| | | | | As a fashion editor, she celebrates idiosyncratic forms of beauty. As a novelist, she explores dark themes of abuse and shame. In both cases, she’s worried only about pleasing herself. In the literary world, people like to talk. And in the time leading up to the publication of “To Paradise,” Hanya Yanagihara’s new novel, which hits bookstands today, the intrigue surrounding the author has grown. As D. T. Max writes, in a gripping new profile, “The most reliable route to becoming a novelist is that of the outsider, and this was Yanagihara’s path.” Since the 2015 publication of her breakout novel, “A Little Life,” a story of friendship between four young men that unravels into a tale of abuse, Yanagihara has garnered fervent admirers (TikTokers post videos of themselves crying after finishing the book) as well as adamant detractors (the critic Daniel Mendelsohn has described her writing as “often atrocious”). Although Yanagihara is the editor-in-chief of T, the style supplement to the Times, this high-profile post hasn’t curried her favor in literary circles. “As she rarely went to literary parties and didn’t write book reviews, few owed her a kindness or a generous appraisal,” Max notes. But, for Yanagihara, how she lives—and writes—is on her own terms. “It never occurred to me to write something people want to read,” she says. —Jessie Li, newsletter editor Read the story here. | | | | Editor’s Pick |  Annals of Inquiry The World We Want to Live in After COVIDThe pandemic offers lessons about our local, national, and global communities. Will we listen? By Dhruv Khullar | | | | | From the News Desk | News Desk The Murder of Mexican Journalists Spreads to a Magical TownA magazine editor in San Cristóbal de las Casas, a mecca for tourists and expats, falls victim to a relentless wave of violence against the press. By Peter Canby | | Our Columnists Joe Biden Starts to Make His Economic CaseInflation is a big challenge, but job growth reached record levels in 2021 and wages rose for many low-paid workers. By John Cassidy | | Daily Comment The Supreme Court Case That Could Upend Efforts to Protect the EnvironmentThe potential ramifications of West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency are profound. By Elizabeth Kolbert | | | | | Culture Dept. | Postscript Richard Leakey’s Life in the WildIn the fight to preserve Kenya’s animals, he combined an uncompromising sense of purpose and a keen instinct for publicity. By Jon Lee Anderson | | Puzzled Dinner! Drinks! Denominators!Peter Winkler, a Dartmouth mathematics professor, hosted investors, economists, and teachers at an Italian restaurant near Gramercy Park for an evening of math puzzles. By Dan Rockmore | | | | | From the Archive |  Winter Story Let It SnowFrom 2003: School was cancelled. And on the fifth day of our vacation, my mother had a little breakdown. By David Sedaris | | | | | Fun & Games Dept. | Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Liz Maynes-Aminzade | | Daily Cartoon Tuesday, January 11th By Emily Flake | | Daily Shouts Reasons I Have Smiled That Were Not “to Look Prettier”Because my gynecologist has mastered the art of warming the speculum. By Kristen Mulrooney | | | | | | P.S. Alexander Hamilton was born on this day. The first U.S. Treasury Secretary, who was the inspiration behind the hit musical “Hamilton,” initially interested the lyricist and performer Lin-Manuel Miranda when he was on vacation, more than a decade ago, in Mexico. “While bobbing in the pool on an inflatable lounger” and reading Ron Chernow’s eight-hundred-page biography of Hamilton, Miranda saw the workings of “a hip-hop story, an immigrant’s story.” A few months later, in April, 2009, he received a call inviting him to perform at the White House. He proposed a rap about Hamilton, and the rest, of course, is history. | | | | Today’s newsletter was written by Jessie Li. | | | | | | | |
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