A colorized illustration of Darna, the main character of the comic book series created by Mars Ravelo in 1947.

The Folk Stories Behind the Philippines’ Superheroes

Filipino komiks have long drawn on mythology to create larger-than-life champions for ordinary people.
Colorized image from a poster for safe sex awareness

Reading for LGBTQ+ History Month

A collection of stories tracing how queer people have built communities, challenged norms, and preserved their histories.
From left to right: Frederick Barthelme, Mary Robison, Raymond Carver, Amy Hempel, Jayne Anne Phillips, and Ann Beattie

Minimalist Fiction in Six Short Stories

The art of saying more with less, by Raymond Carver, Amy Hempel, Frederick Barthelme, Jayne Anne Phillips, Mary Robison, and Ann Beattie.
A record from Ros Serey Sothea

How Cambodian Pop Music Survived the Khmer Rouge

After genocide decimated the country’s musicians, old recordings helped a new generation reconnect with Cambodia’s musical past.
Gamers try out the new video game "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" during the annual E3 2016 gaming conference.

What’s Queer About The Legend of Zelda?

Link may look like a classic video game hero, but his adventures complicate the heteronormative conventions of the genre.
Yashoda with Krishna by Raja Ravi Varma

Why Is Raja Ravi Varma’s Art So Valuable Today?

A record-breaking auction spotlights the artist who transformed Hindu imagery and helped shape modern Indian visual culture.
The Phantom of the Opera

The Culture Wars of The Phantom of the Opera

The hit musical became a battleground for competing ideas about capitalism, artistic value, and commercial theater.

Dear Reader: 10 Epistolary Poems by Contemporary Writers

Letters to lovers, siblings, artists, gods, and enemies by Diane Wakoski, Yusef Komunyakaa, Kazim Ali, June Jordan, and more.
Wharf District Parks: Aerial view of the section running longways from East India Row to High Street. Click on the image to take a closer look.

How the Big Dig Changed Boston’s Landscape

Created after the Big Dig, the Rose Kennedy Greenway shows how cities attempt to heal the scars of highway construction.
James Baldwin, Los Angeles, California, 1964.

James Baldwin’s Complicated Relationship with Psychoanalysis

Baldwin criticized Freudian thinking yet drew on ideas like repression in his fiction and essays.