Archive - Prufrock

Henrik Ibsen’s provocations, the poetry of “Hamlet,” Thomas Flanagan’s Ireland, Monet’s garden, and more.

Aug 2 •

July 2025

The Search for Silence

Also: In praise of tourist traps, in praise of similes, revisiting Hugh Trevor-Roper and Evelyn Waugh’s feud, the life and work of Hans Christian…

Jul 30 •

The life and work of Jacqueline Gourevitch, Florence’s medieval grain market, an “atrocious” Elvis concert, and more.

Jul 28 •

Remembering Jane Greer

Also: Arvo Pärt at 90, the metaphysics of math, humanizing Hitler, Notre Dame’s “digital twin,” and more.

Jul 26 •

A Life in Fiction

John Wilson on the books that stick with us.

Jul 23 •

Revisiting Samuel Johnson’s trip to Western Scotland, the influence of Alexandre Kojève, a life of Maria Lani, a new history of the Western tradition…

Jul 19 •

A Chaucerian Riddle Solved

Also: Book-eating beetles, a sunken Italian village, the merger of two massive black holes, the fat decades at Condé Nast, and more.

Jul 16 •

“To See and Say Things as They Are”

Also: A life of Émile Zola, Amelia Earhart’s plane, when eating on the go was fun, the pleasures of book collecting, and more.

Jul 14 •

Gimmicky literature (and art), Jewish classifieds in the 1930s, the CIA Book Club, Mark Lilla’s ignorance, and more.

Jul 12 •

“Jeff Loves Sexy Hires”

Also: Mark Twain in San Francisco, the stories of Kit Reed, the hunt for a 316-year-old Stradivarius, a biography of Pico della Mirandola, and more.

Jul 9 •

That “retro-Americana aesthetic,” in search of Amédée Ozenfant’s academy, a history of the turban, the early years of “Partisan Review,” and more.

Jul 5 •

A Diminished Shakespeare

Also: On moral reading, a fireball over Georgia, an “Africanfuturist heist game,” neurotic Boccaccio, and more.

Jul 2 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts