Christopher Schmidt

Christopher Schmidt is an Associate Professor of English at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY. He is the author of a critical study, The Poetics of Waste: Queer Excess in Stein, Ashbery, Schuyler, and Goldsmith; a book of poems, The Next in Line; and a chapbook, Thermae. His poems, essays, and articles have been published in Tin House, SubStance, Arizona Quarterly, Court Green, The Village Voice, Time Magazine, and other venues.

Snowpiercer Dystopian Film

Why are Dystopian Films on the Rise Again?

The recent uptick in dystopian films and post-apocalpytic scenarios seems more urgent and more extreme than it has in the past.

Charlie Chaplin eating a boot, from the film The Gold Rush

Was Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp Un-American?

Were Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp films also subtle critiques of the social inequities of American capitalism?

Jean Paul Gautier at Life Ball 2014

Fashion’s Gender-Bending Provocateur Jean-Paul Gaultier Retires

The legacy of Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Group of books by poets recognized by the National Book Awards in 2014

Small-Press Poets Recognized by the National Book Awards

Small, independent poetry presses are getting attention thanks to the 2014 National Book Award nominations.

Gertrude Stein in front of an American flag

The Marketing of Americans: Gertrude Stein and the Atlantic Monthly

It took Gertrude Stein years to make it into the Atlantic.

(L-R) Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert in a scene from Sydney Theatre Company's production of "The Maids" by Jean Genet; August 7, 2014 at New York City Center; presented by Lincoln Center Festival 2014.
CAST
Claire Cate Blanchett
Solange Isabelle Huppert
Mistress Elizabeth Debicki
Director Benedict Andrews

The “Failure” of Jean Genet’s The Maids

Jean Genet called his 1947 play, "The Maids" a failure. Why?

PITTSBURGH-September 8: Poet Terrance Hayes at his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 8, 2014, shortly after being named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow for 2014.

MacArthur Fellow/Poet Terrance Hayes Explores the Blues in Poetry

A collection of poetry by Terrance Hayes, in honor of his recent MacArthur win.

Promo for RuPaul's Drag Race

Is That a “Read”? The Contentious Politics of Drag Performance

The reality television show RuPaul’s Drag Race, which recently completed its sixth season on the Logo television network, is far from running ...

Opening lines of Frank O'Hara's "The Day Lady Died" written in 1964.

Lunch Poems Turns 50

2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Frank O’Hara’s groundbreaking book Lunch Poems.

Editors' Picks

James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni in Conversation

In 1971, two legends of Black letters discussed Black manhood, white racism, the role of the writer, and the responsibility to teach.

Science & Technology

Can We Build a Better Facebook?

Is it time to turn our back on Facebook? And if so, what social network could possibly replace it?

Science & Technology

The Anatomists of Ancient Alexandria

Cultural forces under the Ptolemaic dynasty briefly allowed scholars like Herophilus to practice dissection—and possibly vivisection—on human subjects.

Politics & History

The Genocide Before the Shoah

For a century, Jews in Turkey have maintained a strategic silence when it comes to recognizing the Armenian genocide. Could that be changing?

Politics & History

Wilhelm Reich: Twice Burned

A psychoanalyst and physician, Reich fled the Nazis only to be detained by the US as an “enemy alien” during World War II. And then came the sexual revolution.