Issue March 22, 2018 - The New York Review of Books (2024)

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In this IssueHearing Poland’s GhostsThe past, in Poland, is not a foreign country; it is morality drama and passion play, combining high ideology and down-and-dirty politics. One recent manifestation of history’s significance has been the creation of several ambitious and architecturally inventive museums dedicated to central events and themes in the Polish past. Since the beginning of this century, four “houses of history” have opened in Warsaw and Gdańsk, attracting many visitors and contributing to the development of neglected neighborhoods. At the same time, the museums have inspired sharp controversies over such topics as freedom of cultural expression, the relationship of Polish to European identity, and interpretations of Polish-Jewish history. At a time when Poland, with its unexpected hard-right turn and defiance of democratic principles, is once again a matter of European concern, these…19 min

In this IssueHearing Poland’s GhostsThe past, in Poland, is not a foreign country; it is morality drama and passion play, combining high ideology and down-and-dirty politics. One recent manifestation of history’s significance has been the creation of several ambitious and architecturally inventive museums dedicated to central events and themes in the Polish past. Since the beginning of this century, four “houses of history” have opened in Warsaw and Gdańsk, attracting many visitors and contributing to the development of neglected neighborhoods. At the same time, the museums have inspired sharp controversies over such topics as freedom of cultural expression, the relationship of Polish to European identity, and interpretations of Polish-Jewish history.At a time when Poland, with its unexpected hard-right turn and defiance of democratic principles, is once again a matter of European concern, these impressive…19 min

In this IssueBLACK MUSHROOMSFor Seamus HeaneyThe entire fungus world is wild and unnatural.In cottony growths on the forest floor, a few spores alight,and, if moisture and food are available, swell and growinto protuberances, with elongating stems and raisedcaps, gills, and veils. It is not always possible to identify them—white, black, or tan; torn, bruised, or crushed—some with squat fruit-bodies, others lacelike. Even the luxury-lovingRomans appreciated their palatal starlight. Sometimes,when I’m suffocating from an atmosphere of restraintwithin myself, I fry them up in butter, with pepper and salt,and forget where the hurt came from. Instead, I experiencedesire creating desire, and then some milder versionof a love that is temporary and guiltless, as if twigsand bark were giving my life back its own flavor again.…1 min

In this IssueBLACK MUSHROOMSFor Seamus Heaney The entire fungus world is wild and unnatural.In cottony growths on the forest floor, a few spores alight,and, if moisture and food are available, swell and growinto protuberances, with elongating stems and raisedcaps, gills, and veils. It is not always possible to identify them—white, black, or tan; torn, bruised, or crushed—some with squat fruit-bodies, others lacelike. Even the luxury-lovingRomans appreciated their palatal starlight. Sometimes,when I’m suffocating from an atmosphere of restraintwithin myself, I fry them up in butter, with pepper and salt,and forget where the hurt came from. Instead, I experiencedesire creating desire, and then some milder versionof a love that is temporary and guiltless, as if twigsand bark were giving my life back its own flavor again.…1 min

In this IssueThe Master of Wonder HouseJohn Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and Londonan exhibition at the Bard GraduateCenter Gallery, New York City,September 15, 2017—January 7, 2018.Catalog of the exhibition edited by Julius Bryant and Susan Weber.Bard Graduate Center Gallery/Yale University Press, 580 pp., $70.001.Founded in 1993 and operating out of two townhouses on New York’s Upper West Side, Bard Graduate Center has produced an admirable series of exhibitions and scholarly catalogs on subjects in its fields of study: decorative arts, design history, and material culture. Its monographic shows have focused on such figures as William Kent, the architect and pioneer of the English landscape garden; Thomas Hope, the collector of antiquities and definer of Regency design; and Charles Percier, Hope’s equivalent in France, inventor of the Empire style and codesigner of the…16 min

In this IssueDereliction of Duty?After President Trump fired former Army general Michael Flynn as national security adviser in February 2017, hope reigned that his replacement, Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, would bring order and professionalism to the vital office that Flynn—who has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his activities as national security adviser designate—had abused. To generate sound policy, the interagency process led by the national security adviser requires the collegial consideration of a generous range of official viewpoints and perspectives.Flynn had been unlikely to foster that kind of open conversation. He was a shrill Islamophobe and right-wing ideologue who tolerated no disagreement and recruited acolytes he had groomed in previous active-service positions. Under Flynn’s supervision, the National Security Council would have become a crude vehicle for a far-right agenda.…18 min

Issue March 22, 2018 - The New York Review of Books (2024)

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