“After breaking down the data by neighborhood and age group, it became clear: Children’s books are a rarity in high-poverty urban communities. The likelihood that a parent could find a book for purchase in these areas ‘is very slim.’” On book deserts across America.
Where the Wild Things Are
Poet Cops
“The worlds of poetry and law enforcement would seem to share little. But a few poet cops hope to change that perception, one line at a time.”
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Carmen Maria Machado on the Darkness Behind Patricia Highsmith
Carmen Maria Machado reflects on the complicated, "fundamentally difficult" work of suspense writer Patricia Highsmith.
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Reading Aloud and Clear
“My wife likes to drive. I like to read aloud. So, she takes me places, and I take her places. It’s a match made in heaven — or at least in a Honda.” In honor of World Read Aloud Day, book critic Ron Charles writes about his love of reading out loud for the Washington Post. Pair with: an essay about the importance of reading aloud as adults.
Art Spiegelman on Lynd Ward
At the Paris Review Daily, Art Spiegelman, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic memoir Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, recalls the influence of pioneering graphic novelist Lynd Ward in his introduction to Ward’s Six Novels in Woodcuts.
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In Today’s Terms
Recommended Reading: On queer terminology and writing queer history.