How Do We Know That Epic Poems Were Recited from Memory?
Scholars once doubted that pre-literate peoples could ever have composed and recited poems as long as the Odyssey. Milman Parry changed that.
The Grumpiness of Little Women
By focusing in on the characters’ emotions, a scholar discovers something more than good little women. She finds surprisingly angry ones.
The Women’s Magazine That Tried to Stop the Civil War
Godey’s Lady’s Book, one of the most influential American publications of the nineteenth century, tried to halt the Civil War.
George Orwell’s 1984
George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 finds itself at the top of the best-seller lists this week, the first of Trump's presidency.
Full Disclosure: Why We Say Too Much When We Write Online
The internet is an emotional vampire. Scroll through your latest social network updates—or the headlines on Medium and ...
Remembering Wounded Knee at Standing Rock
Have you been wondering about the history of Standing Rock protests and the American Indian Movement? Learn why and how we “Remember Wounded Knee.”
It Turns Out Ordinary Life is Full of Poetry (Metaphorically Speaking)
The metaphor isn't just a literary device; it informs our conceptual understanding of language and the world.
From Twain to Fargo: the Outsider in American Storytelling
The Lorne Malvo character on the new Fargo TV series, is like the character Satan in Mark Twain's final novel, The Mysterious Stranger.
The Snow That Never Drifts: Emily Dickinson’s Slant Winter
Like many of her poems, Emily Dickinson's "The Snow That Never Drifts" presents a riddle for the reader