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

Toni Morrison speaks at Harvard, on slavery and "the literature of belonging"

The distinguished writer delivered the first of six lectures on slavery, racism, and “the literature of belonging.”

by Sophia Nguyen

Ross Gay Finds the Right Ground at the Radcliffe Institute

What “unabashed gratitude” means for a black poet

by Lydialyle Gibson

E.O. Wilson on mammalian evolution

E.O. Wilson on why the human species ought to be a little humble

Harvard alumni musicians Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang are profiled

The many pursuits of musicians Damon & Naomi

by Lydialyle Gibson

Chapter and verse quotation-citation correspondence site

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Recent books with Harvard connections

Recent books with Harvard connections

Susan Dunn reviews Jefferson biography by Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf

Thomas Jefferson's “fractal” view of American self-governance

by Susan Dunn

How the Dark Room Collective sparked "total life" in literature

How the Dark Room Collective made space for a generation of African-American writers

by Sophia Nguyen

Dick Bolles continues to improve “What Color Is Your Parachute?”

Job counselor Dick Bolles ’50 keeps “chugging away.”

by Bailey Trela

Tania James’s dueling artistic impulses

A writer balances structure and spontaneity in her latest novel.

by Aria Thaker