John Keats, Sleep
John Keats’s tribute to sleep—called, fittingly, “To Sleep”—equates it, winsomely, with death. The poem is an invocation of that state which can be elusive, particularly to those with overactive or…
Features & Reviews
9281 posts
A Summons To The Alps
There are lots of reasons why you might have heard of John Berger, the novelist, art critic, intellectual, farmer and screenwriter. At the same time, when people are too varied…
A Writerly Respect For Death
Now I realize it is a dazzling, sunny afternoon in San Francisco. People are no doubt reading books at Zeitgeist as I advised them to this morning. Children and dogs…
Women Resexualized? Is Meat Sexist?
Since so many of us live in this paradoxical nation that is both obviously obsessed with women’s bodies, yet has a morbid fear of wardrobe malfunctions, there is no shortage…
Just For Fathers: an excerpt from A Book Of Ages
Erik Hanson’s new book, A Book Of Ages is a compendium of moments from famous lives, including triumphs, failures, odd incidents, crossed paths and other such tantalizing miscellany. Especially revealing,…
The Sunday Book Blog Roundup
Greetings and salutations! I’m Michael Berger, today’s guest-editor. I’ve spent my last few days off sipping coffee and drifting through the labyrinth of book blogs. Which was terrific, because most…
The Sunday Book Review Supplement
Now that it’s finally Sunday, it’s time to read a new book. Perhaps you’ve noticed how Sunday parks and bars are full of blissed-out readers and lovers of the written…
Monster Mashup
To continue on the subject of monsters and mashes for a moment: Last Sunday in the Los Angeles Times, Ed Park published his notes on Laurie Sheck’s A Monster’s Notes,…
Pauline Kael’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The winner of the The Rumpus College Book Review Contest, a review of Pauline Kael’s seminal Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, by Matthew Weinstock.
King James and the Battle for the Novel
There’s a sizable new interview with James Wood, polemical literary critic extraordinaire, up on LA Weekly. Colson Whitehead has spoofed him, Walter Kirn has mocked him, and there’s even a…
Is Marriage Obsolete?
In the current issue of The Atlantic, the newly-divorced Sandra Tsing Loh wonders out loud “isn’t the idea of lifelong marriage obsolete?” but then holds off a little from answering…