Being in the post office is sort of like being in the bell jar, so it makes sense that the USPS is commemorating author and poet Sylvia Plath on a new stamp. The stamp will feature a photo taken by Rollie McKenna, and will be released next year; the reverse side of the sheet will feature samples from the poet's work. more ›

TIP: Starting tomorrow Opera-For_all begins the first of three nights of performances. For cheap! The New York City Opera is selling tickets to every seat in the house for just $25. Over the course of "opera season" 50 or more seats in the front orchestra will be priced at just $25 as well. As for this week, here's the sched: more ›

"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I'm stupid about executions. The idea of being electrocuted makes me sick, and that's all there was to read about in the papers - goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner and at the fusty, peanut-smelling mouth of every subway. It had nothing to do with me, but I couldn't help wondering what it would be like, being burned alive all along your nerves. more ›

First novels are dangerous, risky creatures. They’re a gamble for the publisher and the novelist, and for everyone in between. Perhaps that’s why truly daring first novels are so few and far between, and why they garner such disproportionate attention amongst their peers. more ›

Last night Gothamist attended the 4th annual benefit for the Academy of American Poets at Alice Tully Hall and was reminded that reciting poetry aloud is really a wonderful thing. As the kick-off to National Poetry Month in April, a panel of celebrity readers including William Wegman, Mike Wallace, Dianne Weist, Alan Alda and Meryl Streep read a few examples each from a variety of American poets. Great poets like William Carlos Williams, Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes and Kenneth Koch were represented in the mix, with a highlight for the night coming from musician Wynton Marsalis's lyrical reading of Sterling A. Brown's "Ma Rainey -- a poem he punctuated by breaking into song a cappella during one portion. more ›

We, like so many others in this city, depend on Fresh Direct to bring us delicious things to fill our cabinets and fridge. They don't judge us if we order too much wine or not enough vegetables. They don't complain about the 5 flights of stairs they climb to deliver us our groceries. But now, our lovable little grocer has delivered us a "Brokenhearted Menu" for the upcoming Valentine's Day. more ›