Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Roving thoughts and provocations from the writers of

June 14, 2011

This issue sponsored by Other Press

‘A Frightening Time in America’: An Interview with David Foster Wallace Ostap Karmodi Do you believe in social or moral progress? My personal belief is that because technology and economic logic has gotten so sophisticated, cruelties can be perpetrated now that would have been unimaginable two or three hundred years ago. Therefore we are under more of a moral obligation to try very very very hard to develop compassion and mercy and empathy. Which means these are very bad times in America because the American electorate is simply not interested for the most part in much of this right now.
Technology Reading in the Cloud Sue Halpern Do we, as writers and readers, want the crowd more involved in the creative process than it is already? Markets may be able to tell us who will buy a book, but they tell us little about its quality or originality or importance.				Memoir AIDS at 30: A Time Capsule Bill Hayes It is difficult now to call up the particular mood that prevailed in the epidemic’s early years. The idea of life without AIDS, much less of being alive in thirty years, was almost unimaginable.
Theater ‘The Book of Mormon’: No Offense James Fenton How did the Mormon religion manage to defeat the no-holds-barred humor of South Park?
							Art The Irresistible Charms of Maira Kalman Cathleen Schine Kalman’s work embodies both the ironic and the earnest at their best, at the place where they come together and create lyrical, personal truth. She is such a magnanimous artist. She invites us, welcomes us, into the most intimate, unprotected place of all: daydreams.
Nuclear Weapons Iran and the Bomb: An Update Jeremy Bernstein On May 24, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency distributed a report on their latest findings from Iran. It is a very disturbing document.					Education The Wrong Way to Lower College Costs Anthony Grafton and James Grossman From coast to coast, great public universities are under attack as expensive luxuries that the nation can no longer afford to support. In this climate of crisis, ideologues with simple, radical ideas about how to lower costs will attract an audience eager for a solution.
Urban Development China’s Glorious New Past Ian Johnson Already, half of the center of Datong is encircled by new walls, a full-scale replica of the originals.				Russia Hope for Khodorkovsky? Amy Knight There has been a dramatic shift in how the Russian media is handling the case of two former Yukos executives.				Special Event Tony Judt: A Distinctive Presence Among Us A Conference to Celebrate His Life and Work June 23–25, Paris See the events page for details.