Mysteries small and great abound in Jim Holt’s new book—even in restaurants, where he spends an inordinate amount of time for an existential gumshoe. At a Paris bistro he dines alone on a plate of choucroute and a bottle of Saint-Emilion. A...
In recent years, the organization VIDA—Women in the Literary Arts has tallied the number of female and male contributors to leading cultural magazines. It’s called The Count. The findings are shocking: 20-30 percent of contributors to...
Once upon a time in America, five dollars would buy enough gas to drive from Tucson, Arizona, to California. This was during the postwar 1940s, when Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady were making the cross-country road trips, at speeds over a...
In the spring of 1976, William Maxwell left his job as fiction editor of the New Yorker, where he had worked for four decades, in order to concentrate on his own writing. This came as unhappy news to any number of writers, for he had nursed...
New Orleans photographer Libbie Allen was raised Catholic, but broke from the Church years ago. While she no longer practices any specific faith, spirituality remains a force in her life. What’s more, she never lost her love for the...
At the 2012 Olympic Games, boxing allowed female competitors for the first time. Katie Taylor of Ireland took a gold medal. She was inspired by pioneering Irish boxer and World Champion Deirdre Gogarty. This is the story of how a teenage...
Even with the challenge of below normal rainfall, spring turned out to be a beautiful time of year at Charlane Plantation. While the drought continues, the good news is that we have had rain at critical times, which for the most part has...