Fiction

Does sci-fi always have to depict a dark, gloomy future for humanity? Two prominent sci-fi writers are prodding their colleagues to paint a more positive vision of the future in their works.Does sci-fi always have to depict a dark, gloomy future for humanity? Two prominent sci-fi writers are prodding their colleagues to paint a more positive vision of the future in their works.

One of the most notorious art forgeries of the 20th century happened in England in the 1990s when two men were arrested for spectacularly exploiting the vulnerabilities of the art market. Art dealer John Drewe handled the paperwork, and John Myatt handled the paintbrush — and they almost got away with it.

Gatsby Gets Schooled

Students in Garth Wolkoff’s English class in Brooklyn admire Gatsby, and find Daisy suspiciously ?chillax.? Azar Nafisi, who taught the book in Tehran, recounts the time her university students put the book on trial. The decadent capitalist Jay Gatsby, she says, should be a warning for radical Islamists.

A Love Note to St. Paul

Novelist Patricia Hampl recalls Fitzgerald’s notorious, black-sheep reputation in their shared home town, St. Paul. She thinks the critics underestimated him: when it comes to modern life, other novelists — even Hemingway ?- were ?slow on the uptake.?

Would the X-Men’s Scott Summers qualify for workplace protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act? (Probably). Is it illegal to attempt to reveal a superhero’s secret identity? Likely, as the courts have held that a right to privacy includes “emotional solitude.” Just how hard would it be to get insurance against the super-villains who keep […]