Literary Criticism

"Writing only leads to more writing." — Colette

Self-Flagellation in Pursuit of Atonement
Steve Almond’s ambivalent love letter to John Williams’s novel “Stoner.”
J. C. HallmanJul 19, 2019
- Literary Criticism
Text and Texture
Great works of fiction have a consistency, a firmness and density that can be touched.
Lynne Sharon SchwartzJul 7, 2019
- Literary Criticism
My Bookish Upbringing
In "Between Pen and Pixel," Aaron Kashtan argues that comics are the medium that offers the most insights about the present and the future of the book.
Vincent HaddadJul 6, 2019
Chaucer’s Traces
Marion Turner's "Chaucer: A European Life" depicts the poet’s life in vivid detail, yet it tries too hard to accommodate Chaucer to our own century.
Joe StadolnikJun 26, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
- Literary Criticism
Friends Like These: On Thoreau and Emerson
Daegan Miller reviews Jeffrey S. Cramer’s new book about the friendship of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Daegan MillerJun 24, 2019
Tangled Up in Blue Poetics: Timothy Hampton Reads a Bob Dylan for the Ages
Rob Wilson considers “Bob Dylan’s Poetics: How the Songs Work” by Timothy Hampton
Rob WilsonMay 24, 2019
Zones of Independence: A Conversation with Adam Kirsch
Morten Høi Jensen asks Adam Kirsch about his new book, “Who Wants to Be a Jewish Writer?”
Morten Høi JensenMay 23, 2019
- Literary Criticism
- Poetry
Paladin of Literary Agon: A Conversation with Harold Bloom
On the daemonic powers of memory and the blessings of great literature.
William GiraldiMay 12, 2019
- Literary Criticism
- Memoir & Essay
The Poetics of Autism
Travis Chi Wing Lau discusses two recent books on autism and literary studies.
Travis Chi Wing LauMay 2, 2019
- Literary Criticism
The Vanilla of Magical Thinking
A new book on Shakespeare’s borrowings from the classical canon.
Rhodri LewisApr 29, 2019
- Literary Criticism
Hearing Gregor Samsa
Nathan Goldman reviews Kata Gellen’s “Kafka and Noise: The Discovery of Cinematic Sound in Literary Modernism.”
Nathan GoldmanApr 26, 2019
- Film
- Literary Criticism
Getting Acquainted with Wallace Stevens
Kate Stanley discusses Joan Richardson’s book on Wallace Stevens, “How to Live, What to Do.”
Kate StanleyApr 17, 2019
- Literary Criticism
- Poetry