All articles from Arts & Letters Daily

A cow carcass, buckets of blood, poisoned dogs: A lot of death went into the making of Chaim Soutine’s art

A cow carcass, buckets of blood, poisoned dogs: A lot of death went into the making of Chaim Soutine’s art

In 2002, the college essay was declared dead. More than three years and hundreds of billions of dollars later, the college essay lives on

In 2002, the college essay was declared dead. More than three years and hundreds of billions of dollars later, the college essay lives on

Our dreams are our own — or are they? Meet the researchers behind the new science of TDI: targeted dream incubation

Our dreams are our own — or are they? Meet the researchers behind the new science of TDI: targeted dream incubation

John Brockman was more than a literary agent — he was a networker and salon impresario. Was he also Jeffrey Epstein's conduit to the academy?"

John Brockman was more than a literary agent — he was a networker and salon impresario. Was he also Jeffrey Epstein's conduit to the academy?"

“How we live as ethical people and behave and think wisely is not something to optimize, or, crucially, to even let ourselves think about in this way”

“How we live as ethical people and behave and think wisely is not something to optimize, or, crucially, to even let ourselves think about in this way”

Despite science's efforts, consciousness isn't quantifiable. The hard problem remains stubbornly hard, but reading poetry may help

Despite science's efforts, consciousness isn't quantifiable. The hard problem remains stubbornly hard, but reading poetry may help

Rose Lesniak, the magnetic feminist poet who heckled John Ashbery and trained dogs, is dead. She was 70

Rose Lesniak, the magnetic feminist poet who heckled John Ashbery and trained dogs, is dead. She was 70

Werner Herzog has spent 50 years insisting that lies reveal deeper truths. That argument has become harder to make

Werner Herzog has spent 50 years insisting that lies reveal deeper truths. That argument has become harder to make

There were two Thomas Manns: the early, coolly ironic author of Death in Venice — and the later, literary spokesman for democracy

There were two Thomas Manns: the early, coolly ironic author of Death in Venice — and the later, literary spokesman for democracy

Laid off from The Washington Post, the critic Ron Charles turns to books that ask a fundamental question: Do I matter?

Laid off from The Washington Post, the critic Ron Charles turns to books that ask a fundamental question: Do I matter?

Hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendarily fat G.K. Chesterton, William James climbed a ladder to peer into his garden — to no avail

Hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendarily fat G.K. Chesterton, William James climbed a ladder to peer into his garden — to no avail

On February 3, 1967, Jimi Hendrix  pushed the electric guitar past its known limits. He wasn't just a musician. He was an engineer

On February 3, 1967, Jimi Hendrix  pushed the electric guitar past its known limits. He wasn't just a musician. He was an engineer

The New York Review of Architecture, The Manhattan Art Review, San Francisco Review of Whatever — we’re living in a reviewnaissance

The New York Review of Architecture, The Manhattan Art Review, San Francisco Review of Whatever — we’re living in a reviewnaissance

We are wealthier than Aristotle could have imagined, yet we spend little of that wealth on what he believed it was for: leisure

We are wealthier than Aristotle could have imagined, yet we spend little of that wealth on what he believed it was for: leisure

Minimally competent fathers are lavished with unearned admiration. The concept deserves a name: oppressive praise

Minimally competent fathers are lavished with unearned admiration. The concept deserves a name: oppressive praise

Was Elizabeth Bathory, aka “the Blood Countess,” a torturer of young maidens or a victim of a disinformation campaign?

Was Elizabeth Bathory, aka “the Blood Countess,” a torturer of young maidens or a victim of a disinformation campaign?

How come a person who can’t focus on a novel can sit through a three-hour video? The problem isn't the screen. It's the environment

How come a person who can’t focus on a novel can sit through a three-hour video? The problem isn't the screen. It's the environment

What does it look like when the largest funder in the humanities goes all in on social justice?

What does it look like when the largest funder in the humanities goes all in on social justice?

If you memorize the classic fallacies — ad hominem, post hoc, straw man — you inoculate yourself against them. That’s a nice, but false, idea

If you memorize the classic fallacies — ad hominem, post hoc, straw man — you inoculate yourself against them. That’s a nice, but false, idea

"It’s weird: in Updike’s teenage letters he sounds preternaturally sophisticated; in his forties, he sounds like a horny kid"

"It’s weird: in Updike’s teenage letters he sounds preternaturally sophisticated; in his forties, he sounds like a horny kid"

“Rather than being a footnote to premodern folly, the Rosicrucian affair turns out to sit at the narrative center of the modern world”

“Rather than being a footnote to premodern folly, the Rosicrucian affair turns out to sit at the narrative center of the modern world”

"What is it to live near to light, in sustained awareness of it? How does it braid itself into our sense of revelation, our communion with grace?

"What is it to live near to light, in sustained awareness of it? How does it braid itself into our sense of revelation, our communion with grace?

For leftists, philanthropy is often simply an expression of plutocratic power. How then to make sense of the surprisingly radical Garland Fund?

For leftists, philanthropy is often simply an expression of plutocratic power. How then to make sense of the surprisingly radical Garland Fund?

Staunch anti-Nazis, the members of Berlin’s Fest family were penalized first for their politics, and then as defeated Germans

Staunch anti-Nazis, the members of Berlin’s Fest family were penalized first for their politics, and then as defeated Germans

Trotsky in Mexico. How Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and a Kremlin-hatched plot led to an ice axe in the head

Trotsky in Mexico. How Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and a Kremlin-hatched plot led to an ice axe in the head

Did Kamel Daoud steal the story in his Goncourt-prize-winning novel? “I felt betrayed,” said a patient of his wife’s therapy practice

Did Kamel Daoud steal the story in his Goncourt-prize-winning novel? “I felt betrayed,” said a patient of his wife’s therapy practice

AI can summarize an email, but it can't make a genuine intellectual contribution. Right? Wrong, as Yascha Mounk found out

AI can summarize an email, but it can't make a genuine intellectual contribution. Right? Wrong, as Yascha Mounk found out

David Brooks on the sins of the educated class, what Trump gets right, and why Brooks is leaving The New York Times for Yale University

David Brooks on the sins of the educated class, what Trump gets right, and why Brooks is leaving The New York Times for Yale University

Often invoked, rarely read, the work of the philosopher Alexandre Kojève is finally landing in the spotlight

Often invoked, rarely read, the work of the philosopher Alexandre Kojève is finally landing in the spotlight