The Complicated Legacy of Dr. Seuss’ Political Cartoons
At the Atlantic, Sophie Gilbert has a piece on Dr. Seuss’ anti-Fascist cartoons and their complicated legacy.
“Which is Better: Marvel or DC?”
Friend of the Gutter Colin Smith ponders the eternal question, “Which is better: Marvel or DC?” “It really did matter once, Marvel or DC? But that was decades ago, when the differences between the two publishers’ comics were obvious and consequential. When editor/writer Stan Lee and plotter/artist Jack […]
“Biography of a Story”
In honor of Shirley Jackson’s birthday, the Library of America has shared her “Biography of a Story” about the writing and reception of “The Lottery.” “It is probably the most famous work of fiction ever published in The New Yorker and certainly the magazine’s most controversial, generating letters […]
Bengali Noir
“Looking for film noir in India is to miss the point of Indian cinema altogether.”–Lalitha Gopalan, “Bombay Noir,” A Companion to Film Noir. (Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2013). There’s a lot about Calcutta—the center of the Bengali film industry, metropolitan capital of the state of West Bengal, […]
A Very Modern Coyote
“Bugs Bunny is an inspiration. How could I fail to admire a character who is equal parts Rex Harrison, D’Artagnan, and Dorothy Parker, packed into a graceful rabbit skin? Daffy is recognition, as is the Coyote.” “Human beings, of course, in even their most grandiloquent plans, often resemble […]
NY Mag on Shirley Jackson
New York Magazine has a piece on novelist and essayist Shirley Jackson life as author, mother and homemaker: “In June 1948, Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery” — a dark fable about a ritual stoning conducted in an apparently ordinary village — roiled the readers of The New Yorker, generating more mail than […]
The Cultural Gutter 