Arcade

Patrick Pittman

12 posts
Batten the Hatches: On Sarah Hall’s Helm

Batten the Hatches: On Sarah Hall’s Helm

Everything the wind blows on has decisions to make. The latest novel from Sarah Hall joins a growing conversation about non-human consciousness—and explores it with more joy, and more filth, than your average climate novel.
by Patrick Pittman /
The Boring Kind of Heartbreak

The Boring Kind of Heartbreak

In No Fault, Haley Mlotek searches for the language of love’s quiet undoing—from grief to the unexpected grace that comes with choosing to leave a marriage. Patrick Pittman traces what happens when cultural expectations, legal reform, and literary form converge in the finality of divorce.
by Patrick Pittman /
When a Garden Leans into Complexity

When a Garden Leans into Complexity

As with the field of botany, the idea of the botanic garden in the West is deeply rooted in the history of European imperialism and extractivism. Led by London's iconic Kew, botanic gardens around the world are now attempting to untangle the legacies of empire.
by Patrick Pittman /
Back to Babylon: One Last Dance to the Abyss

Back to Babylon: One Last Dance to the Abyss

In collaboration with Koffler Arts, the Art of Time Ensemble are heading back to the Weimar era for one of their final shows. We spoke to the ensemble’s director Andrew Burashko about his journey into the legendary “human swamp of unfettered sexual desire.”
by Patrick Pittman /
Thoughts for the Aftermath

Thoughts for the Aftermath

Jacqueline Rose’s new collection of essays navigates our present chaos with help from those who thought their way through the calamities of the last century.
by Patrick Pittman /