Although music often involves emotional expression, pop star Carly Rae Jepsen has built a career and a persona out of big, unguarded emotions, a range that could be called “too muchness,” which is just right for some of us.
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The Story of Country Music’s Great Songwriting Duo
Before they released “Wichita Lineman,” the greatest unfinished song of all time, Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb lived surprisingly parallel lives.
Feminize Your Canon: Olivia Manning
The first in a new series at the Paris Review, featuring “underrated and underread” female authors. This one profiles British Novelist Olivia Manning (1908-1980), known best for her novel School for Love and for her Balkan and Levant trilogies. Manning’s books featured less likable women characters, who might have been better appreciated if they were […]
The Occupation of a Woman Writer
Our inherited biases about who should write what live deeper than most of us realize or want to acknowledge.
The Name Change Dilemma
Hannah Howard considers tradition, identity, and love as she navigates the decision whether to keep her name after her wedding.
Help Us Fund More Original Essays (and Great Art to Go with Them)
Member contributions help us to amplify diverse voices and give chances to new writers.
Wonderful Things: The Kid Creole and the Coconuts Story
Combining island sounds with stylish clothes and an unforgettable stage presence, one of New York City’s most original bands helped influence 1980s pop culture, and they never sacrificed their unclassifiable artistic vision.
Sight and Insight
After a childhood filled with intrusive medical interventions for misaligned eyes, Liane Kupferberg Carter wrestles with learning to see herself and others clearly.
Shelved: Jeff Buckley’s Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
The posthumous Buckley industry began with this problematic album, proof that the people who control a musician’s estate don’t always have his music in mind.
Longreads Best of 2019: All of Our No. 1 Story Picks
Our top picks of the year, all in one place.

