Culture
NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Are Packers, Steelers, Seahawks contenders?
The Week 8 Power Rankings are here, and it’s time to take a closer look at everyone’s resume. After all, not all 5-2 teams are built the same. Yes, we’re looking at you Washington and Buffalo. A good record built on empty calories doesn’t necessarily make a team a pretender, but it’s a good way to start figuring out where everyone should be slotted as the midpoint approaches. For instance, it’s the reason the Eagles are ranked in a spot that’s likely to rile the Philly folks. Remember, we’re putting a lot of weight on who you’ve beaten this week.
With that in mind, we have plenty of movement in this week’s rankings, starting at the top with a new No. 1.
Last week: 3
Sunday: Beat Minnesota Vikings 31-29
Who have they beaten?: Rams, Cardinals, Seahawks, Cowboys, Vikings
You could have argued before Sunday that the Lions had a weak resume. Then they beat the NFC’s only undefeated team. Detroit is averaging a league-best 40 points per game since Week 4. Jared Goff, who has thrown seven touchdown passes and no interceptions in his last three games, leads the NFL in passer rating (111.5).
Up next: vs. Tennessee Titans, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Last week: 2
Sunday: Beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-31
Who have they beaten? Cowboys, Bills, Bengals, Commanders, Buccaneers
The Ravens defense has issues. Baltimore, uncharacteristically, is 26th in the league in points allowed (25.7 per game). With this offense, that might not matter. Derrick Henry had another 100-yard game Monday night (15 carries, 169 yards). That makes four in the last five outings for the 30-year-old. The Ravens are tied for the league lead in scoring (31.14) and have won five straight, with four of those coming against teams with a winning record.
Up next: at Cleveland Browns, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
3. Minnesota Vikings (5-1)
Last week: 1
Sunday: Lost to Detroit Lions 31-29
Who have they beaten? Giants, 49ers, Texans, Packers, Jets
How many good wins are we giving the Vikings credit for with the 49ers looking iffy? Honestly, Sunday’s loss to the Lions may have been Minnesota’s second-best showing. If Jake Bates misses a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left, the Vikings are still undefeated. Minnesota remains fourth in the league in point differential (61 points).
Up next: at Los Angeles Rams, Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET
GO DEEPER
The 49ers’ shrinking window and how Brock Purdy fits (or might not): Sando’s Pick Six
Despite injuries and less-than-impressive stats, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs keep winning. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Last week: 4
Sunday: Beat San Francisco 49ers 28-18
Who have they beaten? Ravens, Bengals, Falcons, Chargers, Saints, 49ers
The stats page doesn’t think the Chiefs are an elite team. Their offensive DVOA (13.2 percent) is seventh in the league but much closer to the Bengals (13 percent) than the Ravens (33.6 percent), according to FTN Fantasy. They are 16th in the league in yards per play (5.4) and 25th in the league in yards per carry (4.1), according to TruMedia. Patrick Mahomes is 23rd in passer rating (82.5) and has thrown more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (six) this year. And yet, here we are. The Chiefs are unbeaten and half of their wins have come against winning teams.
Up next: at Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
GO DEEPER
Silver: Why Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs look capable of a three-peat
5. Green Bay Packers (5-2)
Last week: 7
Sunday: Beat Houston Texans 24-22
Who have they beaten? Colts, Titans, Rams, Cardinals, Texans
Sunday was only the Packers’ second win over a team with a winning record, and it took a 45-yard Brandon McManus field goal at the buzzer to do it. Josh Jacobs, who had 76 rushing yards against the Texans, is quietly fourth in the league in rushing with 540 yards. He also had his first career touchdown catch Sunday.
Up next: at Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
6. Houston Texans (5-2)
Last week: 5
Sunday: Lost to Green Bay Packers 24-22
Who have they beaten? Colts, Bears, Jaguars, Bills, Patriots
C.J. Stroud had the second-worst passer rating of his career Sunday (58.8), and the Texans are now 0-5 when Stroud doesn’t hit at least 82 on that scale. Stroud, who completed 10 passes for 86 yards against the Packers, has been sacked on 8 percent of his dropbacks this season (which ranks 12th in the league) and hit 43 times, which is the seventh most. Joe Mixon’s 115 rushing yards were about the only bright spot against the Packers.
