Chicago -
By SIU Press
In Vanishing Acts, Brian Barker cements his reputation as one of contemporary poetry’s great surrealists.
These prose poems read like dreams and nightmares, fables and myths. With a dark whimsicality, Barker explores such topics as extinction, power, class, the consequences of tyranny and war, and the ongoing destruction of the environment in the name of progress.
Posted on March 22, 2019
By Amanda Ros/The Conversation
For many years, the Library of Congress categorized many of its books under a controversial subject heading: “Illegal aliens.”
But then, on March 22, 2016, the library made a momentous decision, announcing that it was canceling the subject heading “Illegal aliens” in favor of “Noncitizens” and “Unauthorized immigration.”
However, the decision was overturned a few months later when the U.S. House of Representatives ordered the library to continue using the term “illegal alien.” They said they decided this in order to duplicate the language of federal laws written by Congress.
This was the first time Congress ever intervened over a Library of Congress subject heading change. Even though many librarians and the American Library Association opposed Congress’s decision, “Illegal aliens” remains the authorized subject heading today.
Cataloging and classification are critical to any library. Without them, finding materials would be impossible. However, there are biases that can result in patrons not getting the materials they need. I have worked in university libraries for over 20 years, and I’d like to highlight some issues of bias that you need to be aware of in order to find what you’re looking for.
Posted on March 21, 2019
By Daniel Golden/ProPublica
My 2006 book, The Price of Admission: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges – and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates, was intended as a work of investigative journalism.
But many of its more affluent readers embraced it as a “how-to” guide. For years afterward, they inundated me with questions like, “How much do I have to donate to get my son (or daughter) into Harvard (or Yale, or Stanford)?” Some even offered me significant sums, which I declined, to serve as an admissions consultant.
They may have been motivated by a tale I told in the book about a youth whose admission to Harvard appears to have been cemented by a $2.5 million pledge from his wealthy developer father.
The then-obscure Harvardian would later vault to prominence in public life; his name was Jared Kushner.
Posted on March 13, 2019
By Joshua Matz and Laurence Tribe/TakeCare
Basic Books released today a paperback edition of our latest book, To End A Presidency: The Power of Impeachment. The paperback version includes a new epilogue, from which this post is adapted.
Over the past two years, many of President Donald J. Trump’s critics have suggested that he can be impeached for some of his most alarming statements to senior advisors, on Twitter, and at campaign rallies. For instance, former White House Counsel Bob Bauer has argued that “[a] president who is a demagogue, whose demagoguery defines his style of political leadership, is subject for that reason to impeachment.” It is unappetizing to defend Trump with respect to these issues. But we are exceptionally wary of efforts to characterize Trump’s rhetoric taken in isolation as a “high Crime and Misdemeanor.” And ironically, a pattern of high-level insubordination has helped Trump avoid impeachment territory for demanding that his administration engage in abuse of power.
Posted on March 5, 2019
