It Better Rhyme: ‘The Stasi Poetry Circle’
When historian Philip Oltermann is handed the Stasi file for Uwe Berger, leader of the Stasi Poetry Circle, he gives the GDR’s dark history a poetic twist.
Linda Levitt
Reading, thinking, talking and writing. Communication PhD and assoc prof in Texas.
Our Era of ‘Confidence Culture’ Preserves the Status Quo for Women
How confidence cult(ure) repackages long-repeated ideas to make them more appealing and to hold women responsible for the damage done to them.
Punk-Influenced Playwright Alvin Eng Airs the Laundry in His New Memoir
Accomplished playwright Alvin Eng’s fluency across cultures and punk rock, theatrical performance, playwriting, and journalism makes for an engaging memoir.
Laurie Anderson’s Big Science Is a Multifaceted Approach to the Artist and Her Art
Professor and music critic S. Alexander Reed takes an immersive approach to Laurie Anderson’s Big Science and writes as if he is in conversation with the artist.
Amanda Lotz Dismantles Mythologies in ‘Media Disrupted’
Did the internet kill the music industry? Is cable television dead? Media scholar Amanda D. Lotz explores these concepts and their misconceptions in Media Disrupted.
What Is Identity in Our Digital Age of ‘The Extreme Self’?
Do you look “real” in virtual space? Such existential questions are central to ‘The Extreme Self’, which explores identity in our digital world.
Memoir ‘Supremely Tiny Acts’ Resonates with Intellect and Intimacy
Sonya Huber’s memoir, Supremely Tiny Acts, gives readers access to a witty mind that is full of delightful surprises discovered in a single day.
Judy Chicago’s Feminist Art Is Still Flowering
In her autobiography Still Flowering, Judy Chicago also offers a plainspoken, powerful discussion about the growth of feminist art.
Memoir and Criticism in Matthew Specktor’s ‘Always Crashing the Same Car’
As a critic of both films and literature, Matthew Specktor has a balanced touch that keeps the scales even in his memoir, Always Crashing in the Same Car.
Billie Jean King’s ‘All In’ Takes a Swing at Gender Equity and the Big Game Called Life
A maverick force in promoting women’s sports, Billie Jean King’s courage and diligence also helped transform acceptance of gay and lesbian culture in America.
What’s So Funny About Tragic Things?
Scepanski’s Tragedy Plus Time takes a serious look at how comedy and satire in American media make light of dark matters.
‘Winter in Sokcho’ Offers an Icy Narrative of Identity and Distance
Author Elisa Shua Dusapin draws from her own challenges of entwined cultures and a feeling of not belonging in Winter in Sokcho.
