THE LATEST
The Image of Christ Not Made by Hands. A fresco from the Church of Saints Constantine and Helena in Ohrid, Macedonia. Dating from the late 14th to early 15th century.
REBECCA WEST AND THE LOST WORLD OF YUGOSLAVIA
BY MARK C. JENSEN
Mark C. Jensen takes a fresh look at Rebecca West’s monumental 1941 work, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, an obsessive, thousand-page account of her travels through the volatile world of interwar Yugoslavia. West's fierce political and moral intelligence saw in the Balkans not just an exotic landscape, but a proving ground where she diagnosed the fatal, fin de siècle flaw of Western liberalism. Jensen shows how this travelogue transformed into a powerful, urgent prophecy about the choice between resistance and self-sacrificing martyrdom.
"I AM": JEWISH IDENTITY AND WESTERN PERSONHOOD
BY MARK GLOUBERMAN
Mark Glouberman bypasses the usual discourse on culture and creed to locate a deeper, philosophical root for Jewish identity. He argues that the Hebrew Bible's radical contribution wasn't merely monotheism, but the very conception of the autonomous individual—the "I am." This profound insight, Glouberman says, defines the essence of the Jew and simultaneously forms the bedrock of Western personhood itself.
BY C. FRED ALFORD
Why is Spinoza experiencing a modern renaissance? In this article, C. Fred Alford explores the philosopher's radical concept of 'God or nature', his Stoic path to inner freedom, and the intricate connection between his ethical and political writings. Alford also asks why Spinoza's ideas on joy, order and human nature continue to fascinate and challenge readers.
THE ODD INKLING: CHARLES WILLIAMS’ NOVELS
BY JOHN PANTELEIMON MANOUSSAKIS
Often overshadowed by his fellow Inklings, Tolkien and Lewis, Charles Williams is perhaps the most enigmatic of the trio. This essay delves into his "supernatural thrillers," revealing them as profound explorations of Christian mysticism and complex theology. Discover the incantatory magic of Williams' work, where the Holy Grail, doppelgangers, and Platonic Ideas collide with the suburbs of England.
ON THE PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
BY ANDREW MELNYK AND TONY SOBRADO
In this interview, philosopher Andrew Melnyk tackles the 'hard problem of consciousness,' exploring why physical brains produce rich subjective experiences. He discusses the challenges that consciousness poses to physicalism and examines competing theories like property dualism and representationalism. Melnyk explains his own position, suggesting that phenomenal experiences are a specific kind of representational property of our neural states.
AMERICA TODAY: “MY OPINION, RIGHT OR WRONG”
BY JOHN BELL
'Right or wrong, it's my opinion!'—this fierce certainty, fueled by social media's abstracting power, is ripping America's political fabric apart. Forget nuanced debate; today's discourse traps us in echo chambers, where challenging our pre-set views feels impossible. Discover how this retreat from complex realities denies the vital "coincidence of opposites" essential for a unified nation.
FAUST IS THE LAST TO KNOW THE DEVIL
BY ED SIMON
In 'Faust is the Last to Know the Devil,' Ed Simon uses the Faustian bargain as a metaphor for the political climate of the Trump era, arguing that many have sacrificed their principles for power. He introduces the concept of the 'Faustocene' to describe an age of immoral compromises, not just in politics, but in response to global issues like climate change. Ultimately, Simon suggests that recognizing the Faustian nature of current politics is key to resisting its dangers.
BY JIM TILLEY
LAWRENCE HART: THE ACTIVIST SCHOOL OF POETRY
BY JOHN HART
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Detail (1602) by Caravaggio
DO WE REALLY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT JESUS SAID?
