The Winter 2020 issue of the Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly Journal is dedicated to Catharsis. Originally defined by Aristotle, catharsis is the process of purging emotions through art. It's a way of finally gaining relief or clarity. In this time of high tension, is there a new way to think about catharsis? How do we attain that difficult clarification or purging? For Aristotle, the tragic play was a vehicle of catharsis. What are some of the artistic vessels that provide catharsis for us in the modern age? Is it the reality show, the horror film, the Twitter rant? This issue will grapple with the very idea of catharsis, its definition and perhaps its redefinition in our contemporary era. What makes something cathartic and what are some of the ways in which our culture resists catharsis and holds on to complicated emotions? How is literature dealing with catharsis now and how do we think about it psychologically? Why do we require external outlets to confront our innermost emotions? This issue will examine the urge to purge, literally and figuratively. Los Angeles Review of Books is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and disseminating rigorous, incisive, and engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts. Since its founding in 2011, LARB has quickly established itself as a thriving institution for writers and readers. The LARB Quarterly Journal, a signature print edition, reflects the best that this institution brings to a national and international readership. The print magazine cultivates a stable of regular and ongoing contributors, both eminent and emerging, to cover all topics and genres, from politics to fiction, film to poetry, and much more. LARB specializes in a looser and more eclectic approach than other journals: grounded in literature but open to all varieties of cultural experience. Headquartered in Los Angeles, but home to writers and artists from all over the world, the LARB Quarterly Journal brings the pioneering spirit of the online magazine into print and and remains committed to covering and representing today's diverse literary and cultural landscape. | Los Angeles Review Of Books: Catharsis Issue by Tom Lutz, Paperback | Indigo Chapters