Tag Archives: Poetry

PROTEAN MAGAZINE PREVIEW – FALL 2026

PROTEAN MAGAZINE: The latest issue features a critique of the University of California’s institutional history, an interview exploring the life and politics of John Berger, an excerpt celebrating historical Palestinian revolutionary resistance literature, a poignant reflection honoring a murdered Palestinian community advocate, Palestinian poetry confronting immense grief with unyielding, steadfast resilience, and verses examining how modern capitalism structures contemporary family forms.

Institutional Optimism

Scholar, author, and activist Tony Platt reviews the new narrative history by Miriam Pawel, “California Dreams: The Making and Remaking of the University of California.” Pawel’s narrow focus on five high-achieving alumni, argues Platt, elides both radical traditions and unethical…

Mawwal

Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish’s “Mawwal” confronts immeasurable grief with unbending steadfastness: “the stabs of daggers I prefer / to being ruled by the vile.”

I lost a beautiful dream,
I lost the scent of the lilies,
and my night was long,
upon the fences of gardens…
But I never lost my way!
The palm of my hand
is now accustomed to the wounds of hope.
Shake my hand hard
and a river of songs will flow forth.
Mother of my colt and sword:
Mother mine, here’s a ditty of love!
Mother mine, a ditty!
The stabs of daggers I prefer,
to being ruled by the vile.

Tom Overton on John Berger: From Life

Andrew Holter interviewed Tom Overton, author of a new biography, “John Berger: From Life,” out from Verso Books. In this fascinating discussion, Overton discusses his friendship with Berger, the biography’s literary approach, Berger on Palestine, and future plans for scholarship…

THE NEW YORK TIMES – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2026

Wringing Hope From the Rubble of Gaza

The cease-fire last October ostensibly brought an end to Israel’s war in Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. A year later, however, Israeli strikes, though less frequent, haven’t stopped.

India’s ‘Cockroach’ Leaders Released as New Delhi Braces for More Protests

The leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party, an Indian youth movement, were detained by the police before they could lead protests over voting rights.

Where Every Tree Hides ‘an Enemy’: How I Watched China’s Paranoia Grow

Returning to China after decades away, a correspondent finds bullet trains, dazzling skylines — and a surveillance state more paranoid and pervasive than ever.

America’s Elected Officials Are Living in Fear

A Times investigation found that threats of violence against elected officials have reshaped private lives and pushed people away from public service.

A Russian Spy’s Lone Regret: ‘I Got Caught’

Though born in Ukraine, Alexsander supports the Russian cause. He wishes he had deleted one photo from his phone.

THE NEW YORK TIMES – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2026

Leaders of Protest Detained by Police as Delhi Is Locked Down

The Cockroach Janta Party said senior members of the youth activist group were detained amid large protests against the expunging of names from India’s voter roll.

What to Know About the Delhi Protests

Protesters opposed to sweeping revisions to India’s voter rolls are trying to rally in New Delhi. The police have come out in force.

A Week Later, Russia Hasn’t Said What Pathogen Killed Plague Researcher

Experts said they believed that with modern testing technology, the Russian authorities should know the answer by now.

Economic Pain and an Unpopular President Put the G.O.P. on Its Heels

Inflation has hurt Americans at many levels. It has also expanded the electoral map into what was safely Republican country just a few months ago.

Mamdani’s Ability to Persuade Trump Hits Limit in Wake of ICE Shooting

After an agent shot an immigrant in New York, some of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s allies questioned his attitude toward President Trump and his own police department.

THE NEW YORK TIMES – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026

Houthi Attacks on Riyadh Airport Leave 3 Dead, Saudi Arabia Says

The escalating violence has brought the conflict in Yemen to the doorstep of the Saudi capital, and the kingdom has no easy options to curtail the increasingly sophisticated and targeted strikes.

As Putin Wages Shadow War, Europe Looks for a Way to Hit Back

Moscow has used tactics of fear and ambiguity to try to divide NATO and limit support for Ukraine. But how should Europe retaliate? And how hard?