Up next: vs. Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
7. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
Last week: 8
Sunday: Beat Tennessee Titans 34-10
Who have they beaten? Cardinals, Dolphins, Jaguars, Jets, Titans
Josh Allen is third in the league in EPA per dropback (.24), fourth in passer rating (108.4) and fourth in passing touchdowns (12), all while still having no interceptions. He led Buffalo to 34 unanswered points on Sunday after the Titans had taken a 10-0 lead. However, this is the week we have to point out that the Bills’ wins have come over teams that are a combined 9-24.
Up next: at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
GO DEEPER
Josh Allen has grown as a game manager, and Sunday’s win shows why that’s crucial for Bills
8. Washington Commanders (5-2)
Last week: 6
Sunday: Beat Carolina Panthers 40-7
Who have they beaten? Giants, Bengals, Cardinals, Browns, Panthers
The DMV area got a distraction from the election cycle Monday as everyone waited breathlessly for an update on Jayden Daniels’ injured ribs. Coach Dan Quinn said the rookie quarterback is “week to week” but could play as soon as this week. We speak for everyone in the league, save maybe Eagles and Cowboys fans, when we say, “Whew.” The knock on the Commanders is that Washington hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record this season, and its five wins are over teams averaging 1.8 wins. How about Marcus Mariota, though? The veteran had a 132.8 passer rating after spelling Daniels on Sunday.
Up next: vs. Chicago Bears, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Last week: 14
Sunday: Beat New York Jets 37-15
Who have they beaten? Falcons, Broncos, Chargers, Raiders, Jets
It looks like Mike Tomlin picked the right time to switch quarterbacks. Russell Wilson made his Steelers debut and posted a 109 passer rating, connecting with George Pickens five times for 111 yards, against the Jets. The Steelers remain in first place in the AFC North, but they’ll be tested by the Commanders and Ravens in two of their next three games. Before that, though, they get the Giants and a bye week.
Up next: vs. New York Giants, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Brandon Marshall stops by the postgame presser and asks Mike Tomlin if it was one of his boldest decisions to start Russell Wilson.
Tomlin: “that’s why I’m well-compensated.” pic.twitter.com/fQ5bdMsOtA
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) October 21, 2024
10. Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
Last week: 15
Sunday: Beat Atlanta Falcons 34-14
Who have they beaten? Broncos, Patriots, Dolphins, Falcons
Not only did the Seahawks snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, but they also beat just their second team with a winning record. DK Metcalf’s four catches for 99 yards were the highlight. The Seahawks, who are eighth in the league scoring (25.71 ppg), lead the NFC West by one game. They lost to the 49ers in Week 6 but get another shot in Week 11 in a game that will say a lot about this team’s playoff chances.
Up next: vs. Buffalo Bills, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
GO DEEPER
What we learned in NFL Week 7: Chiefs flip the script, Steelers’ bet pays off
11. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
Last week: 9
Sunday: Lost to Seattle Seahawks 34-14
Who have they beaten? Eagles, Saints, Buccaneers, Panthers
The Falcons’ momentum under first-year head coach Raheem Morris hit a brick wall Sunday in a listless 20-point loss, but they are 3-0 in the NFC South and have gotten their young talent more involved this season. Bijan Robinson had his first 100-yard rushing game since Week 4 of his rookie year on Sunday (21 carries, 103 yards) and is sixth in the league with 483 yards. Tight end Kyle Pitts has had 65 or more receiving yards in three straight games, which is just the second time he has done that.
Up next: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
12. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2)
Last week: 18
Sunday: Beat New York Giants 28-3
Who have they beaten? Packers, Saints, Browns, Giants
Has any player been more important for team morale this season than Saquon Barkley? The Eagles’ new running back is third in the league with 658 rushing yards and has been a bright spot in a season that has encountered a few bumps on the way to four wins. On Sunday, Barkley carried the ball 17 times for 176 yards against his former team as Philly walloped the Giants. Week 11 against Washington is shaping up to be a showdown.
