An Open Letter
On her blog today, respected critic Ruth Franklin wrote an open letter to the editors of Bookforum. She writes: I have considered opting out of writing for magazines at which women are…
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Bookforum
26 posts
Migrations Map
Here is a map to help you visualize human migration over the course of our 200,000 year existence. Using data based on mitochondrial DNA difference, the map models migratory patterns…
Bookforum Love
Bookforum’s daily roundup of internet gems shone their literary spotlight on our poetry editor Brian Spears whose piece “The Death and Resurrection of BlazeVOX,” we recently published. We wanted to…
Young Artist, Mean World
The art world is a rough place, which is the practical thought behind art schools offering courses on grant-writing and portfolio building. Still, even with the presence of these utilitarian…
The Elusive Best Seller
“The best seller is caught in a peculiar paradox: Its popularity can be understood as both proof and negation of its value.” The term “best seller,” is in question. Bookforum…
Let’s Take a Walk Together
James Yeh writes on the Spontaneous Society for Faster Times, Jon Cotner’s ambulatory, real-life interaction/art installation, inciting strangers to interact positively with one another. The project was created in hopes…
Reimagining The Memoir
“That it is being considered as book of criticism, rather than as memoir, seems the luck of the draw. Some of the essays in it were originally published in the…
More Pacazo
“It’s a shaggy-dog tale, one that eventually—boldly—invites comparison to its great progenitor, Don Quixote. In cutting a classic wide swath, Pacazo exposes itself to risk, a tricky balance between hilarity…
Utopia, What Are You Good For?
“But the question lingers: Apart from its questionable value as a marketing strategy, what is utopia good for?” Paul La Farge at Bookforum on the concept and uses of utopia,…
The Fearless Book Vending Machine
“Lane’s other invention, alongside the cheap, quality paperback, was the Penguincubator, first installed outside Henderson’s (the ‘Bomb Shop’) at 66 Charing Cross Road, which signaled his intention to take the…
Totalitarian Kitsch
“It is the official art of authoritarian governments, aimed at extending state control through propaganda. Totalitarian kitsch exists to glorify the state, foster a personality cult surrounding the dictator and…
Water Causes Cancer And Other Truths
Time Magazine has already called it “The Decade From Hell.” (Couldn’t have been worse than the 1940’s?! Could it? I mean the 40’s had Hitler AND Stalin.) And if you…