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Escape Act
Rachel Cusk’s Life of M and Fictionalizing the Other in Place of the Self There is always a buzz around a new Rachel Cusk novel—her name trends on Substack, The New Yorker drops an Instagram post, literary circles murmur. It’s well deserved excitement for an author who has spent over two decades making literary form…
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NYCB’s Springtime Coppelia is a Streamlined Circus
The springtime production of Coppelia is nimble fun, unlike the maudlin love stories that seduce crowds. New York City Ballet (NYCB) presents pink pastoral sets against a frothy score. Still, the register of its serious history is accessible. More than lacy play, Coppelia is historically enriched, put on during a spring where the company paradigm…
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Us Politics
Chris Murphy’s Crisis of the Common Good examines how the erosion of shared civic life affects and endangers us all. Last May, the Class of 2026 gathered on Foss for the final time listening to Wesleyan’s commencement speaker. Drenched, hungover, and awaiting their diplomas, many may not remember the equally drenched man who stood speaking before…
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Ignorance Without Bliss: Perfection and One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Italian author Vincenzo Latronico’s 2022 novel Perfection follows Anna and Tom, millennial university graduates whose vague left-wing politics are limited to Instagram stories condemning injustices in New York City. The couple moves to Berlin after viewing an online apartment listing, a shiny object that appears to be the key to a perfect new life. In…
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Edith Wharton and the Suspension of Youth
I started college early at sixteen. At my graduation from Bard College at Simon’s Rock (an experimental early college program), I was surprised to receive an award for excellence in Languages and Literature. The award came with a certificate, a handshake, and a very nice hardcover copy of Edith Wharton’s The Custom of the Country. …
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Bad Readers of the 21st Century: BookTok and the Commodification of the Novel
Vladimir Nabokov’s essay “Good Readers and Good Writers” formed the foundation of his literature classes taught at Cornell in the 1940s and 50s. In the essay, Nabokov argues that certain traits distinguish “good” readers from “bad” readers. A “good” reader, according to Nabokov, rereads books, has a robust imagination, and separates the fictional worlds in…
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Artificial Love, Authentic Fear: Obsession Exposes the Darkside of Gen-Z Romance
Obsession has taken audiences by storm, grossing over $300 million at the box office worldwide on a $750,000 production budget. Impressive, to say the least. Obsession’s popularity is evidence of the success of its terrifying story and also of the message it has left for audiences to decipher and reflect on. Theories, easter eggs, interpretations,…
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Adventures in Piracy
When I remember the existential threats of war, disease, and climate change, I buy a bunch of records. I imagine the internet a thing of the past, WiFi long gone, Spotify an old dream. Holding the record in my hands provides a sense of certainty. If the whole internet crashes, I can still listen to…
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One Small Trophy For the Knicks, One Giant Win for New York City
New Yorkers all across the country rejoiced Saturday night as the New York Knicks finally ended their 53-year championship drought, the third-longest in NBA history. The 94-90 come-from-behind win over the San Antonio Spurs caps off what has been an ecstatic two-month playoff run filled with historically dominating victories and last-second comebacks. When the final…
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The Nuuly Trap
In the spring of 2025, I began to notice a certain striped gray bag everywhere, piled on top of each other in my school’s mailroom, flaunted on my TikTok For You Page (FYP), and even overwhelming the mailboxes hidden in the vast tunnel systems beneath Capitol Hill. These bags belong to Nuuly, a clothing subscription…
