Books & Literary Life

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

The Artist Edward Gorey—and Pets—at Harvard

Winter exhibits at Houghton Library   

by Nell Porter-Brown

Recent books with Harvard connections

John Kenneth Galbraith’s letters, Linda Greenhouse, color in art, and more

Stephen Greenblatt on Adam and Eve

Stephen Greenblatt explores the myths and meanings of Adam and Eve.

by Elizabeth Stoke

Chapter and verse quotation-citation correspondence site

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Library of Congress names Harvard alumna Tracy K. Smith as new Poet Laureate

The announcement comes at a busy time for the writer, who is at work on two operas and will soon publish her fifth verse collection, Wade in the Water.

by Sophia Nguyen

"Poetry, Voiced": diving into the sound archive of the Woodberry Poetry Room

In the Woodberry Poetry Room, a landmark audio collection waits to be heard.

by Sophia Nguyen

Tahmima Anam's "The Bones of Grace" excavates history and family

Tahmima Anam’s Bengal trilogy finds a resting place.

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Open Book: An excerpt from “Pedagogues and Protestors” by Conrad Edick Wright

The diary of a “unexceptional collegian”—attending class, or not

Joan C. Williams on "class cluelessness"—a book review by Andrea Louise Campbell

A review of Joan Williams’s powerful book on the resentments reshaping American politics

by Andrea Louise C...

Recent books with Harvard connections

Beach reading, the West, segregation, gardening with children, and more

Chapter and verse quotation-citation correspondence site

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words