Up next: at Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Saquon Barkley wanted the young guys to play instead of going for his record. What a teammate. @saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/tJi8waO7MY
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 21, 2024
13. Chicago Bears (4-2)
Last week: 13
Sunday: Bye
Who have they beaten? Titans, Rams, Panthers, Jaguars
There are two ways to look at the Bears’ start. One: They have beaten teams with a combined record of 6-20. Two: They are sixth in point differential (47) and have won three straight behind rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Chicago, which is tied for fourth in turnover margin (six), will get a chance to prove itself against Washington this week. Hopefully, Jayden Daniels (ribs) will be available to make that game the battle of rookie quarterbacks everyone has been waiting for for a month.
Up next: at Washington Commanders, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
Last week: 11
Sunday: Lost to Baltimore Ravens 41-31
Who have they beaten? Commanders, Lions, Eagles, Saints
The Buccaneers lost the two most productive wide receivers in franchise history on Monday night against the Ravens. Mike Evans re-injured his hamstring and his availability in the coming games is questionable. Then Chris Godwin suffered what the Bucs believe is a dislocated ankle with 1:04 remaining in the game. ESPN’s decision not to show replays of the injury suggests it’s a season-ender, which means Tampa Bay probably lost a lot more than just one game Monday night.
Up next: vs. Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
15. San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
Last week: 10
Sunday: Lost to Kansas City Chiefs 28-18
Who have they beaten? Jets, Patriots, Seahawks
Are the 49ers in trouble? They’ve beaten only one team with a winning record. Brandon Aiyuk is out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL. Christian McCaffrey remains on injured reserve. The defense is 16th in the league in points allowed (22.6). Even Brock Purdy looks human. The quarterback posted a 36.7 passer rating, the lowest in his career as a starter. Purdy had a 30.1 passer rating in a game in 2022, also against Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Up next: vs. Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
16. Dallas Cowboys (3-3)
Last week: 16
Sunday: Bye
Who have they beaten? Browns, Giants, Steelers
At least Dallas has that win over Pittsburgh to keep it warm at night because not much else is going right for “America’s Team.” This week brought Cowboy-on-Cowboy crime as coach Mike McCarthy fired back at ESPN analyst and former Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman, who made critical comments about the team’s wide receivers. “They don’t carry any weight with me,” McCarthy said. Aikman might have a point, though. Dallas is 21st in the league in touchdowns per pass attempt (3.4 percent), which is a bad sign for a team that has also rushed for the fewest yards in the league (463).
Up next: at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
GO DEEPER
NFL Week 7 takeaways: Are the 49ers in too deep a hole? Who are kings of the NFC North?
17. Denver Broncos (4-3)
Last week: 19
Thursday: Beat New Orleans Saints 33-10
Who have they beaten? Buccaneers, Jets, Raiders, Saints
So, are the Broncos for real or not? Their most impressive win of the season (Tampa Bay) came in Week 3, and they’ve been fattening up on junk food since. The advanced statistics are skeptical. Even the defense (ranked third in expected points added per snap) slips some when measured by DVOA, which takes into account opponent strength (seventh in DVOA, according to FTN Fantasy). The offense is 27th in expected points added per 100 snaps (minus-14.4), according to TruMedia.
Up next: vs. Carolina Panthers, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
18. Los Angeles Chargers (3-3)
Last week: 12
Sunday: Lost to Arizona Cardinals 17-15
Who have they beaten? Raiders, Panthers, Broncos
Justin Herbert passed for 349 yards, his highest total since Week 3 last year on Monday night, but it wasn’t enough for the Chargers, who rushed for a very un-Jim Harbaugh-like 59 yards. Los Angeles’ three losses this season have come by an average of 6.3 points, but their three wins aren’t terribly impressive. The Chargers are 12th in the league in point differential (plus-23).
Up next: vs. New Orleans Saints, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
Don’t look now, but Sam Hubbard and the Bengals have won three of their last four games. (Jason Miller / Getty Images)
19. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4)
Last week: 17
Sunday: Beat Cleveland Browns 21-14
Who have they beaten? Panthers, Giants, Browns
Who knows what to make of the Bengals? Joe Burrow is having one of his best seasons. His expected points added per dropback this season (.16) is the best of his career. On plays with a passing attempt, the Bengals’ EPA (67.78) is the second best in the league. And yet, three wins over three teams with four combined wins is not impressing anybody.
