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Literature

The front of a Nobel Prize medal.

The Perks and Pitfalls of Being a Nobel Laureate: Early Mornings, Performance Anxiety

On the plus side, at UC Berkeley you get free parking

A fan art drawing of Smaug atop his horde.

J.R.R. Tolkien Gave the World His Childhood Fascination With Dragons in ‘The Hobbit’

The dragon Smaug—who debuted in The Hobbit in 1937, was inspired by his early reading of mythology

A page from a New England Primer printed in Massachusetts in 1811, with the text "Life and the Grave two different lessons give/Life shows us how to die, death how to live."

Children Used to Learn About Death and Damnation With Their ABCs

In 19th-century New England, the books that taught kids how to read had a Puritanical morbidity to them

You can see the resemblance in his eyes.

This Nineteenth-Century Genealogist Argued Norse God Odin Was George Washington’s Great-Great-Great… Grandfather

Albert Welles’s ideas about whiteness were a reflection of his time, and would be continued into the future

Hitler Youth members burn books. Photograph dated 1938.

A Brief History of Book Burning, From the Printing Press to Internet Archives

As long as there have been books, people have burned them—but over the years, the motivation has changed

A scene from The Peony Pavilion

Cool Finds

The Grave of “China’s Shakespeare” Has Been Found

One of 42 Ming-era graves unearthed in Fuzhou is believed to belong to Tang Xianzu, who penned ‘The Peony Pavilion’

People were just starting to gain an obsession with apocalypse fiction when Mary Shelley wrote "The Last Man."

The Author of ‘Frankenstein’ Also Wrote a Post-Apocalyptic Plague Novel

‘The Last Man’ was derided in its time for being too grim, but today it would fit in with a growing genre of dystopian fiction

The Smithsonian's well attended Asian-American Literature Festival could soon be traveling to other cities around the nation.

At the Smithsonian’s First Asian-American Lit Fest, Writers Share Falooda, Politics and Poetry

More than 80 award-winning and aspirational writers shared work across multiple genres

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Disassembled Childhood Home Is for Sale… on eBay

It has yet to receive any bids

Thanks to Disney, this story is so ubiquitous that 'Bambi' is a common shorthand for 'baby deer.'

If You Think ‘Bambi’ Seems Too Mature For Kids, You’re Not Wrong

The popular novel was even a Book-of-the-Month Club selection

This 1962 photo shows author Flannery O'Connor in the driveway at Andalusia in Georgia.

Georgia College Gifted Farm Where Flannery O’Connor Composed Southern Gothic

The author’s alma mater will take over and maintain the Savannah-born author’s final home

J.M. Barrie's newly discovered play, "The Reconstruction of the Crime," was published in the latest issue of "The Strand Magazine."

Lost Play By J.M. Barrie Discovered in Texas Archive

The newly published Reconstruction of the Crime features comedic detective exploits and audience participation

A wood engraving from the 19th century depicts a blind John Milton dictating his influential epic poem "Paradise Lost"

Why ‘Paradise Lost’ Is Translated So Much

New book shows the enduring power of the epic poem has made it spread across dozens of languages and hundreds of years

Jane Austen's brother, Edward, inherited this grand Palladian-style home from the wealthy relatives who raised him.

Take a Stroll Through Jane Austen’s England With This Interactive Map

A look at the houses and towns that shaped the life and writing of the famed author on the 200th anniversary of her death

Criseyde and Her Maidens Listening to a Reading, by Warwick Goble, from The Complete Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 1912.

The Timelessness of Millennial-Bashing

Even in the 14th century, writers blamed younger generations for ruining everything

The first page of 'Measure For Measure' in the First Folio of 1623. Set in Vienna and full of less-than-proper characters, this play proved the most challenging to bowdlerize.

The Bowdlers Wanted to Clean Up Shakespeare, Not Become a Byword for Censorship

Thomas and Henrietta Bowdler started out with relatively noble intentions

Maurice Sendak signing prints from "The Mother Goose Collection" in 1990.

Forgotten Children’s Book by Maurice Sendak Will Be Published in 2018

The “Where the Wild Things Are” author collaborated on the manuscript with long-time friend Arthur Yorinks

Baum produced a stage version of his children's book two years after it came out. This work was aimed primarily for adults, and was the first time the Tin Woodman was referred to as the Tin Man.

The Tin Man Is a Reminder of L. Frank Baum’s Onetime Oil Career

Baum had a number of careers before he hit it big with ‘The Wizard of Oz’

Michael Bond, Creator of Paddington Bear, Dies at 91

The author’s stories about a plucky, marmalade-loving bear sold more than 35 million copies worldwide

Which Books Do Americans Take on Vacation?

Our city