Fort Hood Shooter’s Execution Will Be Public and Streamed Live, Pentagon Says

If carried out, the public execution of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad set for Dec. 3 would be the first in modern U.S. history.

How Trump’s Revenge Campaign Descended Into Turmoil

President Trump’s allies have sought to prove a conspiracy through a Justice Department inquiry, which has faced internal disputes and trouble finding evidence.

ICE Agent Shoots Man During Arrest Attempt in New York Neighborhood

The man was in a car with a 5-year-old when he was shot and wounded, the authorities said. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the Trump administration was “terrorizing our city.”

THE BEST LANGUAGE

Intellicurean Essays on Intellicurious

When the Swedish Academy reached Anne Carson on the morning of her Nobel Prize, she was, its permanent secretary reported, “for the moment in Iceland, where she’s listening to the wind.” Of everything reported that day, the wind was the one thing with no words in it. That is where her Greek lives.

A vast torn papyrus stretched between two black sea-stacks on a stormy Icelandic shore, wind pouring through its holes, a small figure on the black sand listening
A torn papyrus in the wind, and someone listening, made for the essay.

Why we’re pointing you there

The Academy praised Carson’s “playful dialogue with the classical tradition,” and the chair of its committee spoke of “the philologist’s obsession with words.” Michael Cummins asks where, in the words, that obsession settles, and finds two places: the cries of Greek tragedy, which Greek can build a line on and English can only sigh over as “alas,” and the holes in the papyri, which Carson prints as brackets. When Electra hears the false news of her brother’s death, Carson keeps her cry in Greek, in capitals, and gives it a line to itself: “OI ’GO TALAINA.” When Cassandra screams at Apollo, the god’s name breaks open in English: “Woepollo.”

Her critics are given at full strength. Emily Wilson praised the method and still found Carson’s Agamemnon “does too much of the work for us.” Daniel Mendelsohn judged her work, “to my mind,” the most distinguished reworking of classical models in a generation, and still objected to the “sentimental ‘fragmentist’ approach” of her Sappho. Their charges pull in opposite directions, and Carson works in the narrow strip between them. The essay leaves one question open: whether a cry can be carried from one language into another without being explained on the way.

A broken marble head of a woman, mouth open as if crying out, with fire glowing through the cracks in the stone and sparks drifting from her lips
A cry and a gap in one fragment, made for the essay.

Read the full essay at Intellicurean →

Essays & Reviews for the Intellectually Curious

THE NEW YORK TIMES – THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026

How a U.S. Diplomat Suppressed and Altered Reports Critical of Israel

A top aide to Ambassador Mike Huckabee skewed information to portray the Netanyahu government in a favorable light, according to multiple officials and documents obtained by The Times.

Inside the Russian Warehouses Bombarded by Ukraine

Middle-of-the-night evacuations and fears about death have become the norm for workers at Russian e-commerce companies targeted by Ukraine.

How Trump Has Alienated Voters for the G.O.P.

Signs are emerging that dispirited Republican voters may stay home in November, bringing a surge for Democrats.

Guess Where’s Next on an Autocrat’s Global Tour

After trading his military uniform for civilian clothes, Myanmar’s strongman president, U Min Aung Hlaing, is in Malaysia, his ninth stop on a search for international legitimacy.

For France’s Resurgent Far Left, Student Protests Are an Opening and a Threat

Far-left leaders are cheering on the students. Government officials accuse them of stirring up the unrest for political gain.

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY – OCTOBER 9, 2026

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘NOT HIS CIRCUS?’ – Why Republicans fear Trump’s rallies could harm not help their midterm chances….

With fewer than 30 days until the US midterm elections, Donald Trump seems determined to still be centre stage despite poll fears that after 3 November he may end up a lame-duck president as a Democratic blue wave sweeps the country. Our Washington bureau chief, David Smith, has been watching how the president is playing to Republican voters at the start of a blitz of cross-country rallies. It’s, at best, a mixed picture.

