This weekend on the Dish, books and literary coverage held sway. Mark O'Connell pondered the "Amis Hatchet Job," J. Robert Lennon and Richard Brody analyzed the negative review, Jeanie Riess sampled literary food blogs, Charles Simic applauded the impractical motivation of poets, and Jesse Bering considered his writing's impact on his sex life (he also dispelled pernicious myths about gay men). As the Republican convention drew near, Ayn Rand made two appearances – Alan Wolfe gave the unflattering reason why academics might need to study her and Judith Therman detailed Rand's telling correspondence with Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter. We also noted David Foster Wallace's faux dictionary entries and the unintended fates of literary estates. Read Saturday's poem here and Sunday's here.
In religious news, Matthew Bowman profiled the Mormon self-help guru Stephen Covey, Jesse Bering answered a reader's question about the evolutionary advantages of belief in God, David Sugarman explored Herman Melville's complex spirituality, Rowan Williams described how we experience mercy, Wan Yong proved that Jesus really was King David's descendant, and Matt Ridley showed how apocalyptic thinking isn't just for believers. And, of course, how could considerations of religion ignore the hucksters and frauds? Scott K. Johnson reminded us that creationism is out of step with Christian tradition and a Canadian pastor claimed physical violence could heal the sick.
In assorted coverage, Hannah Kaviani reported on social media's impact on disaster relief in Iran, Ashley Fetters remembered the time Phyllis Diller posed for Playboy, Pierre Manent proved to be a believer in American exceptionalism, Scott Aikin and Robert Talisse explained the real meaning of civility, and William Flesch contended that mortality and altruisum were linked. Joe Hanson pointed to Van Gogh's possible color-blindness, Benjamin Sutton further scrutinized the touch-up-a-masterpiece meme, Lisa Miller summarized a new book on the genetically-tinged future of personal ads, Hunter Oatman-Stanford charted the vagaries of contraception in America, Steven Zeitchik examined the NC-17 rating, John Gravois argued against tipping, and researchers checked the raw sewage of European cities to find out what drugs they used. FOTDs here and here, MHBs here and here, VFYWs here and here, and the latest window contest here.
– M.S.
(Photo by Keller and Wittwer)
The Dish 