Books & Literary Life

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

A whimsical illustration of a man balancing on a rooftop edge, wearing a suit and glasses.

The Artist Edward Gorey—and Pets—at Harvard

Winter exhibits at Houghton Library   

by Nell Porter-Brown

A black-and-white portrait of Tomi Adeyemi, alongside the covers of her novels "Children of Blood and Bone," "Children of Anguish and Anarchy," and "Children of Virtue and Vengeance."

Harvard Author Behind Afrofuturist Trilogy “Blood and Bone”

The reality-based fantasies of novelist Tomi Adeyemi

by Lydialyle Gibson

Brooklyn Bridge Park: the beach at Main Street Park, in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge

How Was Brooklyn Bridge Park Planned?

Michael Van Valkenburgh and the making of Brooklyn Bridge Park

Barry Van Dusen’s watercolor of an Eastern bluebird, as described. by Henry David Thoreau

Harvard Books on Monet, Free Time, Food, and More

Painting with Monet, birding with Thoreau, and other recent books

Corita Kent’s a man you can lean on (1966) plays with its medium: screenprints are not reversed in the making, but her image is.

Harvard Professor on Printmaking

An art historian analyzes an overlooked medium.

by Murray Whyte

Oval black and white image of Frederick Douglas with gold frame around image

American Citizenship Through Photography

How photographs promote social justice

by Nina Pasquini

Norton Anthology

A New Norton Anthology of World Literature Reimagines the Global Literary Tradition

A new Norton Anthology, edited by Harvard’s Martin Puchner, reimagines the global literary tradition. 

by Nina Pasquini

College students, one with a trump, another with an upright bass, gather around a piano with Dizzy Gillespie, who plays his trumpet while a student pianist also plays

A New Chapter for Harvard Arts

The Office for the Arts turns 50, and its longtime director steps down.

by Lydialyle Gibson

Photo of the Hrdys, author and husband, with their first grandchild

The Evolution of Human Fathers

Exploring the evolutionary biology of human fathers as caretakers

by Richard G. Bribiescas

Nicholas Kristof reporting in the Sudan, 2012

Off the Shelf

Nicholas Kristof reporting, why voting matters, becoming famous, and more in books

Jewish protestors and allies advocate a ceasefire in Gaza, U.S. Capitol, October 18, 2023

What Does it Mean to be a Progressive Jew Today?

How should Progressive Jews reconcile the changing nature of Israel today as state and ideal?