Larry Smith of SMITH Magazine keyed into the popularity and resonance of short, pithy bios even before “tweet” made its way firmly into the vernacular. …more

Nobody ever asks me, “Why make paintings?” Is wanting to spend your time around attractive women who like to have sex much more difficult a desire for journalists to understand than wanting to dip wisps of horsehair into a wet lake of colored goo and smear it all over a piece of paper until it looks pretty?

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Hot off the presses is a new book by kids titled Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country.  Students of non-profit writing center 826 Valencia have …more

The Millions breaks down a year’s worth of New Yorker short stories, including brief synopses and a list of favorites.

What do doughnuts and the internet’s erosion of journalism have in common? …more

The Shahnama, a Persian literary masterpiece, tells the story of Greater Iran from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century.  Princeton University has created an archive of book paintings from the epic poem.

Jason Lutes has completed two of the planned three volumes of his graphic novel series, Berlin, which takes place at the end of the Weimar Republic. …more