Up next: vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
20. Indianapolis Colts (4-3)
Last week: 20
Sunday: Beat Miami Dolphins 16-10
Who have they beaten? Bears, Steelers, Titans, Dolphins
Indianapolis is only one game out of the AFC South lead, which is impressive considering the play it has gotten from Anthony Richardson. The second-year quarterback entered the season with a lot of hype but is 32nd in the league in completion percentage (48.5), 29th in EPA per dropback (minus-.11) and has thrown twice as many interceptions (six) as touchdown passes (three). Richardson had a 59.2 passer rating Sunday but did add 56 rushing yards to help get Indianapolis past hapless Miami.
Up next: at Houston Texans, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
21. Arizona Cardinals (3-4)
Last week: 22
Sunday: Beat Los Angeles Chargers 17-15
Who have they beaten? Rams, 49ers, Chargers
Are the Cardinals the Kings of the West Coast? They are now just one game back in the NFC West, and they haven’t played the division-leading Seahawks yet. On Monday night, the Cardinals beat an AFC West team, riding James Conner’s 101-yard performance to a win that wasn’t secured until a last-second field goal.
Up next: at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
22. New Orleans Saints (2-5)
Last week: 21
Thursday: Lost to Denver Broncos 33-10
Who have they beaten? Panthers, Cowboys
After starting 2-0, the Saints have lost five straight. The offense appears to be evaporating as the injuries pile up. After averaging 45.5 points in the first two weeks, New Orleans has averaged 17.2 points per game in the last five games, which ranks 26th in that stretch. Somehow, it’s been worse on defense. The Saints have given up an average of 34 points per game in the last four games, and their point differential in the last month (minus-62) is the worst in the league.
Up next: at Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
23. New York Giants (2-5)
Last week: 24
Sunday: Lost to Philadelphia Eagles 28-3
Who have they beaten? Browns, Seahawks
Coach Brian Daboll replaced Daniel Jones with Drew Lock in the fourth quarter. Maybe it was because the Giants were trailing by 25 points. Maybe it was because Daboll figured that was Jones’ fault. After some brief moments of hope this season, Jones took a step back Sunday, completing 14 passes for 99 yards and failing to get the Giants into the end zone. With Pittsburgh and Washington next, the Giants’ season could be over by midseason.
Up next: at Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET
The Rams are struggling on offense, but running back Kyren Williams has been a bright spot. (Alex Gallardo / Imagn Images)
24. Los Angeles Rams (2-4)
Last week: 26
Sunday: Beat Las Vegas Raiders 20-15
Who have they beaten? 49ers, Raiders
The Rams had 259 yards of offense and converted two third downs. Quarterback Matthew Stafford had a 62.6 passer rating. And somehow they won. That’s not going to provide much salve for this season, though. The Rams are 24th in scoring margin (minus-40) and their 19 points per game are on track to be their lowest since the Stafford-less 2022 season and second lowest of the Sean McVay era.
Up next: vs. Minnesota Vikings, Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET
25. New York Jets (2-5)
Last week: 23
Sunday: Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers 37-15
Who have they beaten? Titans, Patriots
Maybe Davante Adams’ addition will help in the long run, but it wasn’t a miracle cure. Aaron Rodgers targeted his old friend nine times Sunday but completed only three of those passes for 30 yards. The Jets have now lost four straight and are two games behind the pace they were on last year through Week 7 under quarterback Zach Wilson. The Jets are 24th in scoring (18.29 ppg) and 25th in drive success rate (30.26 percent). Rodgers is completing 61.7 percent of his passes and is 25th in EPA per dropback (minus-.03).
Up next: at New England Patriots, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
26. Las Vegas Raiders (2-5)
Last week: 25
Sunday: Lost to Los Angeles Rams 20-15
Who have they beaten? Ravens, Browns
Maybe the most perplexing outcome of the 2024 season is the Raiders’ Week 2 win in Baltimore. Since then, the Raiders are 1-4 and have beaten only the Browns. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell is headed to injured reserve with a broken thumb, and they signed Desmond Ridder off the Cardinals’ practice squad on Monday, but does it really matter? At least there’s tight end Brock Bowers. The rookie is second among all tight ends in yards per route run (2.26), which is especially impressive considering he has run more routes than all but three other tight ends. His 447 receiving yards lead all tight ends.
