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The Art of the Essay No. 3

The Art of the Essay No. 3

By Hilton Als

  In his open, ­omnivorous writing on literature, ­visual art, and performance, Hilton Als has made critical analysis and introspection a conjoined practice. The essay, which he has called “a form without a form,” is his primary mode, and he invariably interweaves family and friendship, American fixations on and lived ­experiences of race and sexuality, metaphor and reality. In “The First Step of Becoming an Art Historian,” one of Als’s earliest published pieces, from 1985, he describes comin…

Interviews

From the Archive, Issue 225

Interviews

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The Conversion of the Jews

The Conversion of the Jews

By Philip Roth

“You’re a real one for opening your mouth in the first place,” Itzie said. “What do you open your mouth all the time for?” “I didn’t bring it up, Itz, I didn’t,” Ozzie said. “What do you care about Jesus Christ for anyway?” “I didn’t bring up Jesus Christ. He did. I didn’t even know what he was talking about. Jesus is historical, he kept saying. Jesus is historical.” Ozzie mimicked the monumental voice of Rabbi Binder. “Jesus was a person that lived like you and me,” Ozzie continued. “That’s…

Fiction

From the Archive, Issue 18

Fiction
Impermanence

Impermanence

By Alex Dimitrov

The first ending. And knowing it would endI wanted another. Lover, summer,pen with which to write it all down.The first disappointment. Which is notremembered but lives in the body.And how familiar it became. To take the same walk home or lean over ledges, to say my own name when meeting someone. Again and again for the last time:the taste of salt in the afternoon.Flowers for no one—alive and sold on the street.What did I think was promised in being?The way a stranger can finish you off.Once onl…

Poetry

From the Archive, Issue 227

Poetry
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