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A young Bertrand Russell guards his time

On September 3, 1894, Bertrand Russell wrote to Alys Pearsall Smith, his wife-to-be, concerning the importance of creating an environment in which he could cultivate his talents. (She was a Quaker, thus the “thee.”) And (I must confess it) horrible as such a thought is, I do not entirely trust thee to back me up. I have a passion for . . .

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Rocking chairs and strokes: the solidity of Texan family

My great-grandfather, Zone, the Texan communist carpenter and lothario, made this rocking chair a hundred years ago, give or take. It was good to sit in something so solid (and so tailored to short people) while visiting my mom for her birthday over the weekend. I planned the trip several months back. And then, a few weeks ago, my mom . . .

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Laurie Anderson imagines her dog’s life after death

Laurie Anderson imagined her terrier’s adventures in the Tibetan Buddhist afterworld and committed them to paper in “Lolabelle in the Bardo,” a series of enormous drawings showing at the Vito Schnabel Gallery in SoHo through Saturday. Earlier in the year, Anderson talked with Amanda Stern for The Believer about the very specific kind of grief she felt when the dog, . . .

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