Karen Rile

Karen Rile lives and writes in Philadelphia where she edits the literary quarterly Cleaver Magazine and teaches in the Creative Writing program at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of a novel, Winter Music, and her fiction has appeared in literary magazines throughout the US. She writes frequently on arts and culture and has published articles and essays in The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and others journals. Find more of her work at karenrile.com.

Nero Burning Rome

Politics & Government

Bring Your Own Applause: What Donald Trump and Roman Emperor Nero Have in Common

A claque is a centuries-old showmanship technique that has been used by entertainers and politicians since the Roman Empire.

Ice covering fuchsia flowers

The Snow That Never Drifts: Emily Dickinson’s Slant Winter

Like many of her poems, Emily Dickinson's "The Snow That Never Drifts" presents a riddle for the reader

Philip Levine

Two Conversations with Philip Levine

Two conversations with Philip Levine: from Ploughshares (1984) and The Kenyon Review (1999)

Harper Lee smoking a cigarette in black and white

Harper Lee to Publish a New Novel at age 88

55 years after the publication of her first, only, and very successful debut novel reclusive American author Harper Lee ...

Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. set to shake hands

Getting Historical Movies Right: Hollywood vs. Historians

Does the movie industry owe it to the public to get the facts right in historical movies?

violists laughing

Why Did the Violist Cross the Road?

Every subculture has its in-jokes. Classical musicians are no exception, and the punchline usually involves a viola.

A female violinist captured in blurred and time-lapsed movement

Playing It Safe: Injury Prevention for Musicians

In their 2010 article on injury prevention for musicians, Christine Guptill and Christine Zaza outline strategies to ward off injuries from muscle overuse.

Black and white illustration of a man writing outside surrounded by wildlife with several visitors arriving by mule

Gabriel García Márquez’s Papers Go to University of Texas at Austin

The archive of Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, will go to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin

Poet Claudia Emerson dies at 57

Poet Claudia Emerson has died of cancer at age 57.

Modern architecture in Miami Beach

Art & Art History

Architect Rem Koolhaas Designs a New Arts Center for Miami Beach

Dutch-born architect Rem Koolhaas has designed a new arts center for Miami Beach, set to open in December 2015.

Editors' Picks

Cultivating the Art of Slow Looking

When we examine the subject, foreground, and background of an image separately, the nuances of the scene emerge.

So You Plan to Teach Moby Dick

The study of Melville’s novel is enhanced by contextualizing it with primary and secondary sources related to the American sperm whaling industry.

Education & Society

Institutionalized Racism: A Syllabus

How can we help students understand George Floyd's death in the context of institutionalized racism?

Politics & History

The Voting Rights Act 1965: Annotated

The passing of the Voting Rights Act in August 1965 prohibited the use of Jim Crow laws and discriminatory tests to disenfranchise Black voters.

Education & Society

On Drugs and Harm Reduction with Maia Szalavitz

Author of Undoing Drugs and NYT columnist Szalavitz talks history, science, media shifts, politics, and how the US might mitigate its overdose crisis.