Edmund White considers writers’ obsession with New York City in the 1970s, with photography by Peter Hujar. As White puts it, that was “a place and a time in which, rich or poor, you were stuck together in the misery (and the freedom) of the place, where not even money could insulate you.”
Another Place and Time
Beginning of the End
“As a speaker of a small language, it can be alarming to hear the rapidly increasing influx of new words from a dominant force. Back in 2000, linguistics researcher Sylfest Lomheim caused upheaval by claiming the Norwegian language wouldn’t survive the next century. Is this the beginning of the end?” On the Anglicization of Norwegian.
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Why So Socialist?
Have you seen the infamous image of Obama in Heath Ledger-style Joker makeup? (Image care of Bedlam Magazine). See the artist, unmasked, at the L.A. Times.
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Not Named Knausgaard
Think Knausgaard is the only Norwegian writer worth knowing? Think again. Lit Hub has a roundup of “Five Great Norwegian Writers Not Named Knausgaard.”
All Jokes Aside
Over at Vulture, Jesse David Fox offers a retrospective of 100 years of jokes that shaped modern comedy.
More Madame
In the LRB, an amiable Julian Barnes joins in the ritual cavilling that must greet any retranslation of a masterpiece. But who’s complaining? It’s an excuse to read 6,000 words on Madame Bovary !
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Clear Thesis. Strong Analysis. Can’t Lose.
It’s unclear how this Tumblr managed to elude us for so long, but it’s certainly making up for lost time. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, Academic Coach Taylor Has Some Advice For You.