In our morning reading: thoughts on Louise Erdrich’s new novel, recommended books about werewolves, and more.
Morning Bites: Eva Baltasar’s Fiction, ABC No Rio Returns, Literary Anti-Canons, and More
In our morning reading: an excerpt from Eva Baltasar’s new book, checking in with Robert Caro, and more.
The Transubstantiation of the Wall: On David Leo Rice’s “The Berlin Wall”
In the mid-1990s, I was in Berlin for the first time looking for the Berlin Wall. I remember walking around the Reichstag marveling how its façade was still gutted by artillery fire almost fifty years after the Second World War ended and only a few years after the momentous events of 1989. I remember learning how the Soviets had left post-war East Berlin in tatters as a humiliating reminder and punishment for the German people. What I remember most however was looking for the Wall and failing to find it where it had once stood. I had seen it in films and photos and heard stories about it. Like millions across the globe, I had watched ecstatic Germans of all sides gleefully ram sledgehammers into its graffitied sides and scale its exposed wires to reach the once perilous ledge that stood between two worlds. Stopping on the spot where I was told the Wall once stood, I was astounded to find not even the smallest marker. Meandering east and west, I came across biscotti-sized pieces of what was allegedly “the Wall” being sold for only a few marks in local tourist traps. I remember walking away feeling duped. Where had the Wall gone? What modern gang of tomb raiders had stolen it? The Wall was a part of me too, I thought, and I wanted a piece of it.
Afternoon Bites: Interviewing David Leo Rice, Joshua Chaplinsky on Horror, Jen Fawkes’s Playlist, and More
In our afternoon reading: interviews with David Leo Rice and Joshua Chaplinsky, a playlist from Jen Fawkes, and more.
Morning Bites: David Leo Rice Nonfiction, Revisiting Werner Herzog, Hanif Abdurraqib on Books, and More
In our morning reading: new writing from David Leo Rice, revisiting Werner Herzog’s films, and more.
Books of the Month: May 2024
It’s a few days into a new month, and you can probably tell what’s next: we have some May books we’d like to recommend. Stylistically, they cover a lot of terrain; you’ll find everything from experimental short fiction to haunting meditations of contemporary politics here. Read on for some suggestions for the weeks to come.
Afternoon Bites: Ruth Madievsky Interviewed, David Leo Rice Fiction, Brian Eno on Piano, and More
In our afternoon reading: interviews with Ruth Madievsky and Annie Liontas, new writing by David Leo Rice, and more.
Weekend Bites: Revisiting Moss Icon, David Leo Rice Fiction, M.S. Coe’s Recommendations, and More
In our weekend reading: revisiting the music of Moss Icon, fiction from David Leo Rice, and more.