Christ's Descent into Hell by Hieronymus Bosch. Fig. 6. Detail of Sisyphus in 26.244. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 613

An examination of artistic commitment, doubt, and the dangers of moral absolutism. Pina Lomb.
Read More

Thomas Pynchon in 1955, before he disappeared from public view. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

Pynchon's latest novel brings big band rhythms to paranoia, espionage, and disappearance. Richard Aubern.
Read More

Photo by Lena Be

On a night at sea, usefulness becomes fantasy, effort becomes ordeal, and salvation arrives misaligned. Rupert Taylor.
Read More

Via The Photo Desk

Alexandra Kleeman on on identity, capitalism, ecology, and the future of the novel. Alexandra Kleeman John White.
Read More

Photo by Ernst Haas

An essay about place as performance. Melissa Mesku.
Read More