Books & Literary Life
Literary criticism, author interviews, and book culture from within and beyond Harvard.
How Adam Ehrlich Sachs Writes Absurd and Beautiful Fiction
The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.
by Eric Olson
“Tightrope,” by Kristof and WuDunn, reviewed by Allison Pugh
Americans diminished by “social poverty”
by Allison Pugh
David Barrett reports on New York City’s birds
A quest to chronicle New York City’s avian community
At Home with Harvard: The Literary Life
Our editors curate their favorite literary stories in Harvard Magazine.
Lizabeth Cohen Bancroft Prize
The urban historian is honored—for the second time.
Ghost Stories for the Apocalypse
Ken Liu’s speculative fiction on maintaining and transcending humanity
The Emily Dickinson Museum
Delving into the world of Emily Dickinson
Karl May, best-selling German novelist
Brief life of a myth-making writer: 1842-1912
Playwright Antoinette Nwandu, profiled
Playwright Antoinette Nwandu confronts race, religion, and her personal history.
Excerpt from Bernard Bailyn, “Illuminating History”
An addiction to reading
Recent books with Harvard connections
Recent books with Harvard connections