Athenaeum Review

Today, we welcome A.M. Juster, whose new book is Canzoniere: A New Translation, with an introduction by Andrew Frisardi (Liveright).

In this episode:

(1:00) Where does Petrarch fit in literary history? From the medieval to the Renaissance

(4:50) Petrarch vs. Shakespeare

(8:59) Confessional poetry from Petrarch to Plath and Lowell

(12:56) What is love? This is not really love poetry.

(17:45) Is Petrarch accessible to the modern reader?

(19:28) Is Petrarch difficult to translate?

(23:00) Readings from Juster's new translation of the Canzionere:

• 1. ‘To you who hear within these bits of rhyme’
• 18. ‘When I return to focus on the part’
• 118. ‘I leave my sixteenth year of sighs’

(26:21) How is time represented in Petrarch’s work? The influence of Augustine.

(30:00) The origins of this translation. The inspiration of Richard Wilbur

(39:42) Forthcoming works from A. M. Juster

Today, a discussion with Tyler Cowen about aesthetics in general, and new aesthetics in particular!

More Information

• A Call for New Aesthetics, from Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen

• New Aesthetics grantees

• Stripe CEO Announces New Aesthetics Grant Recipients

• Marginal Revolution and Conversations with Tyler

In This Episode

• (01:17) Aesthetics and the vision of the good life in politics and public affairs

• (03:20) Patrick Collison on ten important historical novels: the most popular literary critic of the year

• (07:02) Doubts about oversimplified left-brain / right-brain theories of knowledge

• (09:29) Understanding 'what is': proper nouns are underrated

• (11:09) In the Instagram era, is travel past its peak?

• (14:50) Consensus is possible amongst critics, against pure subjectivism

• (16:36) Is it worth trying to appreciate art forms that don't naturally appeal to one's taste?

• (18:50) Does newness rule in aesthetics? Popular music as evidence to the contrary

• (23:08) Henry Adams never listened to Jimi Hendrix

• (24:08) LLMs' use of language creates the illusion of consciousness

• (26:33) A portfolio approach to aesthetic judgments; considering forgery and AI-generated pictures; famous forgers are overrated; the Haydn forgeries

• (29:20) Overrating the name of the artist; the worst Shakespeare plays

• (30:52) Neither "Wild Honey Pie" nor "Hello, Goodbye" are the worst Beatles songs; the synergy of John and Paul

• (34:16) Does the new Gilded Age compare unfavorably to the old Gilded Age in its impact on public space? New museums including the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art; the new art museum in Memphis, the Quai Branly; the National Museum of Qatar in Doha; the Museum of Art and Photography in Bengaluru

• (37:30) Reasons not to worry that new digital artworks won't last very long in the grand sweep of history

• (38:24) Putting fears of obsolescence in perspective: how many people know all the Bach cantatas or Monteverdi madrigals?

• (39:30) About the New Aesthetics grants; the problem with contemporary architecture; reasons for optimism

• (42:57) Underrated artists: William Kentridge; David Hockney (really); the composer Robert Ashley

In this episode, philosopher and art critic David Carrier discusses a new survey exhibition of the artist Marcel Duchamp, the subject of his review in the forthcoming issue of Athenaeum Review.

More information:

Marcel Duchamp at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (April 11 to August 22, 2026)

David Carrier - Art Writer

In this episode, the composer and critic Daniel Asia discusses Jefferson Lives! , a new chamber opera from composer Joshua Daniel Nichols and librettist and director Stefanos Koroneos, that explores John Adams’ deathbed reflections about the founding of the United States.

More information:

Polyhymnia.org

Jefferson Lives! at Teatro Grattacielo, New York

A conversation with author and critic Sean Hooks.

Part one:

Roy Lichtenstein in the Studio, at the Dallas Museum of Art and Nasher Sculpture Center

"Roy Lichtenstein show reveals the artistry behind pop art simplicity" (Dallas Morning News / archive link)

Part two:

"Put Your Kids to Work," a novelette by Sean Hooks in Socrates on the Beach

Sean Hooks at Athenaeum Review

Muscle Man, a novel by Jordan Castro

Lieutenant Gustl by Arthur Schnitzler

Homer Out Loud at Deep Vellum in Dallas

Organic Worlds: Symbiogenesis in Art , curated by Dr. Charissa Terranova and featuring the work of Ken Rinaldo and Amy M. Youngs, is at the SP/N Gallery at UT Dallas from February 7 to April 28, 2026.

Andrew Graham-Dixon's new book, Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found, is published by W. W. Norton.

Vivian Li, the Lupe Murchison Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, joins us to discuss All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room now on view at the DMA.

In this conversation: the background to Kusama's work; its popularity with the viewing public; perspective on Kusama's biography and long career; smartphones and social media; Kusama's relation to Marisol and the postwar and contemporary collections at the DMA; and much more!

Christine Folch is the author of The Book of Yerba Mate: A Stimulating History (Princeton University Press).

In this conversation: the beverage's historical journey, cultural context and drinking experience; its economic and political context; the question of fair trade and ethical consumption; public interest; yaupon, the yerba mate of North America; and more!

Tessa Granowski is the owner and founder of Nature of Things, a new art gallery in Dallas. In this conversation: Tessa's background and influences; Lucretius and De rerum natura; reflections on the Dallas art world; the gallery's first show, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place: an homage to Dave Hickey"; the importance of Dave Hickey's writing on art (see Julia Friedman on Daniel Oppenheimer on Hickey); what's next for the gallery, and much more!