Essays

Essays

May 1st 2015

It was about two o’clock in the afternoon, on a warm December day in 2013, when the sound of gunshots and frantic shouting abruptly woke Ambroise Andet from his midday nap. Startled, the 27-year-old propped himself up where he had been sleeping and looked around for his wheelchair.

Apr 27th 2015

Bilinguals get all the perks. Better job prospects, a cognitive boost and even protection against dementia.
Apr 26th 2015

I recently met Juan, a young man from Argentina with intellectual disabilities, who was told he was “uneducable” by teachers at the schools attended as a child.

Apr 24th 2015

At some point in our lives, we have all struggled with the wrongs or perceived wrongs that others have done to us. And being unable to forgive someone is not without its costs.

Apr 23rd 2015

Brace yourself: it’s Shakespeare’s birthday. Once again various effusive articles will circulate citing the Bard’s genius, his humanity, his uniqueness and his godlike wisdom.
Apr 17th 2015
Extract:

Inventing Impressionism  – ” The National Gallery should have the integrity to give this exhibition an honest title, in recognition of the true nature of Durand-Ruel's accomplishment.

Apr 16th 2015

Last December, on the coldest night of the year, I trekked to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and, literally shaking in my boots, searched for the Castor Gallery, a small, but important exhibition space.

Apr 16th 2015

It did not receive nearly the attention it should have.

Apr 12th 2015

Finally, to the chagrin of Tom Cotton and Israel hawks, and the delight of Iranians, who reportedly launched firecrackers into the Tehran sky last week, a deal on Iran's controversial nuclear program has emerged. I for one am relieved.

Apr 11th 2015

At the age of 50, Henry James created a detailed portrait of an experimental novelist in old age, in his story "The Middle Years." Terminally ill, the novelist Dencombe receives in the mail the published version of what he realizes will be his final work, a novel titled The Middle Years.

Apr 9th 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a secret fascination with Leo Tolstoy.

Apr 4th 2015

Enough press attention has been given to the "religious freedom" laws in Indiana and Arkansas that there was initially little incentive to write more. That is, until conservatives reacted to opposition to the laws with an excess that is astonishing even for Fox News.

Apr 2nd 2015

A Tale of Two Cities

Three decades and five thousand miles separate two photographs.

Apr 2nd 2015

Pope Francis is poised, within the next two or three months, to announce one of the signature documents of his papacy, an encyclical on climate change. And we can hope and pray that it will be "world-changing" in the very best sense of that expression.

Mar 28th 2015

In my never-ending quest to become hip, cool and trendy -- and of course to feel younger and assuage the ravages of time -- I have subwayed to distant Williamsburg to eat at the latest bohemian restaurant, I have taxied to the Lower East Side to hear contemporary 

Mar 27th 2015
“Do I love you because you’re beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you?” muses the Prince to Cinderella in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. It’s a question that many great thinkers have struggled with in some form or another.
Mar 26th 2015

As the Middle East descends ever further into chaos, Rome suddenly finds itself in the crosshairs of Islamic State (IS).

Mar 24th 2015

LONDON – Is it acceptable for doctors to withhold information from their patients? Some claim that it is not only acceptable; it is desirable.

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