No, I didn’t want to read another review of John Updike’s The Widows of Eastwick, either—until I saw that the London Review of Books‘ critique is by James Wolcott, who’s perennially on fire like one of those burning coal mines (and, thank God, is “working on a memoir about 1970s Manhattan”). Wolcott has a winning way of accentuating the positive by taking for granted the negative, dispensing justice that is elegant in its balance of cheery severity and generosity.—Jonathan Taylor
Category Archives: Little Words
Presenting a Steinberg, to Kick Off a Frigid Weekend
If you’re not in some balmy clime, do stay warm!
Teens Hate Vegetables, Even at 73
The New Yorker‘s Bruce McCall is interviewed about his haunt, Cafe Luxembourg, in this week’s Time Out New York food section. His thoughts on food aren’t too appetizing, but his words about writing are no doubt good for you: “As a writer I find that if I get out of the house, I get a much clearer vision of what I’m writing.”—Jonathan Taylor
A No-Soglow Zone? Unpacking a Pearl Harbor Puzzle
Benjamin Chambers writes:
Regular readers of Emdashes are no doubt aware of Emily’s abiding attachment to the artwork of Otto Soglow. His “tiny, unsigned” illustrations, according to his 1975 obituary in The New Yorker, graced the Notes and Comment section for 49 years; and the TNY Librarians say that the magazine has consistently reused his drawings since his death.
Austin Kleon, a Soglow fan, goes so far as to write that Soglow “drew every one of the small drawings that appeared at the beginning of each Talk of the Town article” (emphasis mine). But if you’re familiar with Soglow’s gentle drawings, it’s hard to believe that he was responsible for the drawing that appeared in 1941’s December 13 issue—the issue that came out right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
To give you some perspective, here’s a drawing from the December 6, 1941 issue, which strikes me as quintessential Soglow (click to enlarge):
Next, here’s the drawing that appeared at the bottom of Wolcott Gibbs’s Comment on December 13, 1941:
Looks nothing like Soglow’s work, does it? It also appears to be signed (in the middle, at the bottom). But the December 20 issue marks a return to the usual Soglow style, though the drawing is also signed, and uncharacteristically crammed with detail:
Good artists, of course, can work in multiple styles, which they draw upon to fit the occasion. But how remarkable the December 13 drawing is, if one places it beside so many decades of Soglow’s sweet, graceful art.
So here’s my question: are all three of these drawings Soglow’s? Am I naive to be so struck by the contrast?
In Which We Embarrass Paul Morris By Pointing Out This Interview
Emily writes: Our own Pollux—a.k.a. Paul Morris, a.k.a. faithful daily maker of The Wavy Rule—is interviewed at length at The Art Network. And I can tell you with absolute confidence that he takes criticism extremely well—far better than I do. But we rarely do criticize him, since we think he’s tops.
More Good News (Because We Need Some): 2009 Eustace Tilley Contest!
Another excellent announcement. More context to follow. We feel very strongly about providing context, even in this contextless swirl “on the air,” as the late poet Stanley Kunitz used to say for “online.” —E.G.
Hooray, a New David Remnick Book–About Obama!
Read all about it. Isn’t this great news? —E.G.
Two New Yorker Storytellers, on a BBC Podcast
Jonathan Taylor writes:
There’s plenty of Malcolm Gladwell to go around these days, so I might not have singled out a recent BBC Radio 3 Night Waves podcast (mp3 here. Update: Not anymore, although it seems still possible to get the episode by subscribing to the podcast) with an interview of him, if it didn’t have another segment of New Yorker interest: a really perceptive discussion of Saul Steinberg by British illustrator Quentin Blake, best known to many for his gleeful collaborations with Roald Dahl. The occasion is a Steinberg exhibition going on at London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Oh My God: Sasha Frere-Jones Unveils His 2008 List
Sasha Frere-Jones has “posted”:http://www.sashafrerejones.com/2007/12/bumping.html his top 18 songs and top 24 albums of 2008. Partial explanation on his _New Yorker_ “blog”:http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sashafrerejones/2008/12/the-best-record.html. My tastes and his hardly overlap, but I _adore_ his #2 song, “Oh My God,” by Ida Maria. For some reason the list is dated December 29, 2007, which makes him look _incredibly_ prescient!
“Sushi” Vote Absolutely Lends Support To Awesomeness, Darlin’
Our pal “Ben Bass”:http://benbassandbeyond.blogspot.com/ apparently has _other friends_ with captioning talents that outstrip ours (sniff). His chum Neal Svalstad is one of the “finalists”:http://benbassandbeyond.blogspot.com/2008/11/getting-out-vote.html in The New Yorker‘s cartoon caption contest this week. We’ve looked over the options (his is the one that mentions sushi), and Emdashes throws the full weight of its support behind the “Striking Viking” option. Go “vote”:http://contest.newyorker.com/CaptionContest.aspx?tab=vote&affiliate=ny-caption!
Incidentally, the headline of this post is an acronym that spells out _**SVALSTAD!**_