Giovanni's Room, Philadelphia

Book Club Made Me Gay

Book clubs and reading groups have long been important to marginalized communities.
Woman thinking

The Science of Thingummyjigs (and Other Words on the Tip of Your Tongue)

What is actually happening when you can't think of the word you mean? It's called Tip of the Tongue syndrome and yes, it's been studied.
Edith Wharton

Unearthing a Forgotten Edith Wharton Play

Before she created her masterpieces like The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton had a brief (unsuccessful) stint as a playwright.
Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson, author of Jesus' Son and other award-winning books, speaks with Eric Elshtain on the role of religion in his work.
Claire Cameron The Last Neanderthal

The Novelist’s Risk: Researching The Last Neanderthal

Best-selling Canadian novelist Claire Cameron on how she researched her new novel The Last Neanderthal, with a little help from JSTOR.
JSTOR Daily Friday Reads

Margarita Engle, the Young People’s Poet Laureate

Cuban American Margarita Engle is the new Young People’s Poet Laureate. Engle has written many books for children, young adults and adults.
Woolf Dreadnaught hoax

When Virginia Woolf Wore Blackface

In February 1910, Virginia Woolf, her brother, and some and friends pulled a prank known to history as the Dreadnought Hoax.
Marguerite Duras and mother

Marguerite Duras on Her Remarkable Mother

Noted novelist and screenwriter Marguerite Duras on how her fictional mothers are all really her own (complicated, difficult, inimitable) mother.
Anne of Green Gables Netflix

The Many Different Annes of Green Gables

Anne Shirley, created almost 100 years ago, has been reimagined countless times. Why do we still love Lucy Maud Montgomery's plucky orphan?
Jean Stein

The Literary Life of Jean Stein

Among her other literary accomplishments, Jean Stein edited Grand Street for 14 years. Here are two of her interviews for the magazine.