Alisa Solomon

This article is part of a series — At 250, Who Will America Be? — reporting on threats to American democracy during our Semiquincentennial year and beyond. Witness to the Fall: Reporting on the Coming Dangers “Get up here. You’re writing,” Don Forst, the Voice’s editor, commanded.

Books & the Arts / August 27, 2025 Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins Remakes the Family Drama His latest work, Purpose, evokes Chekov in its exploration of faith, parents, and politics. Ad Policy Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins and producers accept the award for Best Play for Purpose at the 78th annual Tonys. (Michele Crowe / CBS via Getty Images) In the monologue that opens Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Purpose, Naz (Jon Michael Hill) describes the nature photography that he’s been working on recently.

They are among the most famous words spoken by a woman in a canonical American play: “Attention must be paid.” It’s Linda Loman, of course, in the last scene of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, admonishing her oldest son, Biff, to show his late father some respect. “He’s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog,” Linda insists.