The Case for Teaching Depressing Books High school English teacher Sahar Mustafah writes that her students often ask when they’re going to read happy books. Young people, quite naturally, equate “happy” with a safe, uneventful existence. Genocide, sexual assault, poverty, racism, climate change—it’s hard to find any reason to be excited about reading these subjects […]
Here are some of the recent articles that have caught my eye. Is the human brain hardwired to appreciate poetry? George Saunders: what writers really do when they write Storyhealing Literature can enthuse medicine, and medicine can inspire literature. They are complementary treatments for being human. The Stubborn Optimist Following the persevering example of the
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Writing Tips: James Lee Burke Usually I would put writing tips from a big-time author under the heading “on writing” rather than “on novels and novelists.” But I’m including these tips from one of my favorite mystery writers, James Lee Burke, here because he has written them out as an essay rather than a list
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Most readers of Jane Austen name Pride and Prejudice as their favorite of her novels. But my favorite has always been Emma. I don’t remember whether Emma was the first Austen novel I read, but I do remember that it was the first novel that, when I had finished, I went back to the beginning
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John Fowles, The Art of Fiction No. 109 This article originally appeared in the Summer 1989 issue of The Paris Review. James R. Baker interviews John Fowles, author of, among others, The Collector (1963) and The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969). Fowles says that he was heavily influenced by the existentialists. When the interview asks if
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The Coretta Scott King Book Awards The Coretta Scott King Book Award was founded in 1969 in honor of the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for her passion and dedication to working for peace. The awards are given to “outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for
