What Sam Shepard Couldn’t Outrun
The actor, playwright, and self-made cowboy was also a poet of masculine angst.
Book Review
A Generational Portrait That Actually Says Something New
Anika Jade Levy’s debut novel captures what it feels like to try to become an artist right now.
The Accidental Trailblazers of a New Global Condition
A new book about Chernobyl’s child victims shows the human cost of seeking technological dominance.
When Scarcity Blurs the Line Between Right and Wrong
Megha Majumdar’s second novel imagines how climate disaster might scramble our sense of morality.
What I Learned From Sammy Davis Jr.
The showman never stopped pleasing audiences—and confounding expectations.
American Suburbs Have a Financial Secret
Municipal bonds have become an unavoidable part of local governance—and their costs divide rich towns from poor ones.
The Man Who Rescued Faulkner
How the critic Malcolm Cowley made American literature into its own great tradition
All Our Brilliant Friends
The explosion of novels about intense female friendships, in the Elena Ferrante mold, is changing the genre—and making it more fun.
Patti Smith’s Family Secrets
Nearing 80, the punk poet reflects on the twists in her story that have surprised even her.
A Writer Who Did What Hillbilly Elegy Wouldn’t
In her new book, Beth Macy returns to her Trump-voting hometown to find out how America got so divided.