essays
Happy Birthday, Holden Caulfield!
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The Catcher in the Rye was first published on July 16, 1951. According to my dubious calculations, that’s over 60 years (plus a couple remainders) of lambasting the phonies in the world. And although you’ve likely changed since you first read it in high school English — maybe you’re a little more weathered, maybe you’ve got angsty teenagers of your own — Catcher hasn’t just endured but evolved with you. So here’s a quick collection of Catcher in the Rye covers from around the world (and from the imagination of artists):
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— Benjamin Samuel is the co-editor of Electric Literature. If he isn’t at the carousel, you can find him on Twitter.

