Books & Literary Life

Literary criticism, author interviews, and book culture from within and beyond Harvard.

Three climbers seated on a snowy summit, surrounded by clouds, appearing contemplative.

These Harvard Mountaineers Braved Denali’s Wall of Ice

John Graham’s Denali Diary documents a dangerous and historic climb.

by Lydialyle Gibson

At Home with Harvard: The Literary Life

Our editors curate their favorite literary stories in Harvard Magazine.

photograph of Lizabeth Cohen

Lizabeth Cohen Bancroft Prize

The urban historian is honored—for the second time.

by John S. Rosenberg

Photograph by Ken Liu

Ghost Stories for the Apocalypse

Ken Liu’s speculative fiction on maintaining and transcending humanity

by Bennett McIntosh

Photograph of Emily Dickinson’s family home, The Homestead, an elegant wooden building

The Emily Dickinson Museum

Delving into the world of Emily Dickinson

by Nell Porter-Brown

Photo of a young boy reading a book

Excerpt from Bernard Bailyn, “Illuminating History”

An addiction to reading

A view of the Frank House study in 1940, with many books and examples of modern art from the 1930s

Recent books with Harvard connections

Recent books with Harvard connections

Chapter & Verse

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Photograph of Jack Gross

Excerpt from Adam Cohen, “Supreme Inequality”

A thumb on the scales

Photograph of Yangsze Choo

Profile of novelist Yangsze Choo

Malaysian-born Yangsze Choo writes novels infused with the tropical mysteries of her childhood.

by Stuart Miller

Illuminated manuscript page

Rare books at risk

Consequences of book-breaking

by Diane E. Booton