The right angle

by James Panero

On Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler.

The best book on theater

by Kyle Smith

On The Season, by William Goldman.

The Critic’s Notebook

by the Editors

On Piero della Francesca, the National Arts Club, Beethoven’s sonatas & more from the world of culture.

The poet as memoirist

by Richard Tillinghast

On W. B. Yeats’s Autobiographies.

Absence & reunion

by Isaac Sligh

On four Beethoven sonatas, live & in person at New York’s Saint Thomas Church.

Waking up from wokeness

On America’s “First Great Awokening.”

A note of thanks

Thank you for another year of loyal support.

Features

The triumph of Thomas Sowell

by John Steele Gordon

On Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell, by Jason L. Riley.

Ideologists amok

by David Guaspari

On Kenneth Minogue’s political philosophy.

Full of insight, full of fun

by James F. Penrose

On Critique musicale, volume 10, by Hector Berlioz.

All is Orwell

by Gerald Frost

On George Orwell in Spain.

A stroll in the rain

by George Bradley

Sightings: northern flicker

by Jacqueline Osherow

The cooling of John le Carré

by Michael J. Lewis

On the British spy novelist.

The right angle

by James Panero

On Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler.

Society vanishes

by Gerald J. Russello

On the novels of Louis Auchincloss.

The poet as memoirist

by Richard Tillinghast

On W. B. Yeats’s Autobiographies.

The best book on theater

by Kyle Smith

On The Season, by William Goldman.

Soutine & de Kooning at the Barnes

by Karen Wilkin

On “Soutine / de Kooning: Conversations in Paint,” at the Barnes Foundation.

The real Neel

by Mario Naves

On “Alice Neel: People Come First,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Exhibition note

by Andrew L. Shea

On “Julie Mehretu,” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Livestream chronicle

by Jay Nordlinger

On recent livestreams by the New York Philharmonic, Joshua Bell, Richard Goode, Arlen Hlusko & Paul Jacobs.

Sanity clause

by James Bowman

On the partisan rhetoric of “insanity.”

History lessons

by William Logan

A review of “The Historians,” by Eavan Boland, “American Melancholy,” by Joyce Carol Oates, “Now We’re Getting Somewhere,” by Kim Addonizio, “The Caiplie Caves,” by Karen Solie, “Beethoven Variations,” by Ruth Padel & “The Hill We Climb,” by Amanda Gorman.

Notebook

On the hero trail

by Timothy Jacobson

On Robert Penn Warren & Dixon Wecter.

Denis Donoghue, 1928–2021

by Adam Kirsch

On the Irish literary critic.

Week in review

by Jane Coombs

June 18, 2021

On the poets Ivor Gurney, Edmund Spenser & William Logan.

Legs here, legs there

by James F. Penrose

June 18, 2021

On “L’Empire des sens de Boucher à Greuze” at the Musée Cognacq-Jay, Paris.

The Conestoga River flows on

by Stephen Schmalhofer

June 17, 2021

On the history of the Pennsylvania river.

The Critic’s Notebook

by The Editors

June 15, 2021

On Piero della Francesca, the National Arts Club, Beethoven’s sonatas & more from the world of culture.

A special recital

by Jay Nordlinger

June 14, 2021

On a young guitarist and his remarkable family.

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Books

The sweets of Pymlico

on The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne

by D. J. Taylor

Self-help yourself

on The Quick Fix by Jesse Singal

by Anthony Daniels

Paradise in Dorset

on The Crichel Boys by Simon Fenwick

by David Platzer

The sound of silence

on A Demon-Haunted Land by Monica Black

by Andrew Stuttaford

The little corporal’s loot

on Plunder by Cynthia Saltzman

by Jeremy Black

Why should we dance?

on Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Translated By David Kovacs

by Claire Catenaccio

Bookstore

The right angle

by James Panero

The best book on theater

by Kyle Smith

The Critic’s Notebook

by the Editors

The poet as memoirist

by Richard Tillinghast

Absence & reunion

by Isaac Sligh

Notes & Comments

Waking up from wokeness

A note of thanks

Features

The triumph of Thomas Sowell

by John Steele Gordon

Ideologists amok

by David Guaspari

Full of insight, full of fun

by James F. Penrose

All is Orwell

by Gerald Frost

A stroll in the rain

by George Bradley

Sightings: northern flicker

by Jacqueline Osherow

The cooling of John le Carré

by Michael J. Lewis

The right angle

by James Panero

Society vanishes

by Gerald J. Russello

The poet as memoirist

by Richard Tillinghast

The best book on theater

by Kyle Smith

Soutine & de Kooning at the Barnes

by Karen Wilkin

The real Neel

by Mario Naves

Exhibition note

by Andrew L. Shea

Livestream chronicle

by Jay Nordlinger

Sanity clause

by James Bowman

History lessons

by William Logan

On the hero trail

by Timothy Jacobson

Denis Donoghue, 1928–2021

by Adam Kirsch

Week in review

by Jane Coombs

June 18, 2021

Legs here, legs there

by James F. Penrose

June 18, 2021

The Conestoga River flows on

by Stephen Schmalhofer

June 17, 2021

The Critic’s Notebook

by The Editors

June 15, 2021

A special recital

by Jay Nordlinger

June 14, 2021

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The sweets of Pymlico

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Paradise in Dorset

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Critic's Notebook

1
The trials of Edgar Allan Poe by James Tuttleton

2
The triumph of Thomas Sowell by John Steele Gordon

3
The cooling of John le Carré by Michael J. Lewis

4
Swimming with “Leviathan” by Kenneth Minogue

5
Waking up from wokeness

6
Leninthink by Gary Saul Morson

7
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

8
Ruskin according to Proust by Guy Davenport

9
All is Orwell by Gerald Frost

10
Give sorrow words by Kevin D. Williamson

1
The triumph of Thomas Sowell by John Steele Gordon

2
All is Orwell by Gerald Frost

3
Waking up from wokeness

4
The right angle by James Panero

5
The cooling of John le Carré by Michael J. Lewis

6
Leninthink by Gary Saul Morson

7
A theory of something by Anthony Daniels

8
Self-censorship by Douglas Murray

9
The trials of Edgar Allan Poe by James Tuttleton

10
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

1
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

2
The triumph of Thomas Sowell by John Steele Gordon

3
Fyodor Dostoevsky: philosopher of freedom by Gary Saul Morson

4
Keywords: hoist, petard

5
The hypocrisy of Noam Chomsky by Keith Windschuttle

6
Leninthink by Gary Saul Morson

7
Hypocrite hector by Anthony Daniels

8
Knights & their ladies fair by Bruce Bawer

9
The Spartan way of war by Victor Davis Hanson

10
All is Orwell by Gerald Frost

1
The scab & the wound beneath by Victor Davis Hanson

2
How the great truth dawned by Gary Saul Morson

3
The triumph of Thomas Sowell by John Steele Gordon

4
The hypocrisy of Noam Chomsky by Keith Windschuttle

5
Fyodor Dostoevsky: philosopher of freedom by Gary Saul Morson

6
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

7
Leninthink by Gary Saul Morson

8
George Will’s “conservatism” by James Piereson

9
Keywords: hoist, petard