Julia Keller

Unless you're wedged in a foxhole, war is an abstraction. It's a worn rucksack of words or a string of familiar images, a passel of common feelings, some sounds, a...

First, a technical question: When an author attempts to render a character's reaction to the cold by having that character say, "Brrrrr," how many "r's" are required to convey bone-clamping,...

To: Tempo Subcommittee on De-Corporatizing the Tribune From: Julia Keller, Tribune cultural critic Dear Colleagues: As you know, we have a serious problem here at the Tribune. While we put...

BOOKS 3C. FAY WELDON She's wickedly witty and wittily wicked--and, most recently, wildly controversial. When novelist Weldon was hired by Bulgari Jewelers to write a book featuring their products, purists...

Not there. Not then. Not like that. If it had to happen, it should have happened somewhere else. Out in the wild. Down by a river or up on a...

Our favorite bumper sticker of the moment, seen on a car cruising along Chicago Avenue: "I Want To Be Barbie--That B**** Has Everything!"

Fall is a time of new endeavors and spectacular transformations. In that spirit, our critics jump outside their usual disciplines to choose an event they're looking forward to . ....

In those first few hours, words failed us: "horrific," "tragedy," "incomprehensible loss." How pale and inadequate they seemed, a year ago today. Nobody had any fresh ones to offer. For...

It was paper that made the fires burn with such ferocity -- all the paper in those World Trade Center offices. That was what readers learned from William Langewiesche's article...