How “Carpe Diem” Got Lost in Translation
"Carpe Diem" doesn't actually mean "seize the day." The fact that we understand it that way suggests we are more traditional than we like to admit.
Pulp Fiction Helped Define American Lesbianism
Between 1950 and 1965, steamy novels about lesbian relationships, marketed to men, inadvertently offered closeted women much-needed representation.
How Language and Climate Connect
While we’re losing biological diversity, we’re also losing linguistic and cultural diversity at the same time. This is no coincidence.
Who Really Wrote The G-String Murders?
Gypsy Rose Lee, the most famous burlesque star of the 1940s, wrote a series of letters published by Simon & Schuster that may prove her authorship.
Franz Kafka’s The Trial—It’s Funny Because It’s True
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.
Sor Juana, Founding Mother of Mexican Literature
How a 17th-century nun wrote poetry, dramas, and comedies that took on the inequities and double standards women faced in society.
The Lonely Hearts of the Algonquin Round Table
The "Vicious Circle" of the Algonquin Round Table included sharp-tongued wits like Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott. But it wasn't always vicious.
The Filipino Novel That Reimagined Neocolonial Gender
Revisiting an essential Asian American work, beloved for its synthesis of neocolonialism, postmodernism, and central queer and female characters.