The very important history of the very important pickle: “Whether it’s through jokes, viral trends, or tongue-in-cheek pickle merchandise, pickles have become a lighthearted emblem of American wit and whimsy.” | Lit Hub Food
In her latest poetry collection, Aimee Nezhukumatathil plumbs the depths of nighttime, crafting a series of nocturnes that explore the magic, sensuality, and life that emerge as the rest of the world goes to bed.
“At the turn of the 21st century, there was a massive resurgence of political feeling against the prevailing neoliberal consensus at the end of history…” Alex Colston on Anton Jäger’s Hyperpolitics. | Protean Magazine
“Lethality has been a defense-policy buzzword for nearly a decade, but lately it has swelled into a rhetorical fixation.” Nitsuh Abebe on Pete Hegeth’s linguistic obsession. | The New York Times Magazine
D.S. Waldman considers the imperfection of elegies: “This poem I’ve been trying to write—the lake, the pills, the last time I saw my brother alive—is maybe the same poem I’m always trying to write.” | Poetry
“But there is no god of technology, only human choices; no inevitabilities in the future of AI, only clever marketing schemes trying to convince us otherwise.” Friction-maxxing, the future, and why AI isn’t destiny. | The Baffler
“The supposed awkwardness of the pronoun is a smokescreen for this fear. There’s no corner of English that isn’t nonsensical if you pick at it long enough.” Daniel Allen Cox on fighting for the singular “they.” | The Nation
Follow the hunt for The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit, a grail for rare book collectors >that might be found somewhere in Mexico. | Alta
“In this way, silence conceals from a collective narrative not only the privilege of wealthy writers but also the side hustles that underwrite the creative work of writers who aren’t wealthy…” On writing, the profession that doesn’t exist. | The Baffler
