Sui Sin Far, the Chinese Canadian-American Sentimentalist
The short story collection Mrs. Spring Fragrance should be read in the context of nineteenth-century sentimentalism, which was shaped by Christian morality.
Finding Lucretia Howe Newman Coleman
Once a powerful voice in the Black press, Coleman all but disappeared from the literary landscape of the American Midwest after her death in 1948.
The Novels that Taught Americans about Abortion
Twentieth-century novels helped readers to learn about the practicalities of abortion as well as the social and moral questions around the procedure.
A “Genre-Bending” Poetic Journey through Modern Korean History
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictée is an experiment in both lyric and epic modernism that uses form to invoke the tragedy of the wartime partition of Korea.
Separated by a Common Language in Singapore
Singapore English is famous for its sentences that end with the particle lah. But what does it mean when people use the particle one instead?
Katherine Mansfield and Anton Chekhov
Living in exile in Germany, the young New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield found solace in studying—and copying—Chekhov’s short stories.
Exploring the Yardbird Reader
Initiated under the editorial directorship of Ishmael Reed, Yardbird made room in publishing for marginalized artists from many walks of life.
But Why a Penguin?
Penguin Books built on an already strong tradition of branding through cute mascot “media stars” when they introduced their cartoon bird in 1935.
Shakespeare and Fanfiction
Despite an enduring slice of audience that treats his work as precious and mythic, most Shakespeare fans have rarely met an adaptive concept they didn’t like.
I Hear America Singing
Japanese American poet Garrett Hongo is a guiding spirit to a glorious cacophony, an exuberant collective thrum made of different tongues and peoples.