Farisa Khalid

Tea and Scones Suspense: Hitchcock’s “English” Movies of the Early 1940s

Tea and Scones Suspense: Hitchcock’s “English” Movies of the Early 1940s

Although Hitchcock left Great Britain for the United States in 1939, his first two films -- Rebecca (1940) and Suspicion (1941) -- nonetheless remained set firmly in English culture. His depictions helped craft perceptions of English life for decades to come.

Now, Voyager: Barry Hill’s ‘Peacemongers’

Now, Voyager: Barry Hill’s ‘Peacemongers’

'Peacemongers', by the Australian poet and journalist Barry Hill, is an epic travelogue and probing meditation on the importance and elusiveness of peace.
The Butterfly and the Scorpion: ‘Whistler: A Life for Art’s Sake’

The Butterfly and the Scorpion: ‘Whistler: A Life for Art’s Sake’

This biography of James Whistler is full of sharp notes of detail and anecdotes that help one glean various shades of his inscrutable personality
Une Énigme Politique: ‘A Taste for Intrigue: The Many Lives of François Mitterrand’

Une Énigme Politique: ‘A Taste for Intrigue: The Many Lives of François Mitterrand’

Philip Short's book is a masterfully written, sweeping narrative of Mitterrand’s life with decisive, revealing anecdotes and a meticulous chronicling of fact that is remarkable enough to be fiction.
Peace is a Relative Term: ‘War in Peace: Paramilitary Violence in Europe after the Great War’

Peace is a Relative Term: ‘War in Peace: Paramilitary Violence in Europe after the Great War’

On the postwar repercussions of poor diplomacy and inept decision-making in economic and foreign policy that led to the widespread nationalism across Europe during the interwar years.
Fiction Had Appeal and Poetry Captured Me, but Non-Fiction Proved Irresistible in 2013

Fiction Had Appeal and Poetry Captured Me, but Non-Fiction Proved Irresistible in 2013

Art, politics, poetry, food, and global fiction: 2013 year brought in a variety of engaging titles from many genres. Still, non-fiction tops my 2013 favorites.

Through a Glass Darkly: ‘American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell’

The Gathering Storm: Margaret MacMillan’s ‘The War That Ended Peace’

Guston’s Ghosts: ‘Out of Time: Philip Guston and the Refiguration of American Postwar Art’

These Vagabond Blues: ‘John O’Hara’s The New York Stories’

Now, Voyager: ‘Kon-Tiki’ and the Old World Adventure Saga

David Yezzi’s Work in Fluency, Grace and Agility