Books & Culture
The Latest
The 2020 National Book Awards Longlist: Translated Literature
The ten books being considered for the award are all works of fiction, originally published in eight different languages.
How Cameo Blew Up During Quarantine
With live events cancelled, people are increasingly marking birthdays, graduations, and breakups with shout-outs from C-list celebrities.
The Critics
Goya and the Art of Survival
In the turbulent Spain of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Goya skimmed waves of change that swamped others.
When a Virus Becomes a Muse
Hervé Guibert wrote about the ravaging of AIDS in controversial, self-exposing, always defiant fiction. A revival of his work places it within the canonical literature of illness.
Black Scholars Confront White Supremacy in Classical Music
The field must acknowledge a history of systemic racism while also giving new weight to Black composers, musicians, and listeners.
Goings On About Town
Touchstones of El Salvador in New York
At Pupusas Ridgewood, in Queens, and Mirna’s Pupuseria, in Brooklyn, find griddled masa cakes, cashew-fruit juice, and other transportative treats.
Photo Booth
The Photographer Peeking at Your Phone
Jeff Mermelstein’s photo collection “#nyc” captures the quotidian dramas taking place on the phone screens of unsuspecting strangers.
Video
A New Yorker Cartoonist Demonstrates How to Draw a City
Jeremy Nguyen discusses how to capture the feel of a neighborhood in an illustration, and how that’s changed during the pandemic.