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

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Designs for Paul Rudolph’s iconic, controversial Yale Art & Architecture build­ing, 1959-1961

Recent books with Harvard connections

Recent books with Harvard connections

Located in Harvard Square, the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center hosts shelves of traditional Tibetan volumes, which the organization scans, catalogues, and returns to their owners.

Harvard library stores Tibetan digital archive

Ten million pages of Tibetan literature will be stored in the library’s Digital Repository Services.

by Francesca Annic...

Discussing women writers were (from left) novelist Gish Jen, editor Elisabeth Schmitz, editor Ann Hulbert, and novelist Claire Messud.

Radcliffe Institute panel discusses the place of women writers

Radcliffe Institute panel discusses the place of women writers.

Journalist Johanna Berkman, left, looks on as Jamaica Kincaid makes a point.

Jamaica Kincaid and Margaret Atwood bookend Harvard's first literary festival

Jamaica Kincaid and Margaret Atwood bookend a three-day exploration of literary life.

Donald Revell and Andrea Barrett to speak at Harvard's PBK Literary Exercises

Donald Revell and Andrea Barrett to speak at PBK Literary Exercises

Megan Marshall

Havard alumna Megan Marshall ’77 wins Pulitzer Prize for Biography

Damrosch, O’Brien, and Adams named finalists.

Thackeray’s self-portrait from an 1848 edition of <i>Vanity Fair</i>

Harvard’s Houghton Library celebrates William Makepeace Thackeray

Houghton Library celebrates William Makepeace Thackeray.

by Christopher Reed

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

An episode from <i>Starling</i> in which the superheroine, having made a midair rescue of an aspiring suicide who&rsquo;s leapt off a bridge, gets a not-especially-grateful reception.

Sage Stossel's graphic novel, Starling, depicts an anti-superheroine.

“Starling” can handle thugs and palookas, but not daily life.

by Craig Lambert