Till the Knowing Ends: On William Gass Till the Knowing Ends: On William Gass
In Life Sentences, William Gass shows that consciousness needs to be stressed to be strengthened.
Mar 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
Reading John Leonard: A Tribute Reading John Leonard: A Tribute
For the critic John Leonard, “books are where we go alone to complicate ourselves.”
Feb 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / E.L. Doctorow
The Idler: On Geoff Dyer The Idler: On Geoff Dyer
Freedom to do just what he pleases defines the life and writing of Geoff Dyer.
Apr 21, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Scott Sherman
Back Talk: Terry Castle Back Talk: Terry Castle
A conversation with the author of The Professor about her affair with an older woman and the journals of Susan Sontag.
Jan 28, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Christine Smallwood
Adaptation: On Literary Darwinism Adaptation: On Literary Darwinism
If art is a product of the mind, and the mind a product of evolution, is art a product of evolution?
May 20, 2009 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Into the Wardrobe: C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Into the Wardrobe: C.S. Lewis’s Narnia
Laura Miller's study of C.S. Lewis falls short of providing a coherent theory of Narnia's magic.
May 6, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Jordan Davis
Back Talk: Elaine Showalter Back Talk: Elaine Showalter
A conversation with the author of A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx.
Mar 11, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Christine Smallwood
An Alienation Artist: Kafka and His Critics An Alienation Artist: Kafka and His Critics
Unraveling the Kafkaesque mystique of Franz Kafka.
Feb 11, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Provan
Trilling’s Sandbags: Lionel Trilling’s Critical Essays Trilling’s Sandbags: Lionel Trilling’s Critical Essays
Re-reading a literary critic who regarded intelligence as a moral imperative.
Dec 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Stefan Collini
How Wood Works: The Riches and Limits of James Wood How Wood Works: The Riches and Limits of James Wood
James Wood may be the best literary critic we have, but the status he enjoys reveals just how far we have fallen.
Nov 19, 2008 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz