Lessons in Resistance from The Handmaid’s Tale
The seminal Margaret Atwood novel The Handmaid's Tale feels all too relevant in a time of dystopic “debate” over the worth of women.
The Totally “Destructive” (Yet Oddly Instructive) Speech Patterns of… Young Women?
Two years ago, this column sprang into life by enthusiastically wading into the absurdly long-running debate about some ...
P.G. Wodehouse, Great American Humorist?
Should P.G. Wodehouse, creator of the ditzy Wooster and inimitable Jeeves, be considered an American humorist as well as a master of British farce?
Speaking for the Trees
David George Haskell's book The Song of the Trees: Stories From Nature's Great Connectors, explores trees' connections with various communities.
Did Victorians Really Get Brain Fever?
The melodramatic descriptions of "fevers" in old novels reveal just how frightening the time before modern medicine must have been.
Flannery O’Connor’s Moments of Grace
Flannery O'Connor employed grotesqueness and violence in her stories to illustrate the workings of grace on her characters.
Kathleen Rooney’s Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
Move over flâneur, here comes the flâneuse, the female version of the famous French walkers.
A New Novel Explores Art Theft, History, and Child Refugees
Ellen Umansky's novel The Fortunate Ones explores the psychological fallout of the World War II Kindertransport, which moved child refugees to England.
When Language Can Cure What Ails You
Healthy talk is often promoted as the way for us to become even better humans. But is talking about our health always a key to actual better health?
Elizabeth Bishop
Exploring the text and subtext of Elizabeth Bishop's poems, inspired by a new biography called Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast.