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Best New Yorker Miscellaneous

A collection of notable articles that span multiple categories or don't fit neatly into traditional sections. These diverse pieces represent The New Yorker's range and editorial flexibility.

11 picks · 1935–2001

Top authors: E. B. White (2), Thomas Wolfe (1), Robert Benchley (1)

Unhappy Endings
Hilton Als · December 3, 2001

Hilton Als on the writer Carson McCullers: her tumultuous personal life, her professional ambition, and her penetrating novels.

The Emperor of Ice
Ian Parker · February 12, 2001

How a bag of supermarket ice cubes launched a plan to dominate an industry.

The Very Comical Lament of Pyramus and Thisbe
Susan Sontag · March 4, 1991

Susan Sontag’s exploration of a modern-day version of the story from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses."

The Whore of Mensa
Woody Allen · December 16, 1974

Woody Allen imagines a call-girl racket in which young, brainy women engage in intellectual—rather than physical—intercourse.

The Browning-Off of Pelham Manor
E. B. White · November 14, 1970

E. B. White’s parody of “The Greening of America.”

The Exegesis of St. Nick
Roger Angell · December 24, 1966

Roger Angell imagines a literary feud sparked by “ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Sex and the Single Boy
S. J. Perelman · May 8, 1965

S. J. Perelman’s parody of Helen Gurley Brown's “Sex and the Single Girl.”

Across the Street and Into the Grill
E. B. White · October 14, 1950

E. B. White imagines how Hemingway would describe a visit to a restaurant.

The American Literary Scene
James Thurber · July 30, 1949

James Thurber imagines the plight of the American writer.

Why We Laugh—or Do We?
Robert Benchley · January 2, 1937

Robert Benchley on how comedy really works.

Only the Dead Know Brooklyn
Thomas Wolfe · June 15, 1935

Thomas Wolfe’s classic short story, written in Brooklynese, about the eternal struggle to navigate the city’s train lines, and to get to know the borough.

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