Summer 2018

"Like a twenty-first-century tourist, [Edith] Wharton explored the souks and waded into the Square of the Dead, where merchants, storytellers, snake charmers, and tricksters of all stripes held court."

Meredith Hindley on Edith Wharton in French Morocco

Summer 2018

Volume 39, Issue 3

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Also in this issue

During World War I, Edith Wharton Visited the Desert and Harems of Morocco, Leading to an Unforgettable Book

Taking a break from the Great War, the intrepid writer finds inspiration in the Maghreb.

Meredith Hindley

Books published recently with NEH support

Humanities Staff

A Museum that Tells the History of Manufacturing from Civil War Rifles to Modern-Day Retail

New England mills adapated to the needs of the twentieth century.

Sarah Stewart Taylor

How a Government Program to Spread Literary Culture Hit Upon a Great Formula

In the 1970s, a PBS miniseries brought short stories to the screen with significant success.

Peter Tonguette

Executive Function with Elizabeth Francis

Rhode Island's Elizabeth Francis finds that small grants in a small state can have a big impact.

Noel Rubinton

Thousands of Years Ago, Artists Painted Other-Worldly Beings on Canyon Rock Walls

Deep in the Colorado Plateau, there are paintings from an ancient people.

Andrew Gulliford

The Athens Asylum Was at the Forefront of Treatment in the 19th Century

A Victorian asylum has become a museum—and a setting for horror stories.

Rafael Alvarez

A Tiny Village in Vermont Was the Perfect Spot to Hide Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Without distractions, he produced some of his best writing there.

Ted Lawrence

Eudora Welty Relished the Southern Summer Heat

From the sights and sounds of her open windows, she noted the changing of seasons.

Danny Heitman

Making the Case for Wasting Time

Montaigne, Whitman, and Thoreau saw loafing as time well spent.

Danny Heitman

Taking Little Women Seriously

A beloved novel of complex female characters becomes literature

Anne Boyd Rioux

What Would Thoreau Think of Our 24-Hour News Cycle?

He believed that faster news meant diminished quality.

Danny Heitman

Editor’s Note

David Skinner