Hong Kong from the Inside
In November 2019 some one thousand young pro-democracy protesters occupied the campus of Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, which is located at a crucial junction of two...
Downtown Confessional
Maybe a prostituteCould teach you howTo accept a compliment—The Tragically Hip, “Flamenco” It was 1989 when I saw John Lurie on TV in a late-night advertisement...
Socialists on the Knife-Edge
“A specter is haunting America,” intones the right-wing propagandist Dinesh D’Souza. “The specter of socialism.” As he speaks, in the opening sequence of his 2020 documentary...
Exhausting All Possibilities
There is a particular undertow of unease that comes with working all day at a desk and then playing video games at night. They are simply...
‘So Whimsical a Head’
Charles Lamb often complained of not being able to think on his own. “I dare not think, lest I [should think] wrong,” he told Dorothy Wordsworth...
At the Center of the Fringe
Sergio Pitol begins The Journey, a hybrid travelogue and literary chronicle, with an account of his failed attempt to write an essay about Prague, where he...
The Power of Ornament
“The Clamor of Ornament” is a summer spree of a show. It intrigues. It delights. At times it thrills. But it doesn’t ever add up. And...
The First Russian
In January 1832 a New Year’s gift arrived at the home of Alexander Pushkin. The parcel had been sent by a close friend, the art collector...
This Vase of Quince Branches You Sent Me
in blossom. On thekitchen table now.Taller than me.Why do I feel ashamed.In my warm vest and winter coat.In tears.Hands empty at my side. What are youfor....
Late, Late Show
I never read John O’Hara’s stories, but having read themNow they all seem pretty much alike. There’s a lot ofBackground and a few remarks before not...
