Straight Man: On Ben Lerner’s Transcription

Adjectives cling to Ben Lerner like cockleburs. He is “subtle and sinuous,” per James Wood in the New Yorker. His work is “virtuosic,” in the words of Tao Lin for The Believer. The MacArthur Foundation bestowed a fellowship upon him. Of or pertaining to the intellect — these are the descriptors that pile before his feet. It predated his turn into fiction, too. Back when he was exclusively a poet, his post-Language melding of theory and lyricism was similarly feted for its erudition.

American Warfare: On Richard Beck’s Homeland

In the issue dated September 13, 2001, Newsweek magazine ran a photograph of a firefighter carrying a young girl to safety. “Horror at Home,” the caption read, a simple and stark evocation of the tragedy that had occurred two days earlier, when the Twin Towers were struck by two airplanes. The Towers collapsed entirely, blanketing Lower Manhattan in ash, smoke and dust. First responders from throughout the tri-state area raced to the scene, to assist in any way possible, answering the call when it was needed most. The photograph of the firefighter escorting the girl served as a synecdoche for the collective bravery displayed by all of the firefighters, medics and other rescue workers who showed up in droves on that Tuesday morning. There was one problem, though.