Literary Criticism

"Writing only leads to more writing." — Colette

Stories as Prayer: A Conversation Between Joshua Cohen and Harold Bloom
The author Joshua Cohen visits Harold Bloom.
Joshua CohenAug 16, 2018
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
Seeing Both Sides of the Shield: On Rebecca Harding Davis
"When we look for meaning in the lives of historical figures, what we’re often looking for is the reflected image of our own ideas and beliefs."
Arielle ZibrakJul 21, 2018
An Intensity Leavened by Gentleness
A new biography of the seminal French literary and cultural theorist René Girard.
Christopher ShinnJul 20, 2018
The Author Is Not as Dead as Claimed
Robert Dasaler reviews “The Varieties of Authorial Intention: Literary Theory Beyond the Intentional Fallacy” by John Farrell.
Robert DaselerJul 17, 2018
- Literary Criticism
On Feeling One’s Way: David Russell’s “Tact”
Tanya Agathocleous reviews “Tact: Aesthetic Liberalism and the Essay Form in Nineteenth-Century” by David Russell.
Tanya AgathocleousJul 15, 2018
- Literary Criticism
Who Is a Beneficiary? You Are.
"The Beneficiary" is not invested simply in exposing liberal American hypocrisy. Instead this is a study of the uneasy place we live intellectually.
Christina LuptonJun 29, 2018
Fashion It Thus: Stephen Greenblatt’s “Tyrant”
What Shakespeare’s tyrants tell us about our own political crisis.
Rhodri LewisJun 24, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- Politics
Literature at Work: A Conversation with Derek Attridge
Francesco Giusti discusses literary criticism and theory with Derek Attridge, author of “The Work of Literature.”
Francesco GiustiJun 11, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- Philosophy & Religion
An American Literary Hero’s Complicated Homecoming
In “Atticus Finch, The Biography,” historian Joseph Crespino exposes the complications of an American literary icon.
Rachel GordanMay 20, 2018
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
The Voices of Hayden White
Amy Elias reminds us of what we have lost with the passing of Hayden White, one of the great humanist minds of our time.
Amy J. EliasApr 22, 2018
- History
- Literary Criticism
Sharp but Narrow
Jacquelyn Ardam reviews Michelle Dean’s “Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art Out of Having an Opinion.”
Jacquelyn ArdamApr 19, 2018
“The Genius to Glue Them Together”: On René Girard and His Ideas
An excerpt from Cynthia L. Haven’s “Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard,” which will appear from Michigan State University Press on April 1.
Cynthia L. HavenMar 25, 2018