Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

 

In the Review, Alma Guillermoprieto reports from a changing Havana, and Ian Johnson explains the profound implications of a paleographic discovery in China. On the NYR Daily, Tim Parks considers what’s gained and lost when writers adopt a new language, and Timothy Snyder looks at Donald Trump’s admiration for Vladimir Putin.

 

Cuba: The Big Change Alma Guillermoprieto On the day of Obama’s arrival the streets were weirdly empty, as if most of the people of Havana had decided to stay away from any potential trouble. But with each passing hour they grew bolder.

 

A Revolutionary Discovery in China Ian Johnson A trove of ancient texts, previously unknown, argue strenuously in favor of meritocracy—even for rulers.

Why Write in English? Tim Parks An acquired language feels like a playground, at least at first. But the second language never seems to mean quite as much as the first.

 

Trump’s Putin Fantasy Timothy Snyder It is not hard to see why Trump might choose Putin as his fantasy friend. Putin is the real world version of the person Trump pretends to be on television.

 

Congratulations to Elizabeth Willis, finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry

 

Calendar

 

A Touch of Zen The martial arts epic that took the 1975 Cannes Film Festival by storm, newly restored

The Invasive Other The 34th Social Research Conference at the New School’s Center for Public Scholarship

Pancho​ Uruguay’s National Museum of Visual Arts looks at the celebrated illustrator’s work over the years