The Atlantic

Biggie Smalls and <em>Casablanca</em>: The Week in Pop-Culture Writing

Highlights from seven days of writing about arts and entertainment
Source: Mark Lennihan / AP

Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib | “I like that Biggie did not seem to imagine himself a thinner man. I like that he spoke of his bulk, made it a character in his articulation of himself. I like that he didn’t always hide his weight underneath jokes, as the film and television tropes often go. Our bodies, as they are, aren’t flaws. What made the persona that Biggie created so great was that he knew

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Illustrations by Miki Lowe For much of his career, the poet W. H. Auden was known for writing fiercely political work. He critiqued capitalism, warned of fascism, and documented hunger, protest, war. He was deeply influenced by Marxism. And he was hu

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