Literary Criticism

"Writing only leads to more writing." — Colette

The Keys to Robert Graves’s Mythologies
Matt Keeley considers the uncertain legacy of Robert Graves as well as a new biography of the writer by Jean Moorcroft Wilson.
Matt KeeleyNov 13, 2019
Who Needs Literature?
LARB presents an essay by Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated from the Yiddish by David Stromberg.
Isaac Bashevis SingerNov 11, 2019
- Around the World
- Literary Criticism
Isaac Bashevis Singer: Writer and Critic
David Stromberg considers the long-neglected critical writings of Isaac Bashevis Singer.
David StrombergNov 11, 2019
The Impossible Future of the Futures Market
A special issue of “New Centennial Review” tackles the metastases of finance capitalism.
John RiederNov 1, 2019
The Emancipation of Little Women: On Library of America’s “March Sisters”
On the limits of archetype and power of self-mythology in “March Sisters.”
Emma BakerOct 20, 2019
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
A Picture of Youth: On Stephanie Insley Hershinow’s “Born Yesterday: Inexperience and the Early Realist Novel”
Jason Pearl reviews “Born Yesterday: Inexperience and the Early Realist Novel” by Stephanie Insley Hershinow.
Jason PearlOct 9, 2019
- Literary Criticism
A New Hope: Ebony Elizabeth Thomas’s Vision for “The Dark Fantastic”
“The Dark Fantastic” poses an essential question about the absence of PoC voices: what happens to our imaginations when those voices are sacrificed?
Rochelle SpencerSep 28, 2019
- Literary Criticism
- SF
Same Difference: Jacob Edmond’s Copy Poetics
Jacob Edmond's "Make It the Same" should be celebrated not only for what the book does well, but also for what it makes possible for scholars to do next.
Walt HunterSep 27, 2019
- Literary Criticism
- Poetry
Passionate Affinities: A Conversation with Rita Felski
Rita Felski on the limits of critique, the democratization of reading, and the power of the “re-”.
Francesco GiustiSep 25, 2019
- Literary Criticism
Storytelling and Forgetfulness
Amit Chaudhuri considers the relation between living, telling, and writing.
Amit ChaudhuriSep 20, 2019
What Has Literature Ever Done for You?
Keegan Cook Finberg reviews Juliana Spahr’s “Du Bois’s Telegram.”
Keegan Cook FinbergSep 16, 2019
- Literary Criticism
The Ordeal of Writing
Michael Krimper reviews a newly translated biography of Maurice Blanchot.
Michael KrimperSep 14, 2019