The American Scholar, the magazine of the Phi Beta Kappa Society

Essays

Pursuing the White Whale

A briny exploration of Melville’s greatest work

William Howarth

Too Long Ignored

An engaging look at the forces that shaped history south of the border

Richard Moe

No Home on the Range

A roadmap to understanding the American West

James Conaway

Remembering James McConkey

Diane Ackerman, Brad Edmondson, and Robert Wilson celebrate a real writer’s writer

Our Contributors

This Is What Terror Sounds Like

10 pieces to guarantee the Halloween shivers

Sudip Bose

10 Famous Authors With Surprising Day Jobs

Or, 10 reasons to hang on to that office job

Katie Daniels

35 Over 35

These writers got their start after age 35—there’s still hope for you

Our Editors

Blue and white striped umbrellas at a beach

Here Comes the Sun

What to read when it arrives

Our Editors

“Dungeon” by Rabindranath Tagore

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Amanda Holmes

“November Rain” by Jaroslav Seifert

For All Saints’ Day

Amanda Holmes

“[hist whist]” by E. E. Cummings

For the little ghosties and ghoulies on Halloween

Amanda Holmes

“The Life Beyond” by Rupert Brooke

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Essays

Lists

Poetry

By Ramesh Srinivasan

Mondays

Portrait of the Artist

An artist describes a work of art

by Noelani Kirschner

Tuesdays

Next Line, Please

David Lehman collaborates with our readers on a poem.

by David Lehman

Wednesdays

View from Rue Saint-Georges

An American in Paris

by Thomas Chatterton Williams

Thursdays

Measure by Measure

Classical music reconsidered

by Sudip Bose

Fridays

Asturias Days

An American émigré muses on the language and culture of northern Spain.

by Clellan Coe