Literary Criticism
"Writing only leads to more writing." — Colette
Running Down a Dream
An idiosyncratic collection of essays and short fictions considering an array of artistic, intellectual, and cultural celebrities.
Louis BuryMar 20, 2016
Imitatio Americana
"Against Self-Reliance" amends the popular story of a US that gives primary importance to the "sacred self."
D. Berton EmersonMar 17, 2016
The Sharp Edge That Finds Us: Edward Mendelson’s “Moral Agents” and the Question “What Is Man?”
What is man that though art mindful of him?
Robert L. Kehoe IIIMar 14, 2016
The Puerility of “Purity”: How Franzen’s Latest Novel Rewrites an Edith Wharton Novel You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Edith Wharton's "The Children," published in 1928, has a lot in common with Jonathan Franzen's "Purity."
Sheila LimingMar 11, 2016
The Searcher of Patterns and the Keeper of Things
Two new books suggest that if this turns out to be a new era in the humanities, it won't be for the reasons we've suspected.
Christina LuptonMar 5, 2016
Fact-Checking Mark Twain
Are the journalism and the tall tales by Mark Twain one and the same?
Cara BaylesFeb 20, 2016
Literature and Close Reading: An Interview with Andreas Huyssen
In "Miniature Metropolis: Literature in an Age of Photography and Film," Huyssen returns to two of the things he loves most: literature and close reading.
Eric BulsonFeb 19, 2016
Reading Madame Bovary in the Provinces
"Madame Bovary" — a text that, together with Camembert, Côtes du Rhône, and French kissing, may stand as one of France's most enduring cultural exports.
Birger VanwesenbeeckFeb 14, 2016
Reconsidering Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric. A Symposium, Part II
A symposium on Claudia Rankine's "Citizen: An American Lyric."
Catherine Zuromskis, Daniel Worden, Kenneth W. Warren, Lisa UddinJan 7, 2016
Reconsidering Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric. A Symposium, Part I
A symposium on Claudia Rankine's "Citizen: An American Lyric."
Daniel Worden, Evie Shockley, Maria A. Windell, Roderick A. FergusonJan 6, 2016
History’s Dick Jokes: On Melville and Hawthorne
The issue, then, is whether serious scholars writing about famous authors — Melville and Hawthorne — can reasonably deign to take dick jokes as evidence.
Jordan Alexander SteinDec 15, 2015
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