Books

Book Review: “The Musical Lives of Charles Manson” — Scenes from a Counterculture

January 9, 2026
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Nicholas Tochka is less interested in crafting a coherent portrayal of Charles Manson’s “musical lives” than in connecting his critical hypothesis of “the invention of the Sixties” to critical theories.

Book Review: Choreographer George Balanchine — Cavalier or Creep?

January 8, 2026
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“Balanchine Finds His America” is written primarily in the present tense, so that reading the book is like watching a never-to-be-repeated dance performance.

Book Review: Art, Desire, and Danger in Olivia Laing’s “The Silver Book”

January 3, 2026
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Olivia Laing’s hard-driven narrative, set mostly in 1975, combines a gay romance with a literary text about the dangers of resurfacing fascism, a discourse on 20th-century avant-garde film-making, and a political thriller.

Poetry Review: “Sky of Sudden Changes” — In Living Color

January 3, 2026
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Many of the poems in this new collection take in the world through a distinctively painterly eye for scenes and sketches.

Book Review: “Call Me Ishmaelle” — Was This Reboot Necessary?

December 29, 2025
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Applying a litmus test to art — in this case ideological sanitizing — inevitably diminishes the art.

Translation Spotlight: Haunted and Haunting

December 29, 2025
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Appreciations of three remarkable translated works that have preoccupied me for months.

Book Review: “The Coroner’s Silence” — A Chilling Inquiry into Institutional Indifference

December 28, 2025
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The title of this revelatory book might suggest that it’s limited to uncovering the deficiencies and biases of a particular profession. But “The Coroner’s Silence” is far more than that.

Book Review: “Unfinished” Argues for AI as an Artistic Partner — But at What Cost?

December 27, 2025
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“Unfinished” supplies a thoughtful analysis of the relationship between music, musicians, and AI.

Arts Feature: Recommended Books, 2025

December 26, 2025
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An eclectic round-up of the favorite books of the year from our critics.

Poetry Review: The Devil’s Sonnets — John Berryman’s “Only Sing”

December 23, 2025
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Poet John Berryman’s choice of minstrelsy in his “Dream Songs” is not just a distraction that can be explained away by aficionados — it is impossible to excuse or forgive.

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