Category Archives: Politics

The Power of Political Narrative: Part Two, The Dems

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Sean Murphy

While today’s Republican Party has the cowardice of its convictions, the feckless Dems are experts at stepping on their own…message. It may, sadly, be too late for the mid-terms, but can they get on the right side of a true narrative, and history, before 2016? Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged Charley Patton, democrats, George Orwell, I Shall Not Be Moved, Obama, Reagan, Republicans, Richard Harris, Sean Connery, Sean Murphy, The Molly Maguires, The Power of Political Narrative, The Road to Wigan Pier | Leave a comment

Peace Is Patriotic, But War Stirs the Blood

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Melissa Holbrook Pierson

Tracing the paths of glory: Boys, Guns, and the Fascination with War Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Popular Culture | Tagged glory, guns, military history, war | 1 Comment

The Power of Political Narrative: Part One, The GOP

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Sean Murphy

We know the Democrats consistently drown in a river of good intentions. Why are the Republicans so successful staying on script? They keep it simple, stupid. This is how the Reagan Revolution happened, why it endures, and why it matters today as much as ever. Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, democrats, GOP, politics, Republicans, Ronald Reagan, Sean Murphy, The Gipper, The New Deal, The Power of Political Narrative | 6 Comments

The Green, the Black and the High

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Toby Barlow

Toby Barlow’s modest proposal for the new economy – the new drug economy – when countless African Americans are in jail for just what’s being legalized. Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged Detroit, gangsters, legal pot, marijuana | Leave a comment

Literary Luminaries: Beards, Vaginas and the Avant-Garde Novelist – Part II

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Sam Mills

In Part II of her two-part essay, Sam Mills ponders why female avant-garde novelists are not as celebrated as their male counterparts. Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Politics | Tagged #ReadWomen, Alice Munro, Anna Kavan, beats, Burroughs, Homeland, Joanna Walsh, Jonathan franzen, Sheila Heti, The Quiddity of Will Self, Virginia Woolf, Zadie Smith | 1 Comment

Literary Luminaries: Gender and the Avant-Garde Novelist – Part I

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Sam Mills

“Beards vs. Vaginas,” the first of a two-part essay about literary fiction, gender, expectation, media bias, and the avant garde. Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Politics | Tagged Ali Smith, Angela Carter, Barbara Cartland, Deborah Levy, Djuna Barnes, DWEMs, Eleanor Catton, Elissa Schappell, Gender, Jane Bowles, Jeanette Winterson, Kathy Acker, literary fiction, Lydia Davis, Lynne Tillman, Man Booker Prize, Nicola Barker, Sam Mills, Tao Lin | 4 Comments

Rick Perry, Bizarro Superman?

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Kurt Baumeister

The governor is wearing glasses now, channeling his inner Clark Kent. This does not make him Superman. Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged Bizarro superman, GOP, indictments, ISIS, morons, Republicans, Rick Perry, superman, Texas | Leave a comment