Arts & Letters Daily

Small talk

thuudung — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:00:38 +0000

Among the arts of conversation, small talk – “Beautiful day out” – gets too little respect. Yes, it tends toward the trivial. But there is no greater democratizer… more»

White Privilege Conferences

thuudung — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:00:38 +0000

In Seattle, 2,000 people gather to eat vegan lunches, use gender-neutral bathrooms, and talk about race. It’s the White Privilege Conference… more»

On Pankaj Mishra

thuudung — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:00:23 +0000

Pankaj Mishra encountered Edmund Wilson’s works in a termite-infested Indian library. Epiphany! A story sure to entice New York publishers… more»

Kinky scholars

thuudung — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:19:30 +0000

Leprechaun fetish? You’re not alone. Indeed, kink has gone mainstream. But don’t ask theory-addled scholars of gender for insight, says Camille Paglia… more»

Drunk and Disorderly

thuudung — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:17:27 +0000

The novelist Charles Jackson name-dropped relentlessly and lied about his advances. He was, in short, a literary creature ahead of his time… more»

Interview with Todd May

thuudung — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:15:45 +0000

Immortality and its discontents. Sure, death is a drag. But what could be more lonely, boring, or morally ruinous than living forever?… more»

On Edmund Burke

thuudung — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:00:44 +0000

To Edmund Burke, principles were lessons from everyday life, nothing more. The contradictions of conservatism are everywhere in his thinking… more»

Syphilis, sex and fear

thuudung — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:00:29 +0000

Syphilis and creativity. Nietzsche’s grandiosity, Van Gogh’s death obsession, Schubert, Flaubert, Wilde, Joyce: Did the disease shape their work?… more»

The real Mad Hatter?

thuudung — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:00:02 +0000

Theophilus Carter, Oxford cabinet maker, had a prominent nose, receding chin, and a fondness for top hats. Was he the real Mad Hatter?… … more»

On Napoleon Chagnon

thuudung — Sat, 18 May 2013 02:00:11 +0000

Fighting and fieldwork. Anthropology, driven by governments and geneticists, has become a battle royal. At the center is Napoleon Chagnon… more»