The Early American Radical Fiction of John Lithgow
In the early 1800s, the Scottish immigrant wrote an anonymous tract imagining equality. He was worried about the brand-new American republic.
Rare 1969 Story from The Queen’s Gambit Author Walter Tevis
In this short story a graduate student makes a deal with the devil: Write my dissertation and my soul is yours.
Life in the Iron Mills as Fiction of the “Close-Outsider Witness”
Rebecca Harding Davis had no firsthand experience of iron mills. Neither does her nameless narrator.
H.G. Wells’s Letters to Cora Crane
The correspondence between famous novelist H.G. Wells and Cora Crane, the partner of "The Red Badge of Courage" author Stephen Crane.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” and Women’s Pain
Charlotte Gilman wrote her famous short story in response to her own experience having her pain belittled and misunderstood by a male physician.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I Became Black in America
Adichie speaks on the meaning of blackness, sexism in Nigeria, and whether the current feminist movement leaves out black women.
Wild and Finally Free in Lauren Groff’s Florida
Lauren Groff’s latest story collection explores the literary archetype of the Orphan.
Why the First Novel Created Such a Stir
Samuel Richardson's Pamela, the first novel in English, astounded and terrified readers. Authors have striven for the same effect since.
Stephen King’s Prophetic Early Work
King of Horror Stephen King celebrates his 70th birthday. Will he finally get the respect he deserves from academia and the culture industry?
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.