All articles from Arts & Letters Daily
In defense of clichés. They are democratized wordplay, metaphors for the masses, ways to connect to readers with warmth
In defense of clichés. They are democratized wordplay, metaphors for the masses, ways to connect to readers with warmth
What can happen when elites with a sense of mission are brought together and left unchecked? A college town
What can happen when elites with a sense of mission are brought together and left unchecked? A college town
Talk “unclever, unsophisticated, simple goodness,” advised Robert Frost, aka Mr. New Hampshire, spokesman for the old Yankee ways
Talk “unclever, unsophisticated, simple goodness,” advised Robert Frost, aka Mr. New Hampshire, spokesman for the old Yankee ways
Why is close reading having a moment? Because it asks students to take their own thinking seriously
Why is close reading having a moment? Because it asks students to take their own thinking seriously
Werner Herzog, “the strangest of all living directors,” has also directed several operas and written over a dozen works of prose
Werner Herzog, “the strangest of all living directors,” has also directed several operas and written over a dozen works of prose
Skyrocketing auction prices are an illusion: Collectors, dealers, and institutions prosper at the expense of working artists
Skyrocketing auction prices are an illusion: Collectors, dealers, and institutions prosper at the expense of working artists
Dogs have a strict notion of fairness; tigers enact revenge. To hone our sense of virtue, egalitarianism, and morality, we can learn from animals
Dogs have a strict notion of fairness; tigers enact revenge. To hone our sense of virtue, egalitarianism, and morality, we can learn from animals
Ernest Hemingway owned 9,000, Thomas Jefferson 6,487, and Hannah Arendt 4,000: How to understand the urge to own more books than you can read?
Ernest Hemingway owned 9,000, Thomas Jefferson 6,487, and Hannah Arendt 4,000: How to understand the urge to own more books than you can read?
Malcolm Cowley, the man who made American literature an identifiable movement, shaped an entire canon based on his tastes and convictions
Malcolm Cowley, the man who made American literature an identifiable movement, shaped an entire canon based on his tastes and convictions
Psychedelics had a very peculiar effect on Justin Smith-Ruiu. They became a gateway drug to Catholicism
Psychedelics had a very peculiar effect on Justin Smith-Ruiu. They became a gateway drug to Catholicism
For one up-and-coming, underpaid author, the chance to write a literary biography promised to make her career. There was just one problem
For one up-and-coming, underpaid author, the chance to write a literary biography promised to make her career. There was just one problem
Updike on Updike: “I have fallen to the status of an elderly duffer whose tales of suburban American sex are hopelessly yawnworthy period pieces.”
Updike on Updike: “I have fallen to the status of an elderly duffer whose tales of suburban American sex are hopelessly yawnworthy period pieces.”
Christian Wiman: “If consciousness precedes matter, it’s a pretty good bet that it survives it”
Christian Wiman: “If consciousness precedes matter, it’s a pretty good bet that it survives it”
Leah Libresco Sargeant argues that feminism should recognize “women as women,” not demand that they imitate men. What does it mean to treat “women as women”?
Leah Libresco Sargeant argues that feminism should recognize “women as women,” not demand that they imitate men. What does it mean to treat “women as women”?
“Viewpoint diversity” has become a glib euphemism, a way of smuggling conservatives through liberalism’s squeaky back door
“Viewpoint diversity” has become a glib euphemism, a way of smuggling conservatives through liberalism’s squeaky back door
Who wrote the gospel of witches? Ancient Italians, a 19th-century Tuscan fortune teller, or a well-heeled Brit with family ties to Queen Victoria
Who wrote the gospel of witches? Ancient Italians, a 19th-century Tuscan fortune teller, or a well-heeled Brit with family ties to Queen Victoria
Few great visual artists are especially good writers. Eugène Delacroix was one of the exceptions
Few great visual artists are especially good writers. Eugène Delacroix was one of the exceptions
Peter Singer’s “shallow pond” is less a thought experiment and more an extended gotcha exercise: “Caught you out, didn’t I, you bourgeois oaf”
Peter Singer’s “shallow pond” is less a thought experiment and more an extended gotcha exercise: “Caught you out, didn’t I, you bourgeois oaf”
Maurizio Cattelan’s golden toilet, supposedly the crown jewel of a major Sotheby’s art auction, received only one bidder: Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Maurizio Cattelan’s golden toilet, supposedly the crown jewel of a major Sotheby’s art auction, received only one bidder: Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
For guidance on 21st-century conundrums like polyamory and burnout, turn to the wisdom of 16th century nuns
For guidance on 21st-century conundrums like polyamory and burnout, turn to the wisdom of 16th century nuns
Invention of the foodie. He “sits at the intersection of necessity and privilege, with the potential to bridge this divide—or to further entrench it”
Invention of the foodie. He “sits at the intersection of necessity and privilege, with the potential to bridge this divide—or to further entrench it”
"For a long time now, the signature style of the contemporary art world has been something like real estate aestheticism — growth for growth’s sake"
"For a long time now, the signature style of the contemporary art world has been something like real estate aestheticism — growth for growth’s sake"
Why would a woman with children she loved, writing at the peak of her powers, want to die? Revisiting Sylvia Plath's suicide
Why would a woman with children she loved, writing at the peak of her powers, want to die? Revisiting Sylvia Plath's suicide
To understand modern individualism, consider late-18th century tea consumption and the engraved portraiture of French revolutionaries
To understand modern individualism, consider late-18th century tea consumption and the engraved portraiture of French revolutionaries
William Blake, Marxist revolutionary? His call to cast off the “mind-forged manacles” was one step toward utopian socialism
William Blake, Marxist revolutionary? His call to cast off the “mind-forged manacles” was one step toward utopian socialism
Sickly, ambitious, and entirely unknown, young Robert Louis Stevenson moped around graveyards for the specific purpose of being unhappy
Sickly, ambitious, and entirely unknown, young Robert Louis Stevenson moped around graveyards for the specific purpose of being unhappy
The reactionary radical Paul Kingsnorth fears a future in which the realities of human life — sex, death, environment — are negotiable
The reactionary radical Paul Kingsnorth fears a future in which the realities of human life — sex, death, environment — are negotiable
A decade ago, things changed for the worse at colleges, says Jill Lepore, who looks back with “considerable shame at my unwillingness to really speak out"
A decade ago, things changed for the worse at colleges, says Jill Lepore, who looks back with “considerable shame at my unwillingness to really speak out"
Is the right path a full embrace of AI or a radical set of precautions against its widespread use? Both. Yascha Mounk explains
Is the right path a full embrace of AI or a radical set of precautions against its widespread use? Both. Yascha Mounk explains
Philosophers have often fastened on animals as emblems of the unknowable. Then there’s Kafka and dogs
Philosophers have often fastened on animals as emblems of the unknowable. Then there’s Kafka and dogs
“What matters on a visit to Vegas is how much money you have, how much more you want, and how much you are willing to set on fire”
“What matters on a visit to Vegas is how much money you have, how much more you want, and how much you are willing to set on fire”
When Virginia Woolf met Gertrude Stein: "wheres the harm in this stupidish, kindly, rather amusing woman”
When Virginia Woolf met Gertrude Stein: "wheres the harm in this stupidish, kindly, rather amusing woman”
Forty years after Peter Singer’s “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” the effective altruism movement took off. What happened to it?
Forty years after Peter Singer’s “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” the effective altruism movement took off. What happened to it?