Maureen Corrigan

Maureen Corrigan comments on high art and pop culture in her review of the High and Low show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The exhibit sharply divided audiences. Corrigan says she was perversely pleased with everything she saw -- including the inclusion of advertisements, graffiti, and comic books.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new book by Elijah Anderson, which features interviews with city dwellers. The sociological text reveals much about crime and and racism in urban areas.

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews poet Robert Bly's new book Iron John, which explores what he sees as a crisis of masculinity affecting men today. She says it's a fascinating but far from perfect counterpoint to feminist writings of the 1970s and '80s.

Critic Maureen Corrigan is a staunch Dick Francis fan, despite his problematic takes on race and gender. Though his horse racing-themed novels are formulaic, Francis can still weave a suspenseful story. Corrigan reviews his 29th novel, Longshot.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Possession" by A. S. Byatt. It's a throwback to the big Victorian novels of the 19th century, but with postmodern nods to contemporary literary theory.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews The Runaway Bride, Elizabeth Kendall's book about women's portrayals and roles in the early era of film. The author says these women were allowed to be smarter, funnier and more self-respecting in ways that are uncommon today.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews John McPhee's Looking for a Ship, about the U.S. Merchant Marines. McPhee joined the crew on one of the last remaining ships for a forty-two day voyage to South America.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan says that, after reading the writer's first two autobiographies, it's shocking to confront Simon as an old woman. The third and final memoir, published after Simon's death from stomach cancer, is called Etchings in an Hourglass.

The author of The Satanic Versus has been in hiding due to threats on his life. He's written a new essay, published in Granta and separately as a pamphlet, about his life since then, and his evolving perspectives on literature and religion. Maureen Corrigan has this review.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Gone Primitive by Marianna Torgovnick. The book argues that images of so-called primitive people in art often reflect the fears that mainstream culture has of the Other.