A literary newsletter by author Liza Libes offering polemical literary criticism, cultural commentary and close readings of canonical and contemporary authors. Readers get strongly opinionated takes on figures like Sally Rooney, Anne Carson and Dostoyevsky, mixing literary analysis with politics.
Website: https://www.pensandpoison.org
Matt Alt's newsletter offers essays on Japanese pop culture, from manga's status as art to Haruki Murakami's Nobel hopes and the history of Japan's first man in space. Readers get well-researched cultural history and sharp commentary on how Japan's postwar and bubble-era trends shaped global pop culture.
A personal essay newsletter reflecting on traditionalist conservatism, Midwestern culture, literature and modern alienation from nature. Issues combine memoir, intellectual history and book reviews, with Bookshop.org and Amazon affiliate links.
Etgar Keret shares personal essays, stories and reflections, from humorous anecdotes about author tours to searching pieces on life in Israel after October 7. Readers get first-person literary writing that mixes absurdist humor with moral and political introspection.
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