Up next: vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
GO DEEPER
After sloppy loss to the Rams, it’s clear these Raiders are headed nowhere
27. Miami Dolphins (2-4)
Last week: 27
Sunday: Lost to Indianapolis Colts 16-10
Who have they beaten? Jaguars, Patriots
Tua Tagovailoa has been designated to return from injured reserve and could play this weekend against Arizona. That’s good news for a Dolphins team averaging a league-low 10 points per game since he suffered a concussion in a Week 2 loss to the Bills. It’s worrying news for a lot of people, though, considering his most recent injury was his third concussion. “I love this game, and I love it to the death of me,” Tagovailoa said Monday. Those words won’t make any of the worried people feel better.
Up next: vs. Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Tua Tagovailoa on those who worry he could get hurt again: “I appreciate your concern. I really do. I love this game. And I love it to the death of me. That’s it.” pic.twitter.com/fAvoHA2PXo
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) October 21, 2024
28. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5)
Last week: 31
Sunday: Beat New England Patriots 32-16
Who have they beaten? Colts, Patriots
Jacksonville got a win Sunday, so let’s focus on the positive. Rookie Brian Thomas Jr. is fifth in receiving yards this season with 513 (the most by a rookie in 2024), and he’s averaging 17.1 yards per reception, which is top 10 in the league. Thomas had five catches for 89 yards and Tank Bigsby rushed for 118 yards to help the Jaguars salvage their fortnight in London.
Up next: vs. Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
29. New England Patriots (1-6)
Last week: 29
Sunday: Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars 32-16
Who have they beaten? Bengals
The Patriots have lost six straight after a surprising Week 1 win over Cincinnati. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye’s insertion into the lineup hasn’t turned the tide, and the locals are starting to turn on first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. Former coach Bill Belichick chimed in Monday with a clinical if subtle skewering of New England’s run defense, pointing out on “The Pat McAfee Show” that it was No. 1 in the league “last year” when it had most of the same players.
Up next: vs. New York Jets, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
30. Tennessee Titans (1-5)
Last week: 28
Sunday: Lost to Buffalo Bills 34-10
Who have they beaten? Dolphins
A Week 4 win over a Miami team without Tua Tagovailoa is first-year head coach Brian Callahan’s only victory so far. Mason Rudolph filled in for an injured Will Levis on Sunday, but it didn’t help. Levis will return to the starting job when healthy, Callahan said. That’s not comforting news for the remaining Titans fans. The only quarterbacks in the league with a worse EPA per dropback than Levis’ minus-.31 are the benched Bryce Young and fill-in starter Spencer Rattler. The Lions are up next. Oof.
Up next: at Detroit Lions, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
31. Cleveland Browns (1-6)
Last week: 32
Sunday: Lost to Cincinnati Bengals 21-13
Who have they beaten? Jaguars
Deshaun Watson suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in Sunday’s loss, and it appeared he was booed by the home fans as he was carted off the field. That’s how bad things have gotten in Cleveland. The injury may end not only Watson’s season but his career as the Browns could now try to get some relief from his exorbitant contract. On the field, Cleveland now has to decide between Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jameis Winston, although the decision might be made for them. Thompson-Robinson suffered a finger injury Sunday after replacing Watson.
Up next: vs. Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
32. Carolina Panthers (1-6)
Last week: 30
Sunday: Lost to Washington Commanders 40-7
Who have they beaten? Raiders
Dave Canales took the heat off “Which first-year coach is having the roughest time of it?” Derby on Sunday by getting blown out by a Washington team under the direction of backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Panthers have given up 71 points in their last seven quarters of football and are last in the league in scoring margin (minus-133). That’s on pace to be the worst margin per game in at least the last 20 years, according to TruMedia.
Up next: at Denver Broncos, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
(Top photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
In an email interview, she talked about why she followed up a memoir with “Poetry Says It Better” — and when and why she leans on the “For Dummies” series. SCOTT HELLER
Describe your ideal reading experience.
Next to a warm fire in a house in the woods. Barring that, at home in bed.
How have your reading tastes changed over time?
