Crimson staff writer

Laura B. Martens

Latest Content


‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Retrospective: So Brilliant, You Can’t Rip it Off

All of the world’s problems would be solved if humanity collectively sat down and watched the original animated film.


So You Want to Dress Like a 14th-Century Medieval Lady

Welcume, loveli folke! Heere is thyn wey to dresse as a ladye reverant and faire.


So You Want to Read Like a German Concentrator

From 18th-century dramas to young adult fantasy novels published in the 2000s, this list can help everyone read like a German concentrator.


‘Evocation’ Review: Enjoyable, But Needs More Occultism

In spite of hints of mysterious rituals and demons, there is very little to do with actual magic in S.T. Gibson’s novel “Evocation.”


Arts Vanity: Rachel Maksy Hugged Me Last Week

As the new Books Exec, I would like to talk about someone who should be my worst enemy.


‘Cross’ Review: Almost Brilliant, Needs Quotation Marks

“Cross” is a hard book to read, but Duffy’s beautiful language and character-focused storytelling style do justice to a particularly complex period of history.


‘Arcane’ Season 2: A Masterful Reflection on Loss

Building on earlier themes of technological costs and warring sects of society, at its heart, season two is about loss and the things people do in its wake.


Artist Profile: The Life and Times of ‘Jacques Ze Whipper’

"Jacques Ze Whipper" began his whipping career in the pit by Harvard's T Station, using circus skills he'd learned from his father to astound pedestrians.


Side Parts in Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

By side part, I refer to the iconic hairstyles in the film that simultaneously defy all sense of historical logic and firmly anchor “Nosferatu” as a product of the early 1920s.


Sebastian Smee’s Impressions on Impressionism: Boston Book Festival Art History Keynote

Sebastian Smee delivered the Art History keynote at the Boston Book Festival, speaking on impressionism and its broader political context.