Tales of an Urban Critic: A Search for the Soul of Cities and Self

By Michael J. Crosbie6 min read

Sam Kaplan Hall recounts his wide-ranging life in a new memoir that contains more than a few great personal stories.

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Grief, Rage, and Restraint: Zinzi Clemmons on Telling Her Own Story

Being invited to interview a writer that one admires is so rewarding, and I’m thrilled that I got the chance to speak with Zinzi Clemmons about her new book Freedom: Essays. We need Clemmons’s voice. We need her critique. It

Myriam GurbaJun 9, 2026

Literary Hub

Andrew Sean Greer, Dave Eggers, Leila Slimani, and more: 23 new books out today!

More heavy-hitters descending on our bookstores this morning: Andrew Sean Greer’s Villa Coco, Dave Eggers’s Contrapposto, and Leila Slimani’s I’ll Take the Fire are only to name a few. A healthy balance of fiction and nonfiction make up today’s offerings:

Julia HassJun 9, 2026

The Rumpus

Down in the Dumpster - The Rumpus

"What Joshua Mohr is doing has more in common with Kafka, Lewis Carroll, and Haruki Murakami, all great chroniclers of the fantastic. He’s interested in

Joshua FurstJun 6, 20095 min read

The Rumpus

Benjamin Nadler: The Last Book I Loved, The Street - The Rumpus

I return to The Street again and again. I first read the novel when I working as a bookseller out on West 4th St. in New York. A man I sold books with

Benjamin NadlerOct 24, 20116 min read

The Paris Review

The Vanishing Library: Timothy Ely’s Odd Little Book from Outer Space

“The few words it contains are indecipherable, of no language. (The letters look Hebrew—if you don’t know Hebrew and have never seen Hebrew letters before.)”

Max RossJun 9, 2026

The Paris Review

The Summer of Lion Meat

In the medieval period it was common for translators to insert commentary on their theories and methods directly into the text.

Tere Dávila and Rebecca Hanssens-ReedJun 8, 2026