“Perhaps, I thought, I had never listened hard enough to get beneath the churning surface, and impression had hardened into prejudice. A friend of mine speaks of the “ecstasy” of listening to Glass; I wanted some of that, too.” Justin Davidson on trying to embrace the music of Philip Glass.

• Carl Wilson on the highlights of 2011 in culture.

• This Emily Books panel — including appearances from Alexander Chee and Heidi Julavits — looks pretty fantastic.

• Emma Straub has made a playlist for Electric Literature.

• At Bookforum, Charles Petersen reviews Marilynne Robinson’s When I Was a Child I Read Books.

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