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In Soccer, Beauty is a Choice
Last Sunday’s World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands did not show soccer at its best—though it did at times show soccer at its worst—so it was not the type of match that would inspire the uncommitted American viewer to become a soccer fan. It might be difficult to convince the uncommitted viewer that the Spaniards were at least trying to play creative, attacking soccer, but it is true....
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Good Letters
Whatever doubts some writers have about the value of blogging—such as those stated here—can be assuaged by emphasizing the continuity between writing blog posts and writing essays. I’ve always thought that the best way to conceive of a blog post is as an essay in embryo—as an initial sketch or....
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Feeling a Story
Two weekends ago, I learned something about a friend that took me by surprise and helped me to understand stories and novels in a different way. I discovered that, way back before he was married and graduated from law school, my friend had been a graduate student. Not only that, but he had taken a course co-taught by....
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Clive James: Cultural Amnesia
Clive James’ collection of essays, Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts came out in 2006, but I read it during a period of month-long unemployment this summer, and more than anything else, it reminded me why I love books. I recommend it for everyone, but especially for....
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A Pile Up
Back from an unannounced (and unforeseen) hiatus in blogging, I have so many ideas accumulated that I don’t know which to focus on. So here are brief mentions of various articles that have piled up over the last few weeks, all of which deal with artists who have worked within the “pile up” as Annie Dillard understood it—i.e., the place....
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Current Issue
Issue 71
Fiction by Larry Woiwode, interview with Joe Henry, art by Fabian Debora, essay by Barry Moser.
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