Articles by Thomas Beckwith
May 20, 2013
Remember This? 0
Before his death of natural causes in 2008, Henry Gustave Molaison had the world’s most famous brain. At 27, Molaison permanently lost the ability to form new memories, which led to him spending the rest of his life in “thirty-second loops of awareness.” In the LRB, Mike Jay reviews a new book on Molaison, Permanent [...]
May 17, 2013
The Opposite of Homesick 0
“The legal protection the German government gave our American relationship is gone, now that we are back in America.” Alexander Chee on coming home from Leipzig with his partner.
May 17, 2013
Vitality/Banality 0
To prepare us for the release of Italo Calvino’s letters, the editors at Page-Turner are running excerpts from the book. In their latest installment — following their first two — Calvino describes New York City, which “swallowed [him] up like a carnivorous plant.”
May 17, 2013
The Perils of Being a Hermit 0
It might not be a good idea to tell this to bookish readers, but it looks like loneliness can kill you.
May 17, 2013
Pawnee Central 0
A theory of place in literature derived from Parks and Recreation? Why, Ploughshares blog, you’re too kind.
May 17, 2013
Till Death or Cliches Do Us Part 0
At the Poetry Foundation’s website, Ruth Graham tackles a strangely ubiquitous question: how does a couple go about choosing a wedding poem? (For context, it helps to keep the following quote in mind: “the aesthetics of [a personal] wedding, at least for couples of a certain age and posture, are practically set in stone: indie pop [...]