Join Atlantic writers as they travel in the footsteps of literary giants, from Mark Twain’s Paris to Lady Murasaki’s Kyoto. Take on a summer project à la movie critic David Sims. Read Spencer Kornhaber on the state of American arts culture, Xochitl Gonzalez on the exclusive world of luxury fitness, and more.

Start your Atlantic summer by reading or listening to these stories, and get unlimited access to all of our articles, audio, and games when you subscribe before summer ends. Subscriptions start at less than $2.50 a week.

Start your Atlantic Summer with these stories:

Is This the Worst-Ever Era of American Pop Culture?

An emerging critical consensus argues that we’ve entered a cultural dark age. I’m not so sure.

Andrea Gibson Refused to ‘Battle’ Cancer

The last years of the poet’s life were among their most joyful.

Your Summer Project: Watching These Movies

Twelve franchises, genres, and filmographies to dig into

Inside the Exclusive, Obsessive, Surprisingly Litigious World of Luxury Fitness

How Tracy Anderson built an exercise empire

The Writer’s Way

Literature’s most memorable places, through Atlantic eyes

A Grand Experiment in Parenthood and Friendship

Would you raise kids with your best pals?