PS Picks: John Carey's 'The Intellectuals and the Masses'
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Writers
Surviving Racism
A Native writer struggling against the ignorance of white culture finds that her stories are her lifeline, her wounds are her power, and though the scales have been weighted against her in almost every way, there are many reasons to survive.
Dispatches: The Secret to Enjoying the AWP Writing Conference
News and notes from Pacific Standard staff and contributors.
The People Behind ‘Pacific Standard': Dana Goldstein
Dana Goldstein reviews the long, strange history of testing and education science, from phrenology to today’s value-added measurement.
Do Artists and Musicians Live Longer Lives?
Historical research from the Netherlands suggests they outlived other members of their socioeconomic class in past centuries.
Study Finds Less Anger, Disgust and Surprise in 20th Century Books
Researchers mining a Google books database report a decline in mood-related words in English-language books over the past 100 years.
In Memoirs We Trust
Whether it's from Irish-American high school teachers or vice presidents reporting from underground bunkers, Americans have a taste for others' personal experiences.
The Nobel and Literature’s Third Rail
No country is an island, a poet might say, but the insularity of the U.S. has raised some hackles.