Read the Finalists of the 2015 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay
Featuring some of the year's best essays by Ian Buruma, Leslie Jamison, David Bromwich, Angela Pelster, and Charles D'Ambrosio. More
The Self-Deceptions of Empire
David Bromwich is finalist for the 2015 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay for the collection Moral Imagination, which explores the importance of imagination and sympathy in… More
By Way of a Preface
This ode to the essay is from Charles D'Ambrosio's Loitering: New and Collected Essays, a finalist for the 2015 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. More
Three Essays from Limber
Limber is a collection of essays which chart the world's history through its trees and a finalist for the 2015 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. More
The Empathy Exams
The title essay of Leslie Jamison's The Empathy Exams, a finalist for the 2015 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. More
The Twisted Art of Documentary
Read an essay from Ian Buruma's Theater of Cruelty, winner of the 2015 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. More
Our Own Maps
My memory was a gift until it became a curse, until no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget things I desperately needed to forget so I might… More
The Beiruti Hustle
Beirut is the Elizabeth Taylor of cities: insane, beautiful, tacky, falling apart, aging, and forever drama laden. She’ll also marry any infatuated suitor who promises to make her life… More
The Messenger
When I saw her she was dressed in a shimmering red sari as though she had been wedded that very day. The whole street was glowing because of her.… More