When I first began reading, I read fiction. My favorite novel was “The Magic Mountain,” by Thomas Mann. Over the years I find that I am less interested in fiction and more interested in trying to learn about science and mathematics. I love the “For Dummies” series. I remember reading or hearing many years ago, maybe in high school, that the first law of thermodynamics is that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change form. So, I was thrilled to learn there was such a book as “Thermodynamics for Dummies.” It was interesting reading, but I’m afraid I could not quote you anything from that book.
What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?
I received the “Rubaiyat” of Omar Khayyám from someone, probably from my first husband, Bill. It stimulated my love of poetry, beautifully illustrated books and also my fascination with the East and the Mideast.
Why write “Poetry Says It Better” rather than, say, a follow-up to your 2006 memoir?
“Poetry Says It Better” has some references to my life, but I feel I wrote enough about myself in my memoir, and I include some of my personal history in this book.
You write that you’ve memorized poems your whole adult life. What’s the last poem you memorized?
I am working on “Shadows,” by D.H. Lawrence. I am trying to get that securely in my memory. Of course, at 93 I am not as good at memorizing as I used to be, or at holding on to what I have already memorized. But it is good exercise for the memory to use it.
You quote a line from Kaveh Akbar: “Art is where what we survive survives.” Why does that line resonate so much for you?
That line is so meaningful to me because I know that the difficult first 18 years of my life is the emotional library I descend into for every part I’ve ever played, and every poem that has landed in my heart.
Of all the characters you’ve played across different media, which role felt the richest — the most novelistic?
I would have to say Lois in “The Last Picture Show.” She was a character I didn’t really understand right away. I had to dig for her. She was multidimensional. I feel literary characters are like that.
What’s the best book about acting, or the life of an actor, you’ve ever read?
I have to name two. “My Life in Art,” by Konstantin Stanislavsky, and “A Dream of Passion,” by Lee Strasberg.
How do you organize your books?
I’ve collected my library for 70 years. All my classic literature is together, on two facing walls in the front of my living room. On the other end of the room, I have my art books. Facing them are my travel and music books. On the fourth wall are some of my science books.
In the large entrance hall, I have one standing bookcase of the complete Carl Jung collection, and near it another bookcase of poetry anthologies. In my kitchen office are all the books about food. Then I have a writing room that contains books of poetry and science, and my Sufi books. In my bedroom are my spiritual and religious books.
What books are on your night stand?
Currently: “Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom From the Celtic World,” by John O’Donohue; “Prayers of the Cosmos,” by Neil Douglas Klotz; “The Courage to Create,” by Rollo May; “Radical Love,” by Omid Safi; Pema Chödrön’s “How We Live Is How We Die”; “The Trial of Socrates,” by I.F. Stone; “Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests,” by Diana Beresford-Kroeger; and “On Living and Dying Well,” by Cicero.
What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
Probably Ken Wilber’s “A Brief History of Everything” and Michio Kaku’s “Physics of the Future.” These are two of my favorite books. I love to read books on science that are not written for scientists but for curious readers like me.
You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
Oh, definitely Mary Oliver, my favorite poet of all time, and Edgar Allan Poe. The thought of those two people talking to each other. Finally, Tennessee Williams, who’s written some of the greatest plays ever.
In most cases, truth is stranger than fiction. But sometimes we need strange fiction to show us the truth. My favorite works of science fiction and fantasy take place in a world that largely resembles our own, and shine a spotlight on the issues of today by blending fantastical imagination with real-world commentary.
Take “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” High school is hell (literally). Coming out (as a Slayer) is hard. The man you love could transform after sex into someone you no longer recognize (say, a vampire). Allusions to the speculative are common in everyday speech: The untested drug is a “magic pill,” the horrible boss is the “devil himself,” or the female politician is “possessed by a Jezebel spirit.” Taking these propositions seriously can shine a light on what ails us (corporate greed, worker exploitation, good old-fashioned misogyny — take your pick). It’s also what inspired me to play with the idea of actual monsters haunting an abortion clinic in my latest novel, “We Dance Upon Demons,” after I was called a “demon” while volunteering at Planned Parenthood.
