A Chicken in Every Pot

Ian Frazier on Poultry ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sponsored by Reading Rhythms In our February 12 issue, Ian Frazier helpfully dispenses with a durable riddle: “According to people knowledgeable about chickens, the egg came first.” With that matter settled, he proceeds to tell the story of modern chickens, which as recently as 1940 barely featured in the average diet but are now “the most populous terrestrial vertebrate”—comprising “70 percent of all birds by weight” and “45 percent of all the meat that Americans eat.” Frazier surveys the history of poultry, from their ancestor the red jungle fowl to “a craze called Hen Fever” that swept Boston in the nineteenth century to the contemporary fashion for raising backyard chickens and finally to the industrial farm, “a Dantean hellscape.” Below, alongside Frazier’s essay, are five articles from our archives about birds.   Ian Frazier Bang the Drumstick Slowly About 26 billion chickens occupy Earth, but apart from the lucky ones in backyards, most are condemned to the hellscape that is industrial farming.     Advertisement   Tim Flannery The Sense of an Endling In the early nineteenth century, the idea of species extinction was an alien concept. That changed after an expedition to Iceland in search of the last of the great auks. —December 5, 2024   Daniel M. Lavery Coq au Pépin “It is through the chicken that most American cooks acquaint themselves with the techniques of butchery, if they butcher at all, and often it is through the work of Jacques Pépin that the introduction is made. Few can say, as Pépin does in his most recent book, Art of the Chicken, ‘I was about seven years old the first time I actively took part in cooking a chicken without adult supervision.’” —October 5, 2023     New Subscriber Benefit! Subscribers are now able to share unlocked versions of our articles with friends, family, and social media channels. When signed in to your account, look for this gift box icon in any of our articles.     Advertisement   Robert O. Paxton Intrepid Navigators Migration’s demands on birds are as daunting mentally as they are physically. —February 25, 2021   Peter Singer Open the Cages! “The problems of chicken production are not simply due to the fact that the birds are raised in vast crowded sheds, in air reeking of ammonia from their accumulated droppings. The more fundamental problem is that today’s chickens have been bred to grow three times as fast as chickens raised in the 1950s. Now they are ready for market when they are just six weeks old and their immature legs cannot handle the weight they gain. As a result…, about one third of them are in chronic pain for the last third of their lives.” —May 12, 2016   Elizabeth Kolbert They Covered the Sky, and Then… “Some sense of what it was like to watch a flock of passenger pigeons pass overhead comes from the accounts of America’s early colonists. William Strachey, an English gentleman, was sailing to Virginia on board the Sea Venture when it foundered off Bermuda in 1609.… Strachey finally made it to the colony the following year and described pigeons of he knew not ‘how manie thousands’ filling the sky ‘like so many thickned clowdes.’” —January 9, 2014     Advertisement   Special Offer Subscribe for just $1 an issue Get the deal Politics   Literature   Arts   Ideas You are receiving this message because you signed up for e-mail newsletters from The New York Review. Update your address or preferences View this newsletter online The New York Review of Books 207 East 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016-6305     Preferences  |  Unsubscribe

Last Chance: Daniel Mendelsohn on Twentieth-Century Theater

Plus our next event with Fintan O'Toole ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

This Wednesday: Daniel Mendelsohn on Twentieth-Century Theater   “Drama Queens” Daniel Mendelsohn on Twentieth-Century Theater Four weekly sessions, starting January 28, 2026 The final seminar of our “Drama Queens” series will examine four masterpieces of American theater, each of which showcases one or more unforgettable heroines: the recovering morphine addict Mary Tyrone in Eugene O’Neill’s A Long Day’s Journey into Night; the faded Southern belle Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie; the delusional yet noble Blanche DuBois of Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire; and the harrowingly damaged protagonist of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? These plays suggests that well into the twentieth century, the archetypes established by the Greeks continued to be useful for male playwrights; the question that confronts us, as we end our series, is why? Four one-hour sessions: January 28, February 4, 11, and 18. All sessions will start at 7 PM EST.  Register for Theater   Just Announced Fintan O’Toole in conversation with Alma Guillermoprieto and Michael Ignatieff American Imperialism and the End of Sovereignty Thursday, February 5th at 5 PM EST New York Review Advising Editor Fintan O’Toole hosts Alma Guillermoprieto and Michael Ignatieff for a wide-ranging discussion on the Trump administration’s imperial ambitions in Venezuela, Greenland, and beyond. The event will last approximately ninety minutes including an audience Q&A session. This event is pay-what-you-wish (with a suggested fee of $10) and open to the public. Register Today   Also Available Marilynne Robinson on The Bible The New York Review is pleased to announce a new series of seminars on the Bible, hosted by contributor and Pulitzer Prize–winning author, Marilynne Robinson. Her first seminar on the Old Testament begins on March 2. Her second seminar on the New Testament starts on May 6.  The course as a whole is intended to draw attention to the fact that the Scriptures are, whatever else, a very great literature. Considering their importance to Western Civilization, it is remarkable how vulnerable they are now to misuse and ridicule.  Over centuries writers returned to these texts, confident of finding a high order of meaning in them, as great writers have done for centuries after the canon was closed. This is far too extraordinary a phenomenon to be left to cynical use or to neglect. —Marilynne Robinson   Marilynne Robinson on The Old Testament Four weekly sessions, starting March 2, 2026 Each week will focus on a theme or book from the Old Testament: Creation, Law, Psalms, and Prophecy. Four one-hour sessions: March 2, 9, 16, and 23. All sessions will start at 7 PM EST.  Register for The Old Testament     Marilynne Robinson on The New Testament Four weekly sessions, starting May 6, 2026 Each week will focus on a book from the New Testament: Luke, Acts, First Corinthians, and John. Four one-hour sessions: May 6, 13, 20, and 27. All sessions will start at 7 PM EST.  Register for The New Testament   Politics   Literature   Arts   Ideas You are receiving this message because you signed up for e-mail newsletters from The New York Review. Update your preferences View in browser The New York Review of Books 207 East 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016-6305   Preferences  |  Unsubscribe

