How do you write? My best friend might look at her old poems and draw from those. My former newspaper advisor tweeted at me: “Nulla dies sine linea,” or “Never a day without a line.”
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David Carr: 1956-2015
David Carr, the acclaimed journalist, media columnist for The New York Times, and author of the bestselling Night of the Gun, died February 2015 in New York at the age of 58. Here is a brief reading list of stories by and about Carr, his life and work. It doesn’t even begin to cover it. […]
I Kissed Christianity Goodbye: Four Stories About Leaving Religion
Today, I want to honor the stories of women who left religion (the Christian faith, in particular), and these are four thoughtful, poetic meditations.
Franklin, Reconsidered: An Essay by Jill Lepore
Jill Lepore revisits the legacy of Benjamin Franklin, who in his time was “the most accomplished and famous American who had ever lived.”
Roy Choi and the Taco Truck That Spawned an Empire
Kogi didn’t take off overnight. After Choi’s friend and Kogi partner (eight people run the company) Mark Manguera came up with the idea of mashing up Korean BBQ and Mexican tacos, the Kogi truck began heaving through the streets of L.A. It was slow going at first, more a curiosity than anything else. But then […]
The Unique Heartbreak of Loving a Rock Star
A central agony in these books is alienation—not only the pain of abuse, or heartbreak, or evaporation, but the pain of having your pain appropriated. The books themselves reclaim the hurt for their authors, and whatever their literary merit, they offer at least some catharsis for the reader, who can always relate. Rock songs make […]
Celebrating Singlehood and Reclaiming the Word ‘Spinster’
An interview with Kate Bolick about the single women in history who helped her understand how she could live on her own terms.
‘Orange Is the New Black’ as a Trojan Horse for Prison Reform
When Piper optioned her book to Jenji Kohan, the creator of Weeds, a number of people were asked to sign over something called “life rights.” In short: Some version of our lives could be depicted on the show, and we each agreed not to sue its creators if, for example, the character based on one […]
On the Other Hand
Twenty-five years after Jim Henson’s death, a glimpse of the man who kept his most iconic puppet singing: Steve Whitmire.
The Art of Humorous Nonfiction: A Beer in Brooklyn with the King of the A-Heds
Former Wall Street Journal reporter Barry Newman reflects on 43 years of feature stories that explore the eccentric humanity of our world.
