Early Elegy: Barber (original) (raw)

Scissors and straight razors he keeps honed
in case—sits in one of the chairs facing
a wall of empty mirrors reflecting mirrors
behind him, the backs of his head, one after
the shrunken, redundant other. Finally,
with a towel, he covers the television screen
mounted on the wall, the way he might—nearing
the end of the day—a parakeet in a cage.

Living in the Shadow of an American Election

A photographer took a road trip across the country during the Presidential race. What did he see?

A Grandson’s Urgent Chronicle of Family Life in Small-Town Ohio

In Adali Schell’s “New Paris,” which documents his family in the aftermath of death and divorce, individuals are more complicated than the worst thing happening to them.

Greg Jackson Reads “The Honest Island”

The author reads his story from the November 11, 2024, issue of the magazine.

Into the Phones of Teens

“Social Studies,” a documentary series by Lauren Greenfield, follows a group of young people, and screen-records their phones, to capture how social media has reshaped their lives.

Canvassing for Kamala

Going door-to-door in Pennsylvania felt intense and hopeful, but after Trump’s victory in the state a few encounters kept floating back.

Can Older Americans Swing the Election for Harris?

They remember a time before we conducted our public life with vulgarity—and they have a distinct memory of people like Trump.

The New Yorker Documentary

A Veterinarian’s Soothing Compassion, in “The Passing”

The documentary short by Patrick Bresnan and Ivete Lucas follows Michael Mullen on his rounds attending to pets and their owners.

How the Artist Barry Blitt Turns Politics Into Cartoon Cover Gold

Armed with watercolors and a “passive-aggressive” sense of humor, the illustrator finds the funny, even in ugly times.

Conjuring the Worst Case

As the election nears, along with the potential mess to ensue, an apprehensive citizen retraces the steps of a man who chronicled New York’s Draft Riots.

Briefly Noted

“Kent State,” “How the New World Became Old,” “The Last Dream,” and “The Repeat Room.”

Donald Trump’s Supreme Court Majority Could Easily Rule Through 2045

Democrats failed to make the Supreme Court itself a major campaign issue, but what comes after the Dobbs decision could very well be worse, and more far-reaching.

Critics at Large Live: Julio Torres’s Dreamy Surrealism

In projects like “Problemista” and HBO’s “Fantasmas,” the multihyphenate uses uncanny flourishes to make sense of our most convoluted bureaucratic systems.