When used well, speculative elements take a familiar concept that our brains might otherwise gloss over as familiar and make it just different and exciting enough that we can see new or deeper dimensions. In contemporary stories, they create a gateway for the reader to put herself in a character’s shoes. It’s hard to imagine, for example, how I would fare in the Hunger Games (poorly, I’m sure), but I definitely know what I would do if I started seeing demons at work (Google symptoms of a brain tumor).
Here are some of my favorite books that make a contemporary feast out of the simple question: What if?
Frank Stack, an art professor and painter who secretly moonlighted as Foolbert Sturgeon, the satirical cartoonist who created “The Adventures of Jesus,” a chronicle of Christ’s encounters with sanctimonious hypocrites that is widely considered the first underground comic, died on April 12 in Columbia, Mo. He was 88.
The death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his daughter, Joan Stack.
Mr. Stack taught studio art at the University of Missouri and was well regarded for his intricate drawings, etchings and watercolor paintings, which he often composed alone, sitting cross-legged on a quiet riverbank.
As Foolbert Sturgeon — a persona he concealed for two decades to protect his day job — he lampooned religion, academia and the military, among other sacred tendrils of the 1960s and ’70s, signing his acerbic broadsides with his vaudevillian nom de plume.
“His comics were funny, well drawn and smart,” his friend the cartoonist R. Crumb said in an interview. “And he was a very, very fine watercolor artist and oil painter. He was the real thing.”
Mr. Stack was especially adept at nudes, once drawing Mr. Crumb’s wife, the feminist underground cartoonist Aline Kominsky-Crumb, in a state of total undress.
“He did a very fine job,” Mr. Crumb said. “He really knew anatomy.”
Mr. Stack did not become as famous (or notorious) as Mr. Crumb, a subversive and misanthropic character in San Francisco’s counterculture scene, whose heavily crosshatched, grotesquely sexual drawings came to define underground comics during the 1960s.
In contrast to Mr. Crumb, whose roguish demeanor was immortalized in the 1994 documentary “Crumb,” Mr. Stack worked secretively in the Midwest, his only notable behavioral quirk an ability to deliver astonishingly long monologues on seemingly any subject that occurred to him.
“Frank is an incredible story,” James Danky, a historian and co-author of “Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics Into Comix” (2009), said in an interview, adding: “He’s not who you think he is. He’s more than that.”
Mr. Stack got his start in creative flippancy as a writer and then the editor of Texas Ranger, the humor magazine at the University of Texas at Austin, whose staffers, known as Rangeroos, have included the gossip columnist Liz Smith, the screenwriter Robert Benton and the comic book artist and publisher Gilbert Shelton.
After graduating in 1959 with a degree in fine arts, he worked briefly at The Houston Chronicle, one desk over from Dan Rather, and joined the Army Reserve. In 1961, he enrolled at the University of Wyoming for a master’s degree in art, but was called into active duty the same year following the Berlin Wall crisis.
Attached to a data processing unit on Governors Island in New York, he rented an apartment on West 94th Street and spent his evenings attending gallery openings, plays and art house movies with Mr. Benton and Mr. Shelton, who were also living in New York. He had no use for the Army.
“My entire company was constantly grumbling, grousing, growling, snarling, moaning and whining with discontent,” Mr. Stack wrote in “The New Adventures of Jesus: The Second Coming” (2006). “CBS actually sent a film crew to the island, but they were only allowed to speak with delegated individuals who, naturally, were hardly discontented at all.”
One day, Army officers distributed patriotic pamphlets titled “Why Me?”
“The gist was something about drawing a line in the sand to save the free world from communism. It didn’t go down well at all,” Mr. Stack wrote, adding that most, “if not all, of us thought it was ridiculous and insulting.”
He responded by drawing a cartoon on the back of a computer card depicting Christian martyrs being handed a pamphlet titled “Why Me?” as they entered an arena of hungry lions. He posted it on a bulletin board. A half-hour later, it had disappeared.
Undeterred, Mr. Stack continued drawing Jesus in a series of absurd situations — being arrested, registering to vote, attending faculty parties.
In one scene, a military police officer asks Jesus to produce his identification. “I don’t have one!” Jesus says. “I don’t have anything!” In another scene, Jesus walks on water by becoming a duck.
