“Chekhov’s contemporaries wondered: What sort of Russian writer was he? He had no solution to the ultimate questions. With no ‘general idea’ to teach, wasn’t he more like a talented Frenchman or Englishman born in the wrong place?” (And our own Sonya Chung argues that personal character was in fact his “general idea.”)
Cleanliness Is Next To Literature
Civic Duty
Claudia Rankine’s new book of poetry, Citizen, is getting a lot of attention in part due to its meditations on race in modern America. In the latest issue of BOMB, Lauren Berlant interviews the poet, asking her about micro-aggressions, Kara Walker and the implicit tone of the word “citizen.”
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Chum Lit
Some of the best novels out there — Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men — deal largely with fictional friendships. Yet depictions of close friends that are central to the plot are considerably rare in modern novels. At The Guardian, AD Miller notes this isn’t the case for movies and TV shows, and suggests a number of reasons why. You could also read our own Kevin Hartnett on friendship in the age of Facebook.
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A Look Back at the Old Future of Books
At Print Magazine, Buzz Poole looks at The Electric Information Age Book, which chronicles the innovative heyday of book packaging, when the publishers “were the ones breaking down the walls and changing the rules as they went.”
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Active Inspiration
Seeking inspiration? Saint Heron has compiled a list of art that inspires activist DeRay Mckesson.
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Michael Lewis on Germany
In our Second Half of 2011 Book Preview, we picked Michael Lewis‘ Boomerang: Travels in the New Thirld World. To tide you over until it’s released, check out his take on Germany’s economy.