As David reports, Trump’s self-belief and message to voters to “pretend” his name is on the ballot reveal a man out of touch with ordinary Americans’ worries about the cost of living and whose promises that the war with Iran will soon be over ring ever more hollow. And then there are the candidates, more of whom are shying away from their earlier allegiances to a president whose approval ratings continue to slide.

Spotlight | An education crisis in France
As school and university protests intensify, Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis finds out why students feel the government is ignoring their complaints about the state of education

Spotlight | Green division and diversion
Peter Walker reports on the English and Welsh Green party’s annual conference in which a motion equating Zionism with racism was passed, and analyses how this reveals weaknesses in the way the party is run

Feature | The big business of porn
Why not analyse the porn industry just like any journalist would the oil business? That was the premise behind Patricia Nilsson’s new book. An approach that, as Amelia Gentleman finds out, yields new insights into how pornography’s imperatives have seeped into all our online lives

Opinion | Putin won’t bomb Ukraine into submission
Kyiv may now be under almost constant attack but, says Rajan Menon, history shows that bombing doesn’t crush morale

Culture | There’s beauty in bits and pieces
A novel exhibition in Florence puts broken sculptures on display and, as Philip Oltermann discovers, reveals their profound allure

THE NEW YORK TIMES – WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7, 2026

Ukraine Claws Back Land in the Donbas, Thwarting a Russian Push

Moscow says its capture of the region is inevitable. But Kyiv has so far stymied Russian efforts to encircle Ukrainian “fortress belt” cities.

U.S. Formally Seeks Information From Russia About Possible Plague Death

The lack of details from the Russian authorities has unnerved U.S. officials and others around the world.

Europe’s Trade Tensions With China Are Coming to a Head

The European Union is weighing tougher trade measures as negotiators prepare to meet Chinese officials in Beijing.

China’s ‘Self-Reliance’ Drive Is Upending Trade with Europe

Airfares Have Spiked. Is the Death of Spirit Airlines to Blame?

In the wake of the ultra-low-cost carrier’s closure, and with the cost of fuel and labor rising, domestic fares have become less competitive. But there are ways to parry higher prices.

THE NEW YORK TIMES – TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2026

Potential Iranian Drone Attack Led to Exit of U.S. Aircraft From U.K. Air Base

Twelve B-1 Air Force bombers from R.A.F. Fairford air base were withdrawn because of the risk of an attack, according to U.S. and British officials.

U.S. Sends ‘Hunter-Killer’ Drones to South America to Target Cartels

MQ-9 Reaper drones — known for high-profile deadly strikes — have been shifted from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador, U.S. officials said.

Strikes, Barricades and Fiscal Turmoil: An Autumn of Discontent Grips France

Chaos in schools, on the streets and in the markets is rooted in France’s struggles to fund its social welfare state, with a presidential election approaching.

Fury in California After Trump Suggests Iran Could ‘Take Out’ L.A. or San Diego

Kenya Records Ebola Case for First Time

The authorities said that the virus had been diagnosed in a man arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo and that they were taking measures to prevent any spread.

THE NEW YORK TIMES – MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2026

Trapped in a Kill Zone, a Ukrainian City Is Beginning to Starve

Evacuation is almost impossible and food is running out in Russian-occupied Oleshky, a city menaced by mines and drones.

How the Midterms Could Complicate the Supreme Court’s New Term

Even before the justices start their new term today, the court has spent the summer resolving fast-moving requests on election-related disputes.

U.S. Rushes to Withdraw Bombers From U.K. Air Base After New Threats

The move came with unusual speed, following what U.S. officials said were threats of an Iran-based plot against the installation.

Spain Calls Early Election After Housing Crisis Roils Government

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain has faced rising challenges to his authority amid a migration crisis and several corruption scandals involving his inner circle.

Jair Bolsonaro’s Son Pushes Brazil’s President to a Runoff

Neither President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva nor his top challenger, Flávio Bolsonaro, won a majority of votes in the first round.