Style
Why the Best Writing Advice Is Often the Weirdest
In a talk on the “art of rough drafting,” George Saunders, the Phil Jackson of writing teachers, says he’s learned, through writing and revision, that “there is a mind...
The Redemption of “Vanessa,” a Neglected Operatic Masterpiece
Samuel Barber’s 1958 opera was in disrepute for decades. A remarkable new production is the latest evidence of its rightful resurgence. Source link
Drake Is Back in Earnest
In 2009, after he had retired from his old career as a teen-age actor, and just as he was launching his new career as a grownup hip-hop star, Drake...
The Glories of Cannes Are Upon Us
As ever, Gray uses personal dramas to illuminate larger political realities. In the coming-of-age film “Armageddon Time,” he drew a direct connection from the racist policies of the Reagan...
Kadir Nelson’s “Plein Air”
For the cover of the May 25, 2026, issue, the artist Kadir Nelson decided to paint a tribute to the city’s budding artists. “I recently spied a young kid...
The Prehistory of A.I. Slop
Before ChatGPT, there was the Plot Robot, Auto-Beatnik, and a century’s worth of schemes for automating authorship. Source link
Chaya Czernowin Gives Voice to a Wounded World
Global disaster shadowed this year’s Witten Days for New Chamber Music, an ostensibly insular contemporary-music festival that takes place each spring in the Ruhr Valley, in Germany. Two Iranian composers...
The Age of “Intentional” Drinking
One evening not long ago, I met Amanda Crawford, a professional wine adviser, at Vandell, a new but nostalgic cocktail bar on the east side of Los Angeles. Crawford,...
Mary Todd Lincoln Has Long Been Derided. Is Her Reputation Salvageable?
In these early years, Mary helped more often than she hindered, as when she steered Lincoln away from accepting the dead-end territorial governorship of Oregon. Like Nancy Reagan a...
“The Audacity” Is a Brutal Silicon Valley Satire with an Agenda
Midway through my watch of the new tech-satire series “The Audacity,” I received an e-mail from Google that I had received many times before. My personal data had been...
