Composer Philip Glass was a plumber, a mover, a taxi driver — and as a child, a clerk in his father’s record store, where he learned a key lesson.
Search results
Posted inEditor's Pick
A New Yorker, and a Sick Person
In an excerpt from her memoir, Sick, Porochista Khakpour recalls fashioning herself after her artist aunt’s example.
Posted inNonfiction
The Danger of Befriending Celebrities
Once upon a time, nightlife journalist Michael Musto didn’t set the strongest boundaries with the boldfaced names he covered.
Posted inNonfiction
American Tests
In her quest to become truly American, Jakki Kerubo discovers what it means to belong in a place.
Posted inArts & Culture, Culture, Essays & Criticism, Story, Writing
Miami: A Beginning
Jessica Lynne remembers a long distance love affair that began in Miami and the Billie Holiday song that kept her company through the relationship’s transitions.
Posted inNonfiction
Perilous Passage
The true story of a Ukrainian father and son who became the first — and only — Soviet defectors to seek freedom in the West by crossing the icy Bering Strait.
Posted inCommentary, Podcasts
Editor’s Roundtable: Cities, And How They Used to be Good (Podcast)
This week, Longreads editors discuss stories in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The CT Mirror, and Engadget.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
With a Rent-Stabilized Lease, Finding the Line Between Luck and a Life Sentence
Eryn Loeb recalls the tiny, decrepit tenement where she lived for a decade, and the cool aunt who passed it on to her.
Posted inReading List
MFA vs. NYC: A Reading List
Poverty and a lack of diversity are just a couple of pitfalls Jacqueline Alnes explores in this list.
Posted inBusiness & Tech, Nonfiction, Quotes
What Is New York City Without Its Historic Buildings?
A city loses its life-force when it loses its historic buildings.
