Sometimes, it’s easier to read or watch something that’s light and airy, as opposed to seeking out art that challenges your perspective. Millions contributor Fiona Maazel generally thinks of herself as a person who instinctively chose nuance over breeziness. But lately, she’s had to ask herself a tough question — is she actually more attracted to the anodyne?
Light Fare
Greater and Greater
The passing of Muhammad Ali was sad for fans of both sports and greatness alike. One little known Ali fact is that he once composed a line-for-line sonnet with another one of "the greatest," the poet Marianne Moore. Let none other than George Plimpton explain it to you.
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More on Reading Rainbow
My mom reacts to Reading Rainbow's demise and points out that the show didn't have to go and other less edifying programming is eluding the funding crunch.
Oh, The Humanities
Andrew Hazlett discovers that following the keyword "humanities" on Twitter is not the best way to keep tabs on the discipline.
Retreat with Eliot
Looking for a New England writer's retreat? Perhaps you could stay in T. S. Eliot's childhood summer home.
Baby, You Can Drive Murakami’s Car
When The Beatles made Rubber Soul, the band probably didn't realize it would inspire some of the greatest contemporary fiction. First, Haruki Murakami named his novel Norwegian Wood. Now, "Drive My Car" inspired his new short story. Bungeishunju published the story today, but English readers are still waiting on the translation. Until then, we can always listen to the album. Pair with: Our essay on the soundtracks behind books.
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Writing the Body
For Ploughshares, Emilia Phillips writes about “the corporeality of the lyric.” As she puts it, For some, the act of writing about the body is not necessarily the inclusion of the body as a poem’s subject but the body as the vehicle for the poem. Think of how repetition recalls movement, dancing. Think of how good a rhyme feels in the mouth.”
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iShakespeare
Got a smartphone? Check out the new Sonnets by William Shakespeare app to receive 154 poems, scholarly annotations and criticism, as well as special sonnet performances from such notables as Sir Patrick Stewart. Revisiting The Bard of Avon’s verse will prove so pleasurable; you’ll probably forget altogether that he was a self-plagiarist way before Jonah Lehrer.
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