“P.S. I am poor.”
Art in the face of poverty: Jill Lepore’s essay on Edgar Allan Poe is oddly, blithely withering, but it’s informative.
Art in the face of poverty: Jill Lepore’s essay on Edgar Allan Poe is oddly, blithely withering, but it’s informative.
“Not that I care. I don’t want to be a professor.” J.M. Coetzee reads Samuel Beckett’s letters.
I’ve been looking forward to my friend Laila Lalami’s first novel since her story collection, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, was published back in 2005. Secret Son is finally out today, and — although, having witnessed its transformation over a couple of drafts, I’m not entirely objective — it’s well, well worth the wait. Youssef, who’s grown up in a . . .
At some low level, I always imagined Joseph Heller sounded more or less like Norman Mailer. I was wrong. Here the Catch-22 author talks about the United States’ political system (“ludicrously funny”). It’s disgusting, he says, to realize that there are organizations devoted to grooming candidates — telling them what to wear, how to speak, and the like — but . . .
The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled and posted by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30 pm, and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to Ms. Cerand at lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to . . .