John Updike (1932-2009) was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and critic.  A superb prose stylist, he mostly wrote about the middle-class, though he later addressed other subjects.  He was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes. Updike was one…

L’Origine du Monde (1866) is a painting created by Gustave Courbet.  It depicts a woman lying on a bed, her legs spread, her vagina, belly and right breast uncovered.  The figure is anonymous, though it is probably the artist’s model…