Literary Criticism

"Writing only leads to more writing." — Colette

Reading in the Conglomerate Era: Or, Do Small Presses Even Exist?
Hilary Plum situates Dan Sinykin’s “Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature” among the ecosystem of small presses in the literary world.
Hilary PlumOct 24, 2023
- Literary Criticism
For Promising Young Women: A Smidge of Midge
Eliana Rozinov examines the figure of Midge as a mythical phenomenon, a pregnant doll, and a variation of the “promising young woman” trope.
Eliana RozinovOct 12, 2023
A Particularly Intimate Mourning: On Susie Boyt’s “Loved and Missed”
Eric Gudas reviews Susie Boyt’s “Loved and Missed.”
Eric GudasOct 11, 2023
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
Science Fiction Belongs to All of Us: On Joy Sanchez-Taylor’s “Diverse Futures”
Julia Lindsay reviews Joy Sanchez-Taylor’s “Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Authors of Color.”
Julia LindsayOct 8, 2023
Where Life Is Precious, Life Is Precious. And Surely That’s Not Here: On Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s “Chain-Gang All-Stars”
Salem James Martinez reviews Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s “Chain-Gang All-Stars.”
Salem James MartinezSep 29, 2023
The Limits of Agency: On Olga Ravn’s “My Work”
Ariel Courage reviews Olga Ravn’s “My Work,” translated by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell.
Ariel CourageSep 26, 2023
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
The IIC School Versus the JLF School of Indian English
Sumana Roy on how the vernacularization of the English language has affected Indian political and cultural life.
Sumana RoySep 22, 2023
- Literary Criticism
- Memoir & Essay
Against the MFA Contrarians
Joel Cuthbertson defends the creative writing MFA as an educational, not a vocational, enterprise.
Joel CuthbertsonSep 2, 2023
Salvaging a Soviet Jewish Literary Culture: On Marat Grinberg’s “The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf”
Yelena Furman reviews Marat Grinberg’s “The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf: Jewish Culture and Identity Between the Lines.”
Yelena FurmanAug 29, 2023
All the Television We’ll Lose: On Fantagraphics’ “Ernie in Kovacsland”
Harry Waksberg reviews a new book from Fantagraphics about television pioneer Ernie Kovacs, “Ernie in Kovacsland.”
Harry WaksbergAug 17, 2023
- Literary Criticism
- Television
The World’s Wife: On Clare Carlisle’s “The Marriage Question”
Victoria Baena reviews Clare Carlisle’s “The Marriage Question: George Eliot’s Double Life.”
Victoria BaenaAug 15, 2023
- Biography & Autobiography
- Literary Criticism
After the Leap: Marriage and Philosophy in George Eliot and Søren Kierkegaard
Clare Carlisle analyzes the theme of marriage in the life and work of two great 19th-century thinkers and writers, George Eliot and Søren Kierkegaard.
Clare CarlisleAug 14, 2023