On The Black Skyscraper: An Interview with Literary Critic Adrienne Brown
Early skyscrapers changed the ways we see race, how we see bodies, how we perceive and make judgments about people in the world.
The Cozy Linguistics of Hygge and Other “Untranslatable” Words
Why English speakers love "hygge" and other "untranslatable" words about emotional states.
Louisa May Alcott, Servant
She’s best known as the intrepid author of Little Women, but Louisa May Alcott was once a domestic servant.
Synesthetic Adjectives Will Make You Eat Your Words
Fragrant. Sweet. Tangy. Certain synesthetic adjectives actually trigger cognitive simulations of eating.
Is Audio Really the Future of the Book?
The upsurge in audiobooks and podcasts illustrates our heightened interest in digital storytelling, but does listening really count as reading?
Melvil Dewey’s Attempt at a Spelling Revolution
Melvil Dewey, of the Dewey Decimal system, thought we should have spelling reform.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in Moscow on November 11, 1821. While he also wrote short stories and journalism, the politically-active ...
How The Baby-Sitters Club Reflected Our Dreams of Safety
In The Baby-Sitters Club, each girl has agency.
Bad Language for Nasty Women (and Other Gendered Insults)
Is it true that "nasty" is more likely to be applied to describe women than men?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Black Lives
As historians continue to interrogate slavery’s lasting reverberations, narratives produced by slaves themselves have become a kind of ...