A Poet of the Soil
The legacy of a writer who struggled with his celebrity
By Richard Tillinghast Friday, September 27, 2024
The Letters of Seamus Heaney selected and edited by Christopher Reid
Patience, Practice, Perseverance
How Octavia E. Butler became a writer
By Lynell George Thursday, September 14, 2023
Will the Real Vergil Please Stand Up?
Making sense of the life of a poet about whom we know so little
By Sarah Ruden Thursday, August 17, 2023
The Friend Zone
Mary Wollstonecraft’s ideas on what makes a marriage tick were downright radical for their time
By Robert Zaretsky Sunday, February 19, 2023
Declassified
How genre-bending tales of espionage emerged from a childhood of pain, anger, and deception
By James Gibney Thursday, December 8, 2022
A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré Edited by Tim Cornwell; Viking, 752 pp., $40
Freedom Tales
Long before the contentious school board fights of today, Lydia Maria Child tried to help America’s children understand their country’s racial transgressions
By Lydia Moland Monday, September 19, 2022
Dissident Lit 
Vladimir Nabokov and the novel that nourished the souls of a generation of would-be revolutionaries
By Richard Roper Thursday, September 1, 2022
She Was the Toast of the World
The dramas and diaries of Edna St. Vincent Millay
By Sandra M. Gilbert Wednesday, June 1, 2022
The Birth of the Egghead Paperback
How one very young man changed the course of publishing and intellectual life in America
By Mark LaFlaur Saturday, May 7, 2022
At the Corner of Byron and Shelley
Poetry and philhellenism at the Greek bicentennial
By A. E. Stallings Thursday, September 16, 2021
Last Works
Every writer eventually faces the question: Is there anything left to say?
By Roger Grenier Monday, September 8, 2014
The Autobiography of Biography
In which I tell how I was drawn again and again to the lives of African-American figures, and found in them the story of our times
By David Levering Lewis Monday, June 9, 2014
Looking Back, Warily, But With Affection
Snow Falling on Cedars at 20
By David Guterson Tuesday, March 11, 2014
The Novels Don’t Change, But We Do
Rereading those works that matter to us proves that books read us even as we read them
By Wendy Smith Friday, December 6, 2013
Examined Lives
A mystery exists at the heart of all literary biography: How does the mush of experience get turned into glittering artifact?
By Phyllis Rose Thursday, September 5, 2013
Hannah Arendt on Trial
The 1963 publication of her “Eichmann in Jerusalem” sparked a debate that still rages over its author’s motivations
By Daniel Maier-Katkin and Nathan Stoltzfus Monday, June 10, 2013
Endless Rewriting
When a novice writer received a letter from Jacques Barzun, asking her to write a book, how could she have known what she was in for?
By Helen Hazen Friday, March 1, 2013
Happily Ever After
The folk tales gathered by the Brothers Grimm not only enchant us; they record the hardships European families endured for centuries
By Wendy Smith Friday, December 7, 2012
Prince of Poets
Mahmoud Darwish was the voice of the Palestinian people—chronicling not just the struggles and political injustices, but also the rhythms of daily life
By David J. Wasserstein Tuesday, September 4, 2012
An Unquenchable Gaiety of Mind
On visits to Cambridge University late in life, Jorge Luis Borges offered revealing last thoughts about his reading and writing
By George Watson Thursday, May 31, 2012
