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Posted inEditor's Pick
The (Un)holy Gospel of Suga Free
“There’s a thin line between isolation and serenity, and Suga Free needs nobody but Suga Free.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Hip-Hop at Fifty: An Elegy
“A generation is still dying younger than it should—this time, of ‘natural causes.'”
Posted inFeature
Finding the Magic in Writing with Lidia Yuknavitch
On shitty first, second, and third drafts; embracing the struggle to write; and more.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Night Shifts
“Clearly dreams do something for us,” writes Michael W. Clune. “If not, why would evolution have endowed us with the capacity?” In this essay, Clune explores the fascinating world of dream engineering via a device called the Dormio, which enables a person to shape the images that appear during hypnagogia, the transitional stage between wakefulness […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Can AI Write Authentic Poetry?
“There is no doubt that some forms of creativity are within the reach, and indeed the grasp, of computer programs.”
Posted inNewsletter
A Forgotten Deportation, a New Questionnaire Series, and Our Top 5
An essay about a forgotten deportation and the reckoning it left behind, a glimpse into Maria Popova’s writing and reading life, and our five recommended stories of the week.
Posted inEditor's Pick
I Disconnected from the Electric Grid for 8 Months—in Manhattan
“On May 22, 2022, I began an experiment. I unplugged everything in my apartment, with the goal of drawing zero power from the electric grid for one month.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Kendrick Lamar’s New Chapter
“In partnership with his longtime collaborator, Dave Free, the greatest rapper of his generation is pushing himself — commercially and creatively — onto unexpected terrain.”
Posted inNewsletter
Spiders as Unlikely Muses (and Our Top 5)
“When the spiders arrive in my dream, are they jolting me to risk vulnerability personally or creatively? I could stay inside collecting dust, or I could weave my web where others can see. If rejected, could I have the temerity to take the silk back, gobbling up my own words and trying again in some […]
