Istanbul is the most European of Moslem cities. It sits astride the Bosphorus, traditional boundary between Europe and Asia. It was once the capital of a Moslem empire that reached to India and Spain; today, with all of Turkey, it aspires to be part of the European Union.
Articles with Literature
Detail of Ottoman astronomers at work from a 16th-century manuscript
Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash
Levi was caught between disciplines
Few working scientists, other than physicians, have achieved Primo Levi’s degree of literary acclaim. Had he lived longer — he died in 1987 at age 67, an apparent suicide — he might have won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Photo by Thomas Schweighofer on Unsplash
Hobbit thinking might be wise
I first read J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” in the early 1960s. The maps of Middle Earth attracted my interest. I had not previously heard of Tolkien, and his books were only beginning to become cult favorites of the college crowd.
John J. Audubon's illustration of Columbian hummingbirds
A lively debate among humanists
E. O. Wilson and Wendell Berry are unlikely opponents in the cultural wars.
Photo by Ed Robertson on Unsplash
Growing up with the BOMC
Dear Book-of-the-Month-Club, this is a fan letter from someone who has never belonged to your club.
Photo by Corey Agopian on Unsplash
Starry summer nights
Childhood has two seasons: anticipation and summer.
Photo by Dylan Luder on Unsplash
Annie Dillard, then and now
Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” may be the most popular nature book of the late 20th century.
Photo by slgckgc (CC BY 2.0)
It’s no place for grown-ups
“I believe that for his escape he took advantage of the migration
of a flock of wild birds.”