“Sickness,” Gal Beckerman writes, “is a universal part of the human condition—but it also feels completely subjective.” In #TheAtlanticBooksBriefing , he talks with the author Meghan O’Rourke about the books that successfully confront this elusiveness. theatlantic.com/newsletters/ar…

'The young woman wasn’t calling for a cease-fire or a binational confederation of Palestine and Israel. She was calling for war. Is that anti-Semitic?'

Judith Shulevitz parses the chants.

theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

Gordon Parks’s most famous photograph, 'American Gothic,' was of a cleaning woman in Washington, D.C. She has a story to tell, writes Salamishah Tillet (she/her). theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

'Watson made her home a sanctuary, a place where she, and maybe even he, for a time, could connect to something far better than the segregated country into which they both were born.'

Salamishah Tillet (she/her) on Gordon Parks's greatest subject.

theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

You may not agree with all of this, from Judith Shulevitz, but I find it useful context. It's not a gotcha. I'm anti-war. Not all protesters are. That doesn't have to prevent coalition. I draw the line at pro-Hamas, but, while that exists, it's rare. theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

Being as how I live right next to the Columbia campus, I've been listening to the chanting for months now. Here's where they come from and what they mean. In The Atlantic

theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

Share ⁦Gal Beckerman⁩’s incredibly infectious laugh as he talks with ⁦Georgina Godwin⁩ about the ⁦The Atlantic⁩’s list of best American novels. ⁦Monocle Radio⁩ #books #novels #podcast podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mee…

The close passing of the poetry critics Marjorie Perloff and Helen Vendler is a moment to recognize the end of an era, writes Adam Kirsch. theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

'Vendler and Perloff rejected the idea that poetry had to earn its place in the curriculum, or in the culture at large, by being 'relevant.''

Adam Kirsch has a lovely tribute to Helen Vendler and Marjorie Perloff and the life of poetry they lived.

theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

The free speech dilemma encapsulated. theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

In this week's #TheAtlanticBooksBriefing , Gal Beckerman asks the author Adam Hochschild to recommend books that vividly illustrate moments of great change. theatlantic.com/newsletters/ar…

Another excellent piece by Gal Beckerman - this one on the slow suicide of a once great and essential institution.
theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

PEN America has canceled its annual festival after intense pro-Palestinian protest and existential conflict over its core mission.

Gal Beckerman on the true cost of dismantling an organization dedicated to defending free speech: theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

A lucid, sad piece from @GalBeckerman explaining how the Israel-Gaza war has split the literary world and caused the near demise of @PENAmerica. theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

“For the protesting writers, this lofty mission represents an unforgivable moral abdication…. But if they have their way and PEN America doesn’t survive, where will these authors turn when they need defending?” Read Gal Beckerman on PEN America: theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

.Gal Beckerman on PEN America: “Does it really make sense to jettison such an entity without first thinking through what its absence would mean, what a world without PEN, without a defense of expression ... would actually look like?” theatln.tc/toaqJcoY

“The fundamental misperception at the center of this conflict is that PEN America sees itself as a free-speech organization, while the protesters see it as a channel to express their political views.”

PEN is a free expression group. It has worked worldwide to protect persecuted and prosecuted writers. If it is brought down by this crisis, that is a loss for writers and writing alike.

Here's Gal Beckerman with a scoop: Pen America has now canceled its annual World Voices festival, after having just called off a separate literary awards ceremony.

'It now seems entirely possible that PEN America may not survive this episode.'

theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

BREAKING: PEN America has canceled its World Voices festival.

The organization has been brought to its knees by the demand that it say the word 'genocide.' But who does this really hurt in the end?

theatlantic.com/books/archive/…