Baum

“Marriage,” writes Devorah Baum, in her incisive and thought-provoking interrogation of the subject, “is a formal relation that could arguably lay claim to being the world’s most enduring and universal.” It’s the plot that drives much of western literature and drama; it is presented to successive generations (especially women) as both the highest goal and a yoke of oppression. It has often been regarded as the most bourgeois and conservative of institutions, while proving flexible enough to accommodate radical…

“I do this for my culture,” Kendrick spits in the second verse of “The Heart Part 5.”Since 2010, the Compton rapper has periodically released these slices of his heart in song form. Ruminations of a Gemini. Tightly packed cultural reflections. Raw models of his lyrical ability. At 23, that meant a formal introduction. “I’m free, finally I can say I’m me,” he raps on “The Heart Part 1.” Then, he continues, “J. Cole runnin’ late/If he don’t show up, think I can take his place/Ladies start laughing… No pun intended, I ain’t…