Just Another War?

Express

Was the latest war in Lebanon another war? Another, as in one more (of the same) in the list of Middle East wars? Or another, as in a different war (of new dimensions)? Paradoxically—it was both.

Wayne Barrett with Williams Cole

Local

Williams Cole sits down with Wayne Barrett, Senior Editor at the Village Voice and an icon of New York City journalism. Barrett’s new book is Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11.

Ron Gorchov with Robert Storr and Phong Bui

Art

On the occasion of his exhibit, Double Trouble at P.S. 1, which will be on view till November 20th, Rail’s Consulting Editor Robert Storr and Publisher Phong Bui paid a visit to Ron Gorchov’s studio in Brooklyn one afternoon to discuss with the painter his life and work.

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door: Bob Dylan and the Adolescent Sublime

Books

Bob Dylan and his Chronicles came to mind this past season at two unexpected places—the retrospective of the sculptor Eva Hesse at the Jewish Museum and Richard Foreman’s most recent show, Zomboid!

The Hard-Boiled Egg

Fiction

Shot of a modern kitchen. In the middle of the kitchen, a young woman wearing a white apron, holding an egg in her hand. Then the fingers that are holding it, and the hand; then, the woman’s neatly arranged hair; then her forehead, her eyes, her head.

The lessons of 9/11?

It goes without saying that 9/11 was the worst day in the history of our city.

Alison Elizabeth Taylor with John Yau

Art

In the midst of preparation for her first one-person exhibit at James Cohan Gallery, which will be on view from Sept. 7th to Sept. 30th, Alison Elizabeth Taylor takes time off from her busy schedule to welcome Rail art editor, John Yau, at her Brooklyn Navy Yard studio. After a brief viewing of her only oil painting, “Subjects F9-L9 Finish Corporate Pride Project”, they sat down and began to discuss her life and work.

A Life in Theory: Sylvère Lotringer with Joan Waltemath

Art

Sylvère Lotringer is professor of French literature and philosophy at Columbia University and general editor of Semiotext(e). He has a forthcoming book of interviews titled David Wojnarowicz: A definitive history of five or six years on the lower east side, as well as an augmented version of Overexposed: Perverting Perversions. He splits his time between New York and Baja, CA.

Mac Makes an Opera

Theater

Mac Wellman is one of the reasons I’m a playwright. His play A Murder of Crows was the first thing we read (after Fornes) in my undergraduate playwriting class lead by then-grad student Nilo Cruz. The fact that plays could be like this—a weird girl conjuring up the weather with words that made your mouth water—just made me want to write them.