Gatsby’s Defeat and America’s Status Quo
Gatsby’s fictional legacy is a reflection of America’s all-too-real, relentless ambition, its bottomless hunger for reinvention, and its cruelty toward those who will never reach the upper class.
books feature
Healing Fiction from Japan and South Korea Is Comforting Yet Complex
The origins of Japanese and Korean healing fiction are intertwined, but the recent wave of Korean healing fiction demonstrates its unique fusion with European and American cultures.
The Zombies’ Inhuman Staying Power
The Zombies only had a couple of hit songs, yet Robin Platts’ Times and Seasons shows their almost inhuman staying power to this day.
Tom Robbins’ Crazy Wisdom
An undercurrent of seriousness prevails in Tom Robbins’ comedic expressions, occasionally bubbling to the surface to convey profundities on the nature of the universe, the human condition, et al.
Alanis Morissette and the Division and Commodification of Women in 1990s Rock (excerpt)
This excerpt from the forthcoming book, Why Alanis Morissette Matters leaves a most righteous “trail of carnage” in its wake.
The Rise and Fall of New York’s Bohemian Capital Greenwich Village
Based on 150 interviews with folk music notables, David Browne’s Talkin’ Greenwich Village lends this saga in music history the epic scope it has long deserved.
Blaxploitation Movies and Music Are the Story of the 1970s
Blaxploitation signaled the moment ghetto culture and the Black vernacular hit the American mainstream, paving the way for rap, hip-hop, disco, and modern sports.
Alice Munro’s Men
The late author Alice Munro’s work is criticized for its portrayal of men. But radically, not all her rejected male characters are mediocrities.
‘Beware the Cat’: The First English Horror Novel
In the first English horror novel, Beware the Cat, William Baldwin satirizes and mocks the Catholic Church’s naïve superstitions and alleged pagan practices.
Waxing Moustaches: A Hair-Brained Interview with Humourist Aug Stone
What do sports, music, comedy, and neuroplasticity have to do with waxing moustaches? This hair-brained interview with humourist Aug Stone explains.
Two Men in a Tub: A Sudsy Interview with Humorist Robert Wringham
Robert Wringham’s Rub-A-Dub-Dub slips neck-deep into the wet hot mess of middle-age angst. From the comfort of his bath, so to speak, he talks about it.
Dave Grohl Wants to Tell You How Lucky He Is
In his book The Storyteller, both successful Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl the Punk, and lucky Dave Grohl the Everyman, come out smiling.