James Marcus

Hard to believe that this five-year-old American Scholar piece emerged from a moment of optimism (relatively speaking). We have to keep hanging on. theamericanscholar.org/mansion-on-the…

Emerson, circa 1847: "Work and learn in evil days, in insulted days, in days of debt and depression and calamity. Fight best in the shade of the cloud of arrows.” Now more than ever.

From Quentin Bell's life of Ruskin, and a perfect example of why I love concise biographies as opposed to doorstoppers (although I love doorstoppers too):

The remarkable @BorisDralyuk from @utulsa in today's Asymptote journal! asymptotejournal.com/interview/an-i…

First Lady Melania Trump Opera House--yep, really rolls right off the tongue. Trump-themed season has already been announced: Pigoletto, La Triviata, Lucia di Scammermoor, and The Fake's Progress.

“Sometimes I wish I’d kept a diary. I love diaries. I wrote the books instead, I suppose.” —Jane Gardam buff.ly/5RcbsJG

Spent some time yesterday in the oasis of the New York Marble Cemetery, open to visitors just a few times per year, and also the final resting place of Ralph Waldo Emerson's younger brother Charles. There is no marker, but I lingered in the general vicinity to pay my respects.

A new documentary about the life and works of the composer Shostakovich, which Semyon Bychkov features in, will be available online on @ARTEen from August 9, the date which marks the 50th anniversary of his death. Details here: unfilmalapatte.fr/films.asp?id=2…

The Monroe Girls - Antoine Volodine translated by Alyson Waters

NYC! SQUANDERERS -- Wendy Eisenberg, Kramer, and me -- are playing an early show tonight at The P.I.T. in Williamsburg on a bill with Shahzad Ismaily and Destefano. Shahzad and Destefano are on at 7pm, followed by Squanderers: propertyistheft.org/events-1/squan…

So grateful to the mesmerizing Gabriela Denise Frank for this interview. And to one of my favorite food writers, Annelise, for giving it a home in ⁦@The_Rumpus⁩. therumpus.net/2025/07/17/ult…

The amazing Edward Burtynsky discussing his work this evening at the International Center for Photography. In his determination to show incredible levels of detail, he avoids the sunlit vistas so beloved of pictorial photographers--hazy, shadowless light is his true Penelope.

The good thing is that while I was breathing in the nitrous oxide prior to the anesthesia proper, followed by the laser being stuck in my mouth, I was able to study this image of a kangaroo.

Fascinating show of early Sargent at the Met. His self-portrait is the dullest thing on hand, pointing to a weird lack of psychological penetration in the young virtuoso. But his technique was already awesome and the famous portrait of the Boit sisters is an astonishment.

Still nothing more beautiful, especially coming from an insurance executive:

I need some ear-tickling beauty and joy, so this might be one of those Respighi moments (special bonus points for including a recording of a nightingale in the score):