In 1962, the Austin gang in New York went their separate ways. Mr. Stack returned to Wyoming to finish his graduate studies in art. Mr. Shelton moved back to Austin for graduate school and to edit Texas Ranger.
Mr. Shelton loved the Jesus comics and had made copies for himself. He printed a few in a newsletter that he published locally. In 1964, with help from a friend who had access to a Xerox machine at the University of Texas law school, he made an eight-page book titled “The Adventures of Jesus.”
Scholars consider it to be the first underground comic. The cover credit went to “F.S.” because Frank Stack was now teaching at the University of Missouri, where demeaning Jesus, especially in comic-book form, probably wouldn’t have looked great on a curriculum vitae.
“I’ve always loved to see my stuff in print, but I was on the horns of a dilemma,” he wrote. “Did I dare to publish the cartoons under my own name when my job was at risk if the university ever noticed that I worked in the most disgraceful of all media — the awful COMIC BOOK?”
Instead, he created the ridiculous-sounding pen name Foolbert Sturgeon, which reminded him vaguely of Gilbert Shelton. Rising through the ranks of academia, he continued publishing Jesus strips.
“I kind of liked the anonymity of it — there wasn’t anything respectable about it, so you didn’t have to be careful about what you said,” he told The Comics Journal in 1996. “And of course, as a university professor, and as a painter, and as an ‘authority’ — as a role model — you do have to be careful about what you say.”
Frank Huntington Stack was born on Oct. 31, 1937, in Houston. His father, Maurice Stack, was an oil field supply salesman, and his mother, Norma Rose (Huntington) Stack, was a teacher.
Growing up, he drew constantly — on scraps of paper, the backs of envelopes, anything he could get his hands on. He loved newspaper comic strips, especially “Tarzan,” “Prince Valiant,” “Alley Oop” and “Krazy Kat.”
During high school, he visited an aunt who lived in Austin and worked at the University of Texas. There, he came across copies of Texas Ranger and decided to apply to the school, majoring in journalism before switching to fine arts. After he joined the humor magazine, one of the first artists he published was his classmate Mr. Shelton.
“He had something unusual at the time — an appreciation for things that made people laugh,” Mr. Shelton said in an interview.
Mr. Stack’s other books as Foolbert Sturgeon include “Dorman’s Doggie” (1979), about his dog, Pingy-Poo, and “Amazon Comics” (1972), an indecent retelling of Greek myths. He dropped the pen name in the late 1980s when he began collaborating with the underground comics writer Harvey Pekar on his “American Splendor” series.
In 1994, Mr. Stack illustrated “Our Cancer Year,” an autobiographical graphic novel by Mr. Pekar and his wife, Joyce Brabner, recounting Mr. Pekar’s battle with lymphoma.
The “narrative is by turns amusing, frightening, moving and quietly entertaining,” Publisher’s Weekly said in its review. “Stack’s brisk and elegantly gestural black-and-white drawings wonderfully delineate this captivating story of love, community, recuperation and international friendship.”
Mr. Stack married Mildred Powell in 1959. She died in 1998.
In addition to their daughter, he is survived by their son, Robert; six grandchildren; and his brother, Stephen.
Writing in “The New Adventures of Jesus,” Mr. Stack reflected on spending so many years as Foolbert Sturgeon.
“If I’d stuck by my guns maybe I’d be out of a job, disinherited, back in New York (not Texas, for sure) and dead by now,” he wrote. “But I ain’t apologizing. Who would I apologize to? God and Jesus? Why would they care?”
-
World4 minutes agoLampedusa migrant landing: newborn dies, probe opened
-
News34 minutes ago
Brass bands in Beijing make way for sticker shock at home as Trump returns to escalating inflation
-
New York2 hours agoVideo: Debris From Overpass Strikes Car on Busy N.Y.C. Road
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoL.A. police shoot knife-wielding man during response to assault call
-
Detroit, MI3 hours agoHow many division wins will the Detroit Lions tally in 2026?
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoSF’s economy may be at an “inflection point”
-
Dallas, TX3 hours agoDallas Cowboys schedule wallpapers: Mobile and desktop versions available
-
Miami, FL3 hours ago18-year-old man from NW Miami-Dade found safe, detectives say – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
