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The Long Walk

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A year ago, I made a trip to Copenhagen, which is arguably one of the most walkable cities on the planet. Despite the presence of real winter—it was snowy and around twenty-five degrees while I was there—the streets were full of people walking, to shops and parks and jobs, as well as to and from … Read more

Bomb Threat

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My desk is scooted into the darkest part of the Quonset hut, so that I can read Burro on the Beach while Mrs. Richards makes everybody else go through the math assignment. I hate math, especially fractions. I just can’t do it, and if I stay in the back and don’t make any noise, she’ll … Read more

A Man of His Times

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There is a consensus in the trade, I am sorry to report, that Thomas L. Friedman cannot win another Pulitzer Prize. This is not due to any dissipation of his talents. It is because, having already won three of journalism’s highest awards, he has been asked to join the Pulitzer board. Instead of receiving Pulitzers, … Read more

Jon Langford

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The Mekons, who came roaring out of Leeds in the wake of British punk’s late-seventies explosion, remain shining exemplars of a band as a committed, progressive community. Jon Langford, a Mekons ringleader, is now rolling through his fourth decade of creating provocative and politically charged music and art. The man remains ridiculously busy, with various … Read more

Chris Felver

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Working in portraiture must be a little unnerving at times. Imagine all those eyes staring back at you in the darkroom. Perhaps that’s why Chris Felver, who is best known for his portraits of “creative revolutionaries” (writers, poets, filmmakers, actors, musicians, and protesters) turned his back on all those eyes and wandered outside. The latest … Read more

Kiki Smith: A Gathering

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While some artists can explore one theme or medium for years, Kiki Smith is notable for how far and wide she has ranged in her work. Despite its variety, you can see it shifting, in a sense, from the micro to the macro. In the eighties, Smith was sculpting individual body parts and organs, moving … Read more

Allegra Goodman

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Allegra Goodman is one of those ridiculous prodigies who managed to sustain and build on her early buzz. Her first collection of stories, Total Immersion, was written while she was an undergraduate at Harvard, and she’s since published another collection and a couple of novels, including the remarkable Kaaterskill Falls (a National Book Award finalist). … Read more

Colson Whitehead

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Here’s a guy whose novels always start with really good ideas. In fact, Whitehead’s jacket copy often is more interesting than other authors’ entire novels. That’s an impressive gift, indeed. Nor does he disappoint over the long haul, spinning those ideas–hooks, really–into clever, entertaining, and deceptively weighty stories. For instance, his first novel, The Intuitionist, … Read more