The Los Angeles legacy of Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht and many other German exiles: A review of Weimar on the Pacific : German Exile Culture in Los Angeles and the Crisis of Modernism (and more). Most educated people know three things about Cecil Day-Lewis: that he was Poet Laureate; that he joined the Communist Party; and that he was the father of the actor Daniel Day-Lewis: A review of C Day-Lewis: a Life by Peter Stanford.; and when she wed the future poet laureate C Day-Lewis her parents disowned her, wary of his reputation as a womaniser. The actress has rarely talked about her marriage, but she tells Rachel Cooke about their love, their children Daniel and Tamasin, and the hurt she still suffers.
Presence, Arthur Miller's final collection of stories, is an important reminder that artists can do accomplished work right up to the end of life. More and more on Cultural Amnesia by Clive James. Carlin Romano reviews The Case for Literature by Gao Xingjian.
This month, Orion Books will publish a set of pared-down classics. Seven authors on what books they would put on the chopping block. Simon & Schuster is proposing a change in the way it defines when a book is out of print. Literary festivals used to be humble gatherings of authors and fans. But now they are undergoing a boom, with new events opening and everyone from politicians to pop stars getting in on the act. A word to the wise on co-ordinating literary festivals: avoid double bookings. If what you're reading happens to give you that dizzy fizz, you know you're in for the ride of your life.
Not everybody's a critic: Sure, anyone with a blog can express an opinion about a book, but true criticism is more than just an opinion. Iraq War blogger Colby Buzzell wins online publisher's inaugural book award. Personal computers and the Internet's ability to fling information far and wide have further exacerbated the idea of Everyday Shakespeares. Before the terror: As a precocious teenager, Stalin had a surprising talent for romantic poetry, a passion that endured throughout his life. Simon Sebag Montefiore asks how the youthful scribbler became a ruthless tyrant. Many leading American and British novelists felt compelled to confront the implications of September 11. Have they succeeded in capturing the new world order, asks Pankaj Mishra.
As professional politics becomes ever more remote, the most fraught controversies of our time are migrating into art. Point of Order: Robert’s Rules, brainchild of an obscure general, has survived 130 years, 10 editions — even use by 1960s radicals. And cartoons deemed unfit for print: Did these rejected editorial cartoons go over the line? Draw your own conclusion
