism turns on a single Greek word”
Can an AI be endowed with a sense of morality? Amanda Askell is fashioning a soul for Claude
Can an AI be endowed with a sense of morality? Amanda Askell is fashioning a soul for Claude
“Good politics, like good art, does not lecture or declaim. It strains; it argues; it is an unending negotiation with the difficult and intransigent adventure of humanity”
“Good politics, like good art, does not lecture or declaim. It strains; it argues; it is an unending negotiation with the difficult and intransigent adventure of humanity”
We associate confessional poetry with Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Sexton. But Larry Levis’s confessionalism was different
We associate confessional poetry with Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Sexton. But Larry Levis’s confessionalism was different
At a film screening Salvador Dalí, in a fit of envy, turned on the director: “Joseph Cornell, you are a plagiarist of my unconscious mind!”
At a film screening Salvador Dalí, in a fit of envy, turned on the director: “Joseph Cornell, you are a plagiarist of my unconscious mind!”
The overworked phrase “rewiring your brain” suggests mechanical precision. The process is slow, messy, and incomplete
The overworked phrase “rewiring your brain” suggests mechanical precision. The process is slow, messy, and incomplete
In publications like New Masses and The Anvil, the proletarian literary movement had a message for Ezra Pound: “See you in hell”
In publications like New Masses and The Anvil, the proletarian literary movement had a message for Ezra Pound: “See you in hell”
Peter Matthiessen went to Paris to spy and write the Great American Novel. But he was, in his words, “always in the club drinking martinis”
Peter Matthiessen went to Paris to spy and write the Great American Novel. But he was, in his words, “always in the club drinking martinis”
Walking “a fine line between principled opposition and crankdom,” the film critic A.S. Hamrah rails against Rotten Tomatoes, texting at the movies, and digital projection
Walking “a fine line between principled opposition and crankdom,” the film critic A.S. Hamrah rails against Rotten Tomatoes, texting at the movies, and digital projection
It should be as good to remember a past joy as to anticipate a future one, reasoned Derek Parfit. Nonsense, argues Samuel Scheffler
It should be as good to remember a past joy as to anticipate a future one, reasoned Derek Parfit. Nonsense, argues Samuel Scheffler
George Scialabba is no fan of political theory: “Imagination, sympathy, solidarity — by whatever name: this is the true engine of political progress”
George Scialabba is no fan of political theory: “Imagination, sympathy, solidarity — by whatever name: this is the true engine of political progress”
Typists, editors, arbiters of art. Literary amanuenses like Theodora Bosanquet, Véra Nabokov, and Valerie Eliot shaped modern literature
Typists, editors, arbiters of art. Literary amanuenses like Theodora Bosanquet, Véra Nabokov, and Valerie Eliot shaped modern literature
Oscar Wilde, William Morris, and John Ruskin were exemplars of socialist aesthetics, advancing the view that more leisure would result in better art
Oscar Wilde, William Morris, and John Ruskin were exemplars of socialist aesthetics, advancing the view that more leisure would result in better art
How did Western psychiatric taxonomies handle such non-Western disorders as “pibloktoq” (a wintertime psychosis) and “kufungisisa” (thinking too much)?
How did Western psychiatric taxonomies handle such non-Western disorders as “pibloktoq” (a wintertime psychosis) and “kufungisisa” (thinking too much)?
Larry Levis died in 1996, at the age of 49. His posthumously published poetry forms a towering body of work
Larry Levis died in 1996, at the age of 49. His posthumously published poetry forms a towering body of work
How did a stereopticon lecturer and his white-supremacist son end up in novels by Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald?
How did a stereopticon lecturer and his white-supremacist son end up in novels by Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald?
When Michelangelo met Titian. The evidence of how they influenced each other is scant, and we so enter the realm of the educated guess
When Michelangelo met Titian. The evidence of how they influenced each other is scant, and we so enter the realm of the educated guess
“If you were to construct a baseball lineup of the western world’s foundational thinkers, Plato would almost certainly bat cleanup”
“If you were to construct a baseball lineup of the western world’s foundational thinkers, Plato would almost certainly bat cleanup”
Before 1970, humans were rational. After 1970, irrational. What changed? The nature of psychology experiments
Before 1970, humans were rational. After 1970, irrational. What changed? The nature of psychology experiments
Great books programs have an unsavory reputation on the political left. That’s a mistake
Great books programs have an unsavory reputation on the political left. That’s a mistake
Lionel Shriver in exile. The novelist has managed to alienate the literati. She's fine with that
Lionel Shriver in exile. The novelist has managed to alienate the literati. She's fine with that
Malcolm Cowley’s Stalinism reveals him to have been a fool and a knave. What does it say about his literary acumen?
Malcolm Cowley’s Stalinism reveals him to have been a fool and a knave. What does it say about his literary acumen?
The novelist George Sand dressed like a man, took a male name, and went through lovers like a rake. The life and the work cannot be disentangled
The novelist George Sand dressed like a man, took a male name, and went through lovers like a rake. The life and the work cannot be disentangled
The vapid radicalism of American studies. Scholars are quick to denote “racist, patriarchal, imperial” forces, but where does that take the field?
The vapid radicalism of American studies. Scholars are quick to denote “racist, patriarchal, imperial” forces, but where does that take the field?
That books are disappearing, along with our capacity for complex and rational thought, has become a ubiquitous belief. Doesn't mean it's true
That books are disappearing, along with our capacity for complex and rational thought, has become a ubiquitous belief. Doesn't mean it's true
With its mania for taxonomy and penchant for tidy solutions, psychiatry is ripe for reinvention. A new book takes a swing — and misses
With its mania for taxonomy and penchant for tidy solutions, psychiatry is ripe for reinvention. A new book takes a swing — and misses
"You don’t need a penis to read Infinite Jest, but you might need a dictionary." David Foster Wallace's divisive novel turns 30
"You don’t need a penis to read Infinite Jest, but you might need a dictionary." David Foster Wallace's divisive novel turns 30
“LLMs are cliché machines, trained on a resilient human weakness for generating maximum content with minimum effort”
“LLMs are cliché machines, trained on a resilient human weakness for generating maximum content with minimum effort”