BY C. FRED ALFORD
She/She 1981, printed 2007, Linder at Tate Modern
BY GLORIA A. LEVIN
ORIGIN, PRESENCE, AND TIME IN THE POETRY OF W.S. MERWIN
BY MARK IRWIN
BY JIM TILLEY
ON TEACHING THE SOUND AND THE FURY
BY CHRISTINE ANN EVANS
The Bouquet and the Wreath by Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook
BY STEVE DAVIDSON
BY ROBERT WEXELBLATT
Installation view of In Other Worlds: Acts of Translation at Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea
BY STEVEN G. KELLMAN
Solaria at the Giubbe Rosse by Baccio Maria Bacci (1888 – 1974)
BY MIKHAIL EPSTEIN
Le Monde selon l'AI at Jeu de Paume, Paris
THE LINE: AI AND THE FUTURE OF PERSONHOOD
BY JAMES BOYLE
MACHINES WILL BECOME ETERNAL...
BY TSONCHO TSONCHEV
Just Plain Forever (2019) by Duke Riley
HOW WE GOT HERE: CONSUMER CAPITALISM AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
BY MARK STOLL
BY HAIM MARANTZ
THE INEFFABLE PASSIONS OF LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
BY PAUL B. DONOVAN
Annie Leibovitz, Stream of Consciousness (Hauser & Wirth)
ON THE PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
STEVEN PINKER & TONY SOBRADO
MORAL PARTICULARS IN LITERATURE
WILLIAM VAUGHAN
ELEFTHERIOS MAKEDONAS
Workshop of Joachim Beuckelaer (c. 1533 – c. 1570/4). Kitchen maid preparing meat with Christ in the House of Mary and Martha beyond. Estate of Francesco P. Zuccari.
SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK
RECLAIMING OUR HUMANITY IN THE AGE OF AI
SILVA KANTAREVA AND JOHN BELL
BREADCRUMBS FOR BIRDS: A SEARCH FOR YOUR OTHER SELF
ROBERT STEWART
A FAIRER HOUSE THAN PROSE: TEACHING EMILY DICKINSON
BRAD CRENSHAW
MAN-DEVIL: THE MIND AND TIMES OF BERNARD MANDEVILLE
ROBERT RICH
POETRY
The Kiss (1969), by Picasso
ZEV SHANKEN
BY JIM TILLEY
PETER AUSTIN
ROYAL W.F. RHODES
MORE...
SONS OF ICARUS: THE RISE & FALLS OF AMERICA’S LITERARY TRINITY
DAVID COMFORT
Bob Silvers, a frame from The 50 Year Argument (2014)THE LEGEND OF THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
STEVE DAVIDSON
Craig McDaniel, Euridyce and Orpheus (Garden of Eden)CRAIG MCDANIEL
CONVERSATIONS: SUSAN BLACKMORE
TONY SOBRADO
PUTIN, COMPATRIOTS, AND FELLOW COUNTRYMEN
D. WILLIAMS, M. YOUNG, AND M. LAUNER
BURYING THE MYSTERY: THE GRAVE OF EDGAR ALLEN POE
KAREN ALKALAY-GUT
MARK IRWIN
ELIZABETH BISHOP’S LABOR OF LOVE: “NORTH HAVEN”
SAM MAGAVERN
RAYMOND WACKS
Churchill with Chamberlain, circa March 24, 1935.WINSTON CHURCHILL AND NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN
JOHN BELL
TEACHING MILOSZ: THE EVOLUTION OF A POET
IRA SADOFF
HEATHER MCHUGH
HEATHER MCHUGH
APHORISM AS A LABORATORY OF THINKING
MIKHAIL EPSTEIN
RUPTURES AND SELF-RENEWAL IN THE LIFE OF KIERKEGAARD
PAUL B. DONOVAN
RAYMOND WACKS
FREE, GOD’S SLAVES, OR NEUROLOGICAL ROBOTS?
DAVID COMFORT
POLITICAL FOOTNOTES TO EUSEBIUS
CONTRIBUTION OF THE EARLY CHURCH TO POLITICAL THOUGHT
HAIM MARANTZ
PHILOSOPHY BETWEEN SCIENCE AND MYSTICISM
URIAH KRIEGEL
ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES OF JESUS
FOUR NOVELS
C. FRED ALFORD
KAFKA SERIES
Castle Garden by Paul Klee, 1931.
