“Nabokov arrived on these shores, penniless and without prospects, in 1941, at the age of forty, having only begun writing in English shortly before his flight from Europe. How could a book so thoroughly – so definingly – American have arisen … from so seemingly unlikely a source?”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Good News From Timbuktu: Islamic Landmarks Destroyed By Invading Islamists Repaired
“A project to restore 14 historic mausoleums destroyed in Timbuktu three years ago by hardline Islamists is due to finish at the end of July. … Extremist groups targeted the tombs of Muslim saints as well as the city’s vast libraries when rebels occupied northern Mali following a military coup in March 2012.”
Why The World Loves Southern Gothic Lit
Novelist M.O. Walsh (from Louisiana): “Here’s my idea: the southern gothic is like a trusty bicycle. (Note: this is not simply because southerners talk too slowly for a car metaphor to work. It is instead a kinship in the way the two things are assembled and ornamented. Stay with me.)”
We Have Discovered The Owner Of William Carlos Williams’s Red Wheelbarrow
“For decades, much has depended on his red wheelbarrow, streaked with rain, next to some white chickens, even if no one has known – or perhaps even wondered – exactly who he was.” Now, at last, poetic justice can be done.
Almost A Third Of The Great Wall Of China Has Disappeared – So Far
“About 2,000 kilometers, or 30%, of the ancient fortification built in the Ming Dynasty era has disappeared due to natural erosion and human damage … And the situation could worsen, experts are warning, as not enough is being done to preserve what remains.”
Alex Ross Checks Out Apple Music
“No heads will roll in Cupertino on account of these grumblings. The majority of the population that ignores classical music will shrug and go back to the new Jamie xx record. (I’m enjoying his track ‘The Rest Is Noise.’) Yet Apple’s unwillingness to accommodate – in this first iteration, at least – defining features of a thousand-year tradition is symptomatic of general trends in the streaming business.”
L.A. Is Not The Creative Shangri-La That The East-Coast Press Suddenly Thinks It Is
Carolina Miranda: “I feel as if we, in the cultural classes, have been perfectly happy to get caught up in the mythology that L.A. is somehow a Xanadu of art-making. Certainly, there are worse places to be an artist. (Brooklyn comes to mind.) But let’s get real about the situation here in Los Angeles.”
One Creative-Class Angeleno Explains Why He Just Can’t Stay
Scott Timberg: “Remember that bittersweet feeling, halfway between queasy and liberating, when you’ve decided you’re going to break up with someone but don’t know when, where, or how you’ll pull the trigger? Someone, that is, with whom you still share a connection but can no longer abide? I’ve lived with this weird ambiguity for almost a decade now. And I’m not talking about dumping my wife.”
Why Is It Getting Harder And Harder To Fall Asleep?
“We are, as a population, sleeping less now than we ever have. The problem, on the whole, isn’t that we’re waking up earlier. Much of the change has to do with when we choose to go to bed – and with how we decide to do so.”
The Mindfulness Guru For The iPhone Age
“He is bald, with blue eyes and a deep tan, and he looks as much like a personal trainer as like a personal guru. … He speaks with the kind of Estuary English accent that you might encounter in a London pub.” Andy Puddicombe “trained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk before creating an iPhone app called Headspace, which teaches meditation and mindfulness techniques [and] has been downloaded by three million users.”