4Columns is on holiday break, and will be back with a new issue on January 8, 2021! Til then, we look back on our most-read essays of 2020.
As this brutal year of 2020 comes to a weary end, we cherish one of its bright spots, at least for 4Columns: the 157 excellent, inspiring essays we had the privilege of publishing over the past twelve months. There’s not enough room to list all 157 of these exquisite contributions (though you can find them all in one place in our archive), but in a symbolic celebration, we have distilled our 10 most-read reviews of the past year:
Michelle Orange on Normal People
Paul Mescal as Connell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Marianne in Normal People, season 1, episode 2. Image courtesy Hulu.
Hanif Abdurraqib on You’ve Got Mail
Meg Ryan as Kathleen Kelly in You’ve Got Mail. Image courtesy Warner Bros. and Alamy Stock Photo. © 1998 Warner Brothers. Photo: All Star Picture Library.
Paul Chan, Letter to Young Artists During a Global Pandemic
Last days at studio before city shutdown. Image courtesy Paul Chan.
Hannah Black on BoJack Horseman
BoJack Horseman in BoJack Horseman. Image courtesy Netflix.
Ian Penman on Parliament and Funkadelic
The Parliaments with Funkadelic, live, 1969, screengrab from YouTube.
Cast of West Side Story. Photo: Jan Versweyveld.
Noah Davis, 1975 (8), 2013. © Estate of Noah Davis. Image courtesy Estate of Noah Davis.
Aruna D’Souza on Maurice Berger
A. S. Hamrah on The Conversation
Gene Hackman as Harry in The Conversation. Image courtesy Film Forum.
Erika Balsom on Now We Think As We Fuck
Tongues Untied, 1989. Directed by Marlon Riggs. Image courtesy Photofest.