Denise Levertov once commented that dance is inherently inferior to the other arts. Referring, especially, to ballet, she noted its dependence on narrative, as in the popular ethereal plots from the Romantic era. Sickly peasant maidens who, crossed in love, die and turn into Willis do not have much connection with the complex [...]
Irony has gotten a bad rap recently. I first became aware of the war on irony from the comments of Jedediah Purdy on NPR a few years ago. One of his favorite targets was Bill Clinton, who, in his statement “I did not have sexual relations with . . . that woman” was supposed to [...]
At least they didn’t wedge a lime-green New Testament between my teeth. Dressed in the impeccable attire that is their standard, two well-shaven, gel-haired young men approached me on campus today, and, intercepting, deigned to inquire if I’d ever heard of the Church of Latter Saints.
Well, if you’re going to ask, then [...]
The Missouri Review Rejects George W. Bush’s Poem
Dear Mr. President, I speak only for myself and not the entire editorial staff of the EastWesterly Review, but we would publish your poem for a small fee—let’s just say it would be less than $80 billion dollars. You do understand how things work when submissions are not [...]
This will be like the SAT’s. In each pair one statement is describing a painting. Decide which one’s the real deal and which one’s swollen as Dolly Parton.
—A picture of Johnny Depp as Captain Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean painted in oil on a store-bought canvas board.—A multiple paneled piece consisting [...]
A few months ago, David Brooks, writing in The Atlantic, contended that the nation was, essentially, self-segregated. His examples “ranged” from those living in privileged neighborhoods in the DC suburbs, to those living in slightly less privileged neighborhoods in the DC suburbs. I beleive his “example” of a middle class person was someone [...]
We do like to categorize. Ever since Adam, and there’s no turning back. I’ve been wondering what the correct way to refer to a group of bears would be, because I tend to wonder about things like this, and I was greatly amused by the results of my search.
A sloth of bears
A gam [...]