To Look for America
Timeless stories from our 174-year archive handpicked to add context to the news of the day.
Hurricane Helene
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“Over the past century, from Maine to Texas, not a single mile of coastline has been spared a visit from these storms; nor will any stretch of the coast be spared in the century to come—100 percent guaranteed.”
Read “Written in the Big Wind” by Bob Shacochis
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Rachel Kushner reflects on her time in Asheville, North Carolina, and on her family’s history in the American South.
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Lauren Groff goes to Prepper Camp: “We need to use our knowledge, to apply to disaster preparations an understanding of science and fact; we need to develop real and actionable survivalism so that regular people can be as useful as possible in catastrophic situations.”
Read “Waiting for the End of the World”
Vice Versa
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On “the hot second spot.”
Read “The Choice for Vice President” by Joseph Kraft
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On then-Vice President Nixon: “Production, accomplishment, creativity–in a society of abundance and superabundance, these are no longer so important as they once were. The arts of consumption are the valued ones nowadays, and in these Nixon is highly skilled.”
Read “Nixon: Most Likely to Succeed” by Richard Halworth Rovere
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Ben Lerner on the art of high school debate and the demise of public speech.
Shored Up: Port Strikes End
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A report on the 1951 “wildcat” longshoremen’s strike and the treacherous conditions facing New York City dockworkers.
Read “The Pirates’ Nest of New York” by Mary Heaton Vorse
Sweater Weather
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Reveries of an autumn amorist.
Read “Fall Ascendant” by Donald Hall
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William Wordsworth’s take on the season: “In brightest sunshine bask; this nipping air…”
Read “While Not a Leaf Seems Faded”
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E.B. White’s take on the season: “There are many days in the autumn when the sky is a solid, heavy gray, and the woods stir uneasily in the raw wind. This is such a time.”