Books have always had the power to make authorities rather uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s because the novel makes the government look bad, goes against the teachings of a particular religion, or says things that are simply too salacious. In A Little History of Literature, John Sutherland takes a look at how
Rachel High– A new publication in the highly popular How to Read series, How to Read Chinese Ceramics, by Denise Patry Leidy, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art and an expert in the field, is perfect for students who want to learn more about this fascinating, centuries-old tradition and is
Shahar Arzy— Few subjects are as fascinating as mysticism. Believers find in it signs that support their faith, celebrities use it to seek meaning in their lives, historians trace the background of its protagonists, writers weave plots around it, and philosophers break it down into schools of thought. These interests—as
This month’s installment in our marvelous From the Designer’s Desk series comes from the inspired Peter Blaiwas, the designer at the helm of Peter Blaiwas Graphic Design. Here he discusses the book’s enduring importance in the changing landscape of reading formats, and the role of book design at this moment.
Art conservation offers a fascinating overlap between the worlds of art and science; conservators examine works of art using tools and methods such as microscopy, X-radiography, X-ray fluorescence, and infrared reflectography, and their insight informs decisions about how to preserve, clean, store, transport, and display the works. Here, Ian McClure,
Corita Kent and the Language of Pop is an exhibition opening this Thursday, September 3rd, at the Harvard Art Museums. The Boston Globe recently published a piece in which Cate McQuaid whimsically proposes that if Don Draper and Mother Teresa had a love child, it would be Corita Kent. The
In August 2015 Yale published Latest Readings, by the celebrated memoirist, poet, translator, critic and broadcaster Clive James. As he contemplates life and mortality, James muses that “if you don’t know the exact moment when the lights will go out, you might as well read until they do.” We spoke to Clive James
Mark Polizzotti— The Paris of Patrick Modiano’s fictions is a city that no longer exists, and perhaps never did. There is a character and a topology typical of his version of the city, a peculiar atmosphere (even when the sun is blazing, the streets seem shrouded in gray), an architecture,
In Interviews with Artists, Michael Peppiatt writes about his meetings with a variety of artists, architects, and photographers, such as R.B. Kitaj, Frank Auerbach, Francis Bacon, Claes Oldenburg, Norman Foster and Henry Moore. He begins his introduction by saying, “I have always thought that if you can get the artist to
Bill Vaughn— In “Hawthorn Blossom,” the Brothers Grimm rewriting of the folk story Sleeping Beauty, a queen is informed by a frog that the royal couple finally will have a child. Among the guests at the celebration of the princess’s birth are twelve “wise women” (the sort of traditional village