He painted what was in front of him, producing an elegant rebuttal of the claim that it was no longer possible for a figurative painter to say anything new. The post Fairfield Porter: Artist, Writer, Heretic appeared first on The Millions.

We yield to our directive. We kill, destroy. We throw out the Jewish canon. The post Sacred Trash: How to Dismantle a Library appeared first on The Millions.

Turns out, no matter what remote place we wind up, we can’t escape ourselves. The post Eight Essential Books Set in the Middle of Nowhere appeared first on The Millions.

In “William Wilson,” the most autobiographical of his tales, Poe may have been portraying his own unspeakable boarding school experience. The post Was Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’ Inspired by an Edgar Allan Poe Story? appeared first on The Millions.

Lopez, right before they stabbed him in the yard—this was maybe last winter or the winter previous—you know what he said? He said: “Time makes fools of us all.” The post ‘Riots I Have Known’: Featured Fiction from Ryan Chapman appeared first on The M

Seven books hot off the presses this week, including new poetry, an Oprah pick, and Paul Auster's latest. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Chapman, Miller, Cásares, Auster, and More appeared first on The Millions.

There’s a palpable sorrow in her writing, culminating in moments where the wound feels especially raw. The post Dubrava Ugrešić Looks for Home appeared first on The Millions.

She never considered herself an artist. She was always more interested in documenting and preserving subcultures that were destined to blaze and then vanish. The post Martha Cooper: A Reluctant Icon appeared first on The Millions.

If you’re trying to decide whether or not to read Bolaño’s 900-page opus, I can only say this: it must be read, but no shame to any person who cannot. The post Reading Roberto Bolaño’s Final Wake-Up Call appeared first on The Millions.

I love stories told by the supposedly innocent bystander; the less charismatic best friend; the hapless fan or scholar whose own life recedes in the shadow of their subject of adoration. The post Observers, Bystanders, and Hangers On: Ten Novels with

What if the young girl from Camden was the model for the nymphet from Ramsdale? Who was Sally Horner? Who is Dolores Haze? The post The True Crime Story That (Might Have) Inspired Nabokov to Write ‘Lolita’ appeared first on The Millions.

It’s frighteningly easy to settle into being someone you don’t want to be, because that settling can happen so gradually. The post Starting Over Is What’s Hard: The Millions Interviews Mary Laura Philpott appeared first on The Millions.

Writing that was judged insufficiently socialist realist would remain unpublished, and its author might be sent to a labor camp or killed. The post This New Translation of a Russian Epic Restores What Censors Stole appeared first on The Millions.

The books we're looking forward to reading next, including stories of contemporary China, Karen Russell's latest, and a stunning memoir about loss and love. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Russell, Wang, Hanif, Greene, and More appeared fi

A lovely, ambitious poem about the mysteries of belief that takes place in the murky and mystical place of faith. The post My Mother Once Gave Up Her Savior: Featured Poetry by Tina Chang appeared first on The Millions.

We were marking something. One phase of childhood was ending, another just beginning. The post Our Time in the Barn: Reading ‘Charlotte’s Web’ with My Daughter appeared first on The Millions.

I am always interested in how language can bring beauty to ugliness and despair. Language can enlighten the divine within the profane. The post The Craft of Jennifer Clement’s ‘Gun Love’ appeared first on The Millions.

To end a poem with a question is to offer an invitation. Here, the poet says, now it’s your turn. We sit up, re-read, and become a part of the poem. The post In Praise of Poems That End with Questions appeared first on The Millions.

There was something freeing about being able to lean into the way my memories presented themselves in my head rather than shading them with research. The post Who Says Memoir Has to Be Nonfiction? The Millions Interviews Tyrese Coleman appeared first

If you’re into that kind of thing, you may have watched the Met Gala this week with a mix of horror, fascination, and one nudging complaint: That’s not camp! There have been about a million articles published on the subject since then, so here are ju

One big name graduates to our hall of fame as a new (even bigger) name joins the list. The post The Millions Top Ten: April 2019 appeared first on The Millions.

In an era of intense specialization and branding, it is the extremely rare writer who manages to wear as many hats as McEwan does. The post Caring Is Creepy: Ian McEwan and ‘Machines Like Me’ appeared first on The Millions.

By turns sensual and sweet, Rekdal’s narrator captures the many facets of hunger. The post This Is the Fruit I’ll Never Die For: Featured Poetry by Paisley Rekdal appeared first on The Millions.

This week brings us a bounty of new books, including Casey Cep's account of Harper Lee’s failed attempt to write a true crime book and a memoir of equestrian dreams in Mongolia. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Cep, Lin, Grame, DiFranco, an

The sensational real-life murder trial in 19th-century Scotland that cast a light on the extraordinary genesis of Conan Doyle's most famous character. The post Will the Real Sherlock Holmes Please Stand Up? appeared first on The Millions.

I might even say humor is the most important thing to me. It's how we understand each other. It’s how we relate to each other. It’s how we mask our pain. The post I Think of My Stories as Comedies: Joshua Denslow’s Sad Superheroes appeared first on T

Several themes—migrants, ecology and the procession of the seasons, humans versus the establishment “machine”—have been building with each book. The post Rites of Spring: Does the Latest in Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet Satisfy? appeared first on The

Oh, but daddy could speak. His words are emblazoned on my memory. They land on the pages I write—ubiquitous, textured, yet not easy to digest. The post Memorizing and Memory: A Writer’s Estranged Cousins appeared first on The Millions.