Leszek Kolakowski & the anatomy of totalitarianism
by Roger Kimball
On the life and work of the philosopher Leszek Kolakowski, who is “well-known without being known well.”
On the life and work of the philosopher Leszek Kolakowski, who is “well-known without being known well.”
On the history and function of war journalism, from Thucydides to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On Kenya’s significant but barely remembered Mau Mau rebellion.
On the incredible achievements of the dancer Martha Graham.
On My Name Is Rachel Corrie, at the Royal Court Theatre, London.
On “Matisse, His Art and His Textiles: The Fabric of Dreams” at The Royal Academy of Arts, London.
On “John Szarkowski” at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
On “Max Ernst: A Retrospective” at The Metroplitan Museum of Art, New York.
On “Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile” at The J. Paul Getty Museum & Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Mass.
On “Marvin Bileck & Emily Nelligan: Cranberry Island: Drawings and Prints” at Alexandre Gallery; “Tim Gardner” at 303 Gallery; “Jacqueline Gourevitch: Cloud Paintings 2000–2005” & “David Hockney: Pools 1978–1980” at the Mary Ryan Gallery & “Richard Baker” at Tibor de Nagy.
Your donation sustains our efforts to inspire joyous rediscoveries.
On the Dresden Staatskapelle’s two nights at Carnegie Hall, New York; Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers at City Opera, New York; Jefferson Friedman’s new piece The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly, performed by the New York Philharmonic and conducted by Leonard Slatkin; two concerts by the Bamberg Symphony at Avery Fisher Hall, New York; & Renee Fleming at Zankel Hall, New York.
On Gounod’s Faust at the Metropolitan Opera, New York & Angela Hewitt at Zankell Hall, New York.
On the media’s continuing attempts to “hold up the obvious falsehood that [they have] no political views at all in order to advance those views under the cover of ‘objectivity.’”
Reviews of Where Shall I Wander, by John Ashbery; Elegy on Toy Piano, by Dean Young; Overlord, by Jorie Graham; Black Maria, by Kevin Young; Delights & Shadows, Flying at Night: Poems 1965–1985, & The Poetry Home Repair Manual, by Ted Kooser; Collected Poems, 1943–2004, by Richard Wilbur.
A review of February House: The Story of W. H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane & Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten & Gypsy Rose Lee, Under One Roof in Wartime America, by Sherill Tippins.
A review of Liberty & Freedom: A Visual History of America’s Founding Ideas, by David Hackett Fischer.
A review of Virgil’s Georgics, translated by Janet Lembke.
A review of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer.
A review of Ogden Nash: The Life & Work of America’s Laureate of Light Verse, by Douglas M. Parker.
From Charlie Finch
From John Koethe
From Toni Bentley
David Yezzi responds.
Daniel Mark Epstein replies.
From Hal Colebatch.
Robert Messenger responds.
From Samuel Amadon
Notes & Comments
Some words of thanks
by The Editors
On the indispensible help of The New Criterion’s readers, contributors, and supporters.
Faculty follies: a selection
by The Editors
On a great year for academic absurdity.
New Grub Street
by The Editors
On Newsweek’s latest forays into journalistic irresponsibility.