Literature

Worn-out phrases can make a reader roll their eyes, or worse—give up on a book altogether. Clichés are viewed as a sign of lazy writing, but they didn’t get to be that way overnight; many modern clichés read as fresh and evocative when they first appeared in print, and were memorable enough that people continue

TODAY: In 1905, Albert Einstein publishes On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, in which he introduces special relativity.       Also on Lit Hub: 10 nonfiction books to read this July • Life under occupation in WWII • Read from Mihret Sibhat’s debut novel, The History of a Difficult Child

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The Book of Esther has a surprising claim to fame: it’s the only book in the Bible in which the word ‘God’ does not appear. (Curiously, it is also the only biblical book to mention the country of India, when the author is describing the breadth of the Persian

June 30, 2023, 9:57am Fans of the publisher World Editions, which has brought translations of work by Maryse Condé, Amin Maalouf, Pilar Quintana, Jaap Robben and Zhang Yueran to English-language audiences, has found a new owner—none other than the US director Christine Swedowsky. A rare fairy-tale finish! World Editions was previously owned by Libella Publishing

There are things you want from an Indiana Jones movie. You want Indy to to yell directions at a stunned, fuddy-duddy academic while trying to dodge bullet spray. You want Indy to shove the lid off a big stone tomb, and maybe even yank an antique out from the stiff grip of the skeleton inside

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘The Commuter’ is an early short story by Philip K. Dick (1928-82), which appeared in the science-fiction magazine Amazing in 1953. The short story is perhaps best categorised and analysed as an alternative history story, so it qualifies as ‘fantasy’ in the broad sense of the definition. Summary ‘The

TODAY: In 1892, American crime writer James M. Cain is born.   “To speak as Tibetans, to write as Tibetans, is to continually recreate the Tibetan nation.” Tenzin Dickie considers the Tibetan essay. | Lit Hub History On the art thieves who steal for love. | Lit Hub Art John Kaag and Jonathan van Belle consider the “deep sincerity” of

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.’ Who said, or wrote, this well-known sentence? Karl Marx? Vladimir Lenin? Not either of those political figures, but someone who lived quite a long time before either of them. For the thinker who actually said ‘man is born free,

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Strength can take many forms: physical toughness and sheer muscle, strength of character and qualities such as perseverance, and strength of mind. Poets have paid tribute to all of these kinds of strength, as the following classic poems demonstrate. 1. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, ‘Ulysses’. Tho’ much is taken, much

June 29, 2023, 12:57pm I’m going to come back to West Virginia when this is over. There’s something ancient and deeply-rooted in my soul. I like to think that I have left my ghost up one of those hollows, and I’ll never really be able to leave for good until I find it. And I

I lean over a low Plexiglas wall and watch the earth rotate under my feet. I try to make out the continents, the pale patch of the Arabian Peninsula, green-​splotched South America. But what I see most is sea blue, alternating with the milky white of passing clouds. Here in the Netherlands we’re rotating faster

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) What has a woman named Iris got to do with the famous track of that name by the Goo Goo Dolls? And does the name, in fact, have anything to do with the song, besides providing it with its title? ‘Iris’ has become the signature song by the American

June 28, 2023, 10:49am You might be a person of letters, but has an internationally renowned body deemed you the “ambassador of gibberish?” If not, you have something to work toward. The honorific was delivered to children’s author Michael Rosen from poet Raymond Antrobus, who was on the judging panel of the 2023 PEN Pinter

Another month of books, another month of book covers. June was full of winks, nods, and interesting framings—here are my favorites, but as ever, feel free to add on to my list in the comments below: Magogodi oaMphela Makhene, Innards (Norton, June 6) It’s the look on the girl’s face, it’s the bluntness of the

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Who were Castor and Pollux and what are the details of the story involving these two figures from Greek mythology? These two Greek heroes, who are now perhaps most familiar to people because they became immortalised in the constellation Gemini in the night sky, are the subject of a

June 27, 2023, 11:10am Aubrey Graham has released a book of poetry with Kenza Samir, which in straight prose translates roughly to: Drake’s poetry chapbook is outttttttt! Kenza Samir is a songwriter who has been credited on several Drake albums. You can order Titles Ruin Everything: A stream of consciousness by Aubrey Graham and Kenza

June 27, 2023, 5:10am It’s the 27th, which means that June, joltingly, is nearing its end. But with a new week comes a new slew of exciting fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (and, just as excitingly, books that bend the borders of genre). Below, you’ll find a wide selection of books out today (and one out

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Repetition in poetry can take many forms. A particular clause or phrase might be repeated in the same line, or in successive lines; the same line might conclude more than one stanza of a longer poem; or a whole stanza might be repeated, such as when the first stanza