KAFKA TEACHES ME HOW TO TEACH KAFKA
JAMES MARTEL
ON KAFKA AND WRITING
SEAN SINGER
IS THERE A RELIGIOUS MESSAGE TO KAFKA’S THE CASTLE?
HAIM MARANTZ
THE MESSIAH WHO COMES AND GOES
FRANZ KAFKA ON REDEMPTION, CONSPIRACY AND COMMUNITY
JAMES MARTEL
LAURA ANN REED
KAFKA REMAINS THE JEWISH PROPHET OF OBLIVION
ED SIMON
ART
Wine and Words (detail) by Alan Feltus, 2004.
LANI IRWIN
ALAN FELTUS
CRAIG MCDANIEL
RUSSIA SERIES
RUSSIAN DEMOCRACY, STATE, AND NATION
D. WILLIAMS, M. YOUNG, AND M. LAUNER
THE MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE AND THE WORLD ORDER
T.S.TSONCHEV
THE RHETORICAL USE OF HISTORICAL ANALOGY
D. WILLIAMS, M. YOUNG, AND M. LAUNER
MARIA ARBATOVA AND THE EARLY POST-SOVIET WOMEN’S MOVEMENT
ELISABETH RICH
FROM THE ARCHIVES | 2024 The Tunnels Of Gaza (2024) by Antoine Janot
THE MEDIEVAL MYSTIC PATH TO IMMORTALITY
DAVID COMFORT
“VIVAS TO THOSE WHO HAVE FAIL’D”
TEACHING WALT WHITMAN
STEPHEN HAVEN
WHEN THE COST OF WAR IS MUCH MORE THAN LIVES
CHRISTOPHER THORNTON
WHERE HAVE ALL THE CORINTHIANS GONE?
STEVE DAVIDSON
JOHN BELL
THE "PALE HORSE" OF OLYMPIC CEREMONY
TSONCHO TSONCHEV
THE ECSTATIC TRUTH OF ROMANTIC NEUROSCIENCE
STUART TRENHOLM
AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES WILSON
PAUL WILLETTS
DOSTOYEVSKY’S SOLUTION TO KANT’S PROBLEM OF EVIL
HAIM MARANTZ
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL WON’T GO AWAY
ED SIMON AND RANDALL SULLIVAN
THE ORIGINS OF (POLITICAL) DEMORALIZATION
BRUCE CHAPMAN
ON HOW AN UNKNOWN PUBLISHER IN EDO JAPAN ENTICED THE WORLD
LAURA VIGO
MICHEL FOUCAULT
ALAN ALTANY
PLUTARCH
FROM THE ARCHIVES | 2024
BERNARD STIEGLER
BERNARD STIEGLER: ELEMENTS OF PHARMACOLOGY
AN INTERVIEW WITH FELIX HEIDENREICH AND FLORIAN WEBER-STEIN
CULTURE AND REALITY
T.S.TSONCHEV
DEATH, DIVINITY AND DREAMS
DAVID COMFORT
RON MCFARLAND
THE VILLAGE OF THE WATERWHEELS
JOHN BELL
READING SOLZHENITSYN FOR THE FIRST TIME
HAIM MARANTZ
Philip Larkin with his Rolleiflex, 1957. Photograph courtesy of Frances Lincoln, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group
HEDGEHOGS, DEATH AND THE BEAUTY IN THE MUNDANE
HOW LARKIN CUTS SO DEEP
DANIEL SEIFERT
TO DEAL WITH INEQUALITY, IT MUST BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD
JON D. WISMAN
PHILIP NEWMAN LAWTON
MYTH & TECH
Meiro Koizumi's Prometheus Bound at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, KanazawaPROMETHEUS: A SYMPOSIUM
The widely acclaimed blockbuster film Oppenheimer opens with this caption: "Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity." The film, based on Oppenheimer's biography American Prometheus, is only the latest popular retelling of the ancient Greek myth. The essays, published in The Montreal Review, are the result of a faculty-student workshop held at Virginia Tech in October 2023 to share research and foster conversation about contemporary uses of the myth of Prometheus.
