Dance Marathons
In the early twentieth century, dance marathons were an entire industry—and a surprisingly hazardous business.
Injustice at the Indiana Women’s Prison
Medical neglect, food injustice, and mental health woes serve as the creative inspiration for poetry. Plus, how many days of work does it take to buy a bra?
The International Brigades
Foreigners fighting for Ukraine may call to mind the International Brigades that fought in defense of the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.
Adventures in Poetry
Published in the East Village from 1968 to 1975, Adventures in Poetry features poems by New York School poets Anne Waldman, Frank O’Hara, John Ashbery, Allen Ginsberg, Bernadette Mayer, and more.
Losing Bananas, Fighting Malaria, and Naming Objects
Well-researched stories from Salon, The New Yorker, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Algae: The Food of the Future of the Past
In the years following World War II, American and European food scientists hoped to feed the world with common pond scum supplemented with plastics.
My Name is Meth
Drugs, drug-themed poetry, and more drugs in the American Prison Newspapers collection.
Counting War’s Civilian Dead
Despite claims of precision strikes and the proliferation of smart bombs, the number of civilians killed in war appears staggeringly high.
The Scholars Who Charted Black Music’s Timeline
Portia K. Maultsby documents the course of African American music, tracing the histories of the sounds alongside the histories of the people who made them.
The Groundbreaking Work of Jackie Ormes
The first Black woman to have a regularly published comic strip, Ormes gave form to the political and social concerns of Black Americans.