Literary Criticism

"Writing only leads to more writing." — Colette

The First Comedian
Jason Crawford discusses the career of Robert Armin, the first modern comedian.
Jason CrawfordNov 4, 2022
- History
- Literary Criticism
Literature and Indigeneity: Amazigh Activists’ Construction of an Emerging Literary Field
Brahim El Guabli analyzes the postcolonial emergence of Amazigh literature.
Brahim El GuabliOct 28, 2022
- Around the World
- Literary Criticism
How We Know What We Are Being Told: On Peter Brooks’s “Seduced by Story”
Caterina Domeneghini reviews Peter Brooks’s new book “Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative.”
Caterina DomeneghiniOct 17, 2022
- Literary Criticism
The Joy of Genre: On Brooks E. Hefner’s “Black Pulp”
Nathan Jefferson reviews Brooks E. Hefner’s “Black Pulp: Genre Fiction in the Shadow of Jim Crow,” an introduction to often overlooked pulp stories that ran in Black newspapers.
Nathan JeffersonOct 6, 2022
- Literary Criticism
- Noir
The Music of the Ordinary: On Stanley Cavell’s “Here and There”
Michael S. Roth considers Stanley Cavell's "Here and There: Sites of Philosophy."
Michael S. RothSep 30, 2022
- Literary Criticism
- Philosophy & Religion
The Whole World Is a Work of Art: On Jonathan Bate’s “Mad About Shakespeare”
Tom Sperlinger reviews Jonathan Bate’s new book “Mad About Shakespeare: From Classroom to Theatre to Emergency Room.”
Tom SperlingerSep 28, 2022
- Literary Criticism
- Memoir & Essay
Who Is This Writing For? On Elaine Castillo’s “How to Read Now”
Kathy Chow reviews Elaine Castillo’s new collection of essays, “How To Read Now.”
Kathy ChowAug 9, 2022
- Literary Criticism
- Memoir & Essay
Anthropocene Gothic
Steven Shaviro reviews "Dark Scenes from Damaged Earth," a new academic collection of weird ecocriticism edited by Justin D. Edwards, Rune Graulund, and Johan Höglund.
Steven ShaviroAug 6, 2022
Into the Maelstrom
The long-prophesied “death of the author” has made us all authors of unceasing social narratives.
Jared Marcel PollenJul 18, 2022
- Literary Criticism
A Call to Wake Up: On Viktor Shklovsky’s “On the Theory of Prose”
Jason DeYoung reads Shushan Avagyan’s new translation of Viktor Shklovsky’s classic work, “On the Theory of Prose.”
Jason DeYoungJul 3, 2022
- Literary Criticism
What You Would Think of as Noise: On Matthew G. Kirschenbaum’s “Bitstreams: The Future of Digital Literary Heritage”
Kelly Baker Josephs reviews Matthew G. Kirschenbaum’s “Bitstreams: The Future of Digital Literary Heritage.”
Kelly Baker JosephsJul 1, 2022
- Literary Criticism
’Til Death Do Us Part: On Eugenie Brinkema’s “Life-Destroying Diagrams”
Alexandra Kingston-Reese charts “Life-Destroying Diagrams,” the new book by Eugenie Brinkema.
Alexandra Kingston-ReeseJun 25, 2022
- Literary Criticism