THE STUBBORN AFTERLIVES OF THE PROMETHEUS MYTH
INTRODUCTION BY BRIAN BRITT
BY LORD BYRON
WORKING ON MODERNITY. HANS BLUMENBERG READS PROMETHEUS
BY DANIEL WEIDNER
OPPENHEIMER AS HERMES, GOD OF THE INFORMATION AGE
BY JANELL WATSON
WHY THE MYTH OF PROMETHEUS HAUNTS TALK OF TECHNOLOGY?
BY LEE VINSEL
FRANKEN-MYTHBUSTERS: MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN EXPOSES THE PATRIARCHAL PROMETHEUS
BY SOPHIA SCARFE
UNBINDING MYTH WITH LITERATURE IN SHELLEY, FLAUBERT, AND DU BOIS
BY BRIAN BRITT
PROMETHEUS REDUX: ALIEN PREQUELS, CREATION MYTH, AND THE ENCHANTMENT OF TECHNOSCIENCE
BY ZHANGE NI
PROMETHEANISM, OBSOLESCENCE, AND THE POLITICS OF CONSPIRACY THEORY
BY SAMUEL BECKENHAUER
ESSAYS THE WILD GODS OF BARBARA EHRENREICH AND WILLIAM JAMES
C. FRED ALFORD
HOW TO HAVE A LONG, HAPPY LIFE
STEVE DAVIDSON
SAM MAGAVERN
THE CRUCIAL NEED FOR A LESS MECHANIZED LIFE
JOHN BELL
IS WESTERN CULTURE LOSING ITS MIND?
STEVE DAVIDSON
STEVEN G. KELLMAN
ART & STYLE
Jocelyn Hobbie, Sun Facing, 2022, oil painting, 18 x 18 inches. Image courtesy Fredericks & Freiser, NYLORRAINE SHEMESH
HOW HUMOUR LAID THE WORLD BARE, FROM THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT
KATHARINA VAN CAUTEREN
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY GREAT PAINTINGS OF WOMEN BY WOMEN RIGHT NOW?
CRAIG MCDANIEL
TWO ZEN INK PAINTINGS OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY
PAUL SCHOLLMEIER
CONVERSATIONS AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PHILOSOPHER FRANK JACKSON
TONY SOBRADO
LIFE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND EVOLUTION
A DIALOGUE BETWEEN A PHILOSOPHER AND A BIOLOGIST
MIKHAIL EPSTEIN AND EUGENE KOONIN
AN (ADDITIONAL) INTERVIEW WITH JEAN-LUC BEAUCHARD
A.T. STOJKOVICH
JEFFREY BURNOP
FICTION & POETRY
Ovid’s Creek #1, by Monica AngleA DAY IN THE DESERT UNLIKE ANY OTHER
FICTION
ANDREW MCKENNA
SAM MAGAVERN
BOOKS & REVIEWS
Simone de Beauvoir, Paris, France, 1952. (Gisele Freund/Researchers History/Getty Images)
“WHO SHALL I TAKE AS MY EXAMPLE? WHO SHALL I LEARN FROM?”
NINA BERBEROVA AND SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR
IRINA VINOKUROVA
HOW THE NEWS MEDIA WARPS OUR MINDS
JOHN ZADA
FEN OSLER HAMPSON
JÉRÔME DOYON
CHRISTOPHER R. BROWNING
PAST & PRESENT
GEORGE KENNAN
A VOICE OF REASON: GEORGE KENNAN ON THE FATE OF THE SOVIET UNION AND NATO EXPANSION
GEORGE KENNAN
MONTREAL REVIEW CONTRIBUTOR'S ESSAY COLLECTION HONORED
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