Gertrude Awakening

Plus: Gabriele Tergit; Gothic Mania; Ben Lerner ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Today in The New York Review of Books: Hermione Lee weighs Gertrude Stein’s life and afterlife; Adam Kirsch reads a novel about three generations of German Jewish life; Beatrice Radden Keefe gets Gothic mania; a poem by Ben Lerner; and, from the archives, William H. Gass goes long on Gertrude Stein.   Hermione Lee Epic Ambitions A new life of Gertrude Stein treats her as a philosopher of language to trust, not explain—and gathers force from archival discoveries and intriguing plots of her reception and reputation.     Advertisement   Adam Kirsch Things Fall Apart Gabriele Tergit’s Effingers chronicles how one prosperous German Jewish family struggled to answer the question: When is it time to leave?   Beatrice Radden Keefe The Undefined Gothic At the turn of the twentieth century, a Gothic fever swept Europe as artists searched for meaning in a lost age.   Wars of Religion a poem by Ben Lerner It is a problem of organization, angels In their syndicates look down, elites Have always looked down on us, she said, But if everyone refuses to die Simultaneously, a kind of general strike Then they will have no choice But to come to the table, she said, striking…     Advertisement   Free from the Archives In our February 12 issue, Hermione Lee writes about a new biography of Gertrude Stein, by Francesca Wade, “that will forever be an essential tool for anyone studying” the modernist writer. For some readers, Lee says, Stein may be on a knife-edge between “the most remarkable creative experimentalist of her century” and “a ludicrously self-inflated, intolerably repetitive, and dead-end mannerist.” In the Review’s May 3 and May 17, 1973, issues, William H. Gass—decidedly in the former camp regarding Stein’s talents—wrote a two-part essay about her, arguing that she was possessed of “revolutionary zeal” while on a “restless quest for truth [that] would cause her to render some aspects of reality with a ruthlessness rare in any writer, and at a greater risk to her art than most.” William H. Gass Gertrude Stein, Geographer: I “[In Stein’s Three Lives] the rhythms, the rhymes, the heavy monosyllabic beat, the skillful rearrangements of normal order, the carefully controlled pace, the running on, the simplicity, exactness, the passion…in the history of language no one had written like this before, and the result was as striking in its way, and as successful, as Ulysses was to be.” William H. Gass Gertrude Stein, Geographer: II “Gertrude Stein did more with sentences, and understood them better, than any other writer ever has. Not all her manipulations are successful, but even at their worst, most boring, most mechanical, they are wonderfully informative. And constantly she thought of them as things in space, as long and wiggling and physical as worms.”   New Subscriber Benefit! Subscribers are now able to share unlocked versions of our articles with friends, family, and social media channels. When signed in to your account, look for this gift box icon in any of our articles.   Recently in the Review David Cole Trump’s War “Trump’s unilateral actions against Venezuela were entirely unprovoked. The implication of the administration’s reasoning is that countries can use military force anytime they are unhappy with how another country regulates or fails to regulate conduct within its borders that could have injurious effects elsewhere. But this is ludicrous. By the administration’s logic, Canada could start shooting Americans suspected of carrying drugs over the US–Canada border, or bomb buildings in the US that it claimed were being used to manufacture the drugs.” Kevin Power All the Sad Unliterary Men “David Szalay’s sixth book, Flesh, is partly about the encounter between a definitively unbookish mind and the intractable realities of experience. A male mind, crucially. And a hetero mind: this too is relevant. Unbookish straight men are a Szalay specialty. He writes with great formal rigor about the foot soldiers of contemporary blokedom.”   Special Offer Subscribe for just $1 an issue Get the deal Politics   Literature   Arts   Ideas You are receiving this message because you signed up for email newsletters from The New York Review. Update your address or preferences View this newsletter online The New York Review of Books 207 East 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016-6305       Preferences  |  Unsubscribe