The film is like a poem of a dream, composed in movements, and alternating between scenes of blissful young lovers naked in bed, surreal and frightening images that serve as worrying metaphors for pregnancy, and documentary footage of people on the Rue Mouffetard. In 17 minutes the film covers the cycle of life — childhood, youth, old age, infirmity, death — but in not in any logical order, rather in the bewildering way that life moves or that we move through life.
Blossom Drunk: Spring Poems from Basho
Some thoughts on Basho’s spring poems, writings, and journeys, from Arthur Davis.
The Excellence of Edna Lewis
Edna Lewis’ incredible book The Taste of Country Cooking is not just a cookbook, this work functions both as instructional material and memoir, using recipes to tell the story of a year in the lives of people living in Freetown, the self-sustaining agricultural community in rural Virginia where Lewis grew up.
May Issue, 2024
A collection of all the articles we’ve published over the past month, for those who like to savor their Magpies’ tidings as an issue.
Letter from the Editor May, 2024: Selah
Some thoughts on a strange and beautiful word.
Shifting Skies: The Photography of Patrick Joust
Recent work from photographer Patrick Joust.
Portrait of a Woman Lost: Barbara Loden’s Wanda
Penny Folger examines Barbara Loden’s sad and beautiful film Wanda, an often-overlooked landmark in American cinema.
Grace in the Ordinary: An Interview with Michael Ward
Very grateful to share this wonderful interview with the remarkable Michael Ward.
Kalīla wa-Dimna: an inspiring literary-political fable
Kalīla wa-Dimna (كليلة ودمنة), a book of animal fables, has has been translated into many languages over time and has become a text that has permeated political and moral philosophies around the world.
The Future is Nyege Nyege
Luke Lawrence takes stock of the world’s most forward-thinking record label’s recent releases.