Literary Criticism

"Writing only leads to more writing." — Colette

Word and Deed: On Lynn Ellen Patyk’s “Written in Blood: Revolutionary Terrorism and Russian Literary Culture, 1861–1881”
Chelsea C. Gibson on “Written in Blood: Revolutionary Terrorism and Russian Literary Culture, 1861–1881” by Lynn Ellen Patyk.
Chelsea GibsonMar 23, 2018
Getting to the Middle of Nowhere: On Jon K. Lauck’s “From Warm Center to Ragged Edge”
Stephanie Foote navigates “From Warm Center to Ragged Edge: The Erosion of Midwestern Literary and Historical Regionalism, 1920–1965” by Jon K. Lauck.
Stephanie FooteMar 18, 2018
- Cultural Studies
- Literary Criticism
Remaking the University: Geoffrey Galt Harpham on Democracy and Interpretation in the United States
What do Frederick Douglass and the New Criticism have in common?
Michael MeranzeMar 15, 2018
Ephemeral Style
Colin Vanderburg on Brent Hayes Edwards’s “Epistrophies: Jazz and the Literary Imagination.”
Colin VanderburgMar 3, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- Music
Whose Survival Is Wrapped Up in Mine: An Interview with Benjamin Bateman
Alex Espinoza talks with Benjamin Bateman about his new book, “The Modernist Art of Queer Survival.”
Alex EspinozaFeb 25, 2018
Literatainment: A Personal Breakthrough
Ryan McIlvain reflects on the possibilities of merging high-brow literature with low-brow entertainment.
Ryan McIlvainFeb 16, 2018
- Literary Criticism
Life Writing: Samuel Beckett’s Literature of Disorder
Amanda Dennis cracks open “Samuel Beckett Is Closed” by Michael Coffey.
Amanda DennisFeb 13, 2018
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
Writing In Order to Live: On Maya Jasanoff’s “The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World”
John Tytell ranges over “The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World” by Maya Jasanoff.
John TytellFeb 10, 2018
Make This a Different Future: Reproductive Futurism and Its (Dis)contents
On Rebekah Sheldon's "The Child to Come: Life after the Human Catastrophe."
Veronica HollingerFeb 3, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- SF
Derrida’s Quarrel: “La Différance” at 50
Birger Vanwesenbeeck revisits Jacques Derrida’s famous lecture “La Différance” on its 50th anniversary.
Birger VanwesenbeeckJan 27, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- Philosophy & Religion
Reading Bad
Bruce Robbins reads Merve Emre's "Paraliterary: The Making of Bad Readers in Postwar America."
Bruce RobbinsJan 21, 2018
- Cultural Studies
- Literary Criticism
Breaking the Habit of Whiteness
“Race and Popular Fantasy Literature” offers a devastating case against fantasy.
De Witt Douglas KilgoreJan 20, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- SF