4Columns

4Columns is an arts criticism website designed for everyone. The name reflects its weekly offering of four fresh columns, each showcasing a unique voice and viewpoint. These columns collectively provide an insightful and engaging look at modern culture, covering a range of topics from film and literature to theater and the visual arts.

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I’ll Tell You When I’m Home

1 day ago | 4columns.org | Leslie Camhi

I’ll Tell You When I’m Home Leslie Camhi In Hala Alyan’s memoir, themes of exile, loss, and cultural heritage emerge alongside preparations for the arrival of a baby via surrogacy.
It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, but the Society in Which He Lives

1 week ago | 4columns.org | Melissa Anderson

It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, but the Society in Which He Lives Melissa Anderson In Rosa von Praunheim’s 1971 insurrectionist cine-essay, an early—and ever-pertinent—excoriation of homonormativity. Beryt Bohlen as Clemens and Bernd Feuerhelm as Daniel in It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, but the Society in Which He Lives. Courtesy Rosa von Praunheim Filmproduktion.
Love

2 weeks ago | 4columns.org | Melissa Anderson

Love Melissa Anderson Lust for listening: Dag Johan Haugerud’s latest film demonstrates the amorous potency of attentive conversation. Andrea Bræin Hovig as Marianne and Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen as Tor in Love. Courtesy CMPR. © Motlys K1. Love, written and directed by Dag Johan Haugerud, now playing at Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, New York City• • •In amorous matters, the most important organ is the tongue; the most significant orifice, the ear.
Is a River Alive?

3 weeks ago | 4columns.org | Mark Dery

Is a River Alive? Mark Dery Learning to speak riverine: Robert Macfarlane’s latest book endeavors to rewild our minds. Is a River Alive?, by Robert Macfarlane, W. W. Norton & Company, 374 pages, $31.99• • •What are a river’s pronouns?
Saya Woolfalk

3 weeks ago | 4columns.org | Ania Szremski

Saya Woolfalk Ania Szremski A riotous multitude coheres into a defined cosmos in a new exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design. Saya Woolfalk: Empathic Universe, installation view. Courtesy Museum of Arts and Design. Photo: Jenna Bascom.
Thaddeus Mosley

4 weeks ago | 4columns.org | Jennifer Krasinski

Thaddeus Mosley Jennifer Krasinski Twelve sculptures by the artist present a spirited balance between weight and levity. Thaddeus Mosley: Proximity, installation view. Courtesy Karma. Thaddeus Mosley: Proximity, Karma, 549 West Twenty-Sixth Street, New York City, through May 23, 2025• • •Love isn’t a tenable critical position, and, most of the time, I think that’s exactly as it should be. Love makes us corny, blurs our edges, and (the worst fate for a writer) induces hyperbole.
Renée Green

4 weeks ago | 4columns.org | Aruna D’Souza

Renée Green Aruna D’Souza Space, place, and mapping: the artist explores themes of imperialism and colonialism in a new show at Dia Beacon. Renée Green: The Equator Has Moved, installation view. Courtesy Dia Art Foundation. Photo: Bill Jacobson Studio. © Renée Green and Free Agent Media.
In the Rhododendrons

4 weeks ago | 4columns.org | Brian Dillon

In the Rhododendrons Brian Dillon In Heather Christle’s new book, the memorist haunts her own past through the lens of Virginia Woolf’s life and work.
Speaking in Tongues

1 month ago | 4columns.org | David Ulin

Speaking in Tongues David L. Ulin Language is a riddle to contemplate in a new book cowritten by J. M. Coetzee and translator Mariana Dimópulos. Speaking in Tongues, by J. M. Coetzee and Mariana Dimópulos, Liveright, 119 pages, $26.99• • •Language is a construct. Except, of course, when it is not. This conundrum sits at the center of Speaking in Tongues, a conversation in book form between the South African Nobel laureate J. M.
To Hell With Poverty!

1 month ago | 4columns.org | Sasha Frere-Jones

To Hell With Poverty! Sasha Frere-Jones In a memoir by Jon King, the Gang of Four frontman looks back on the post-punk band’s formation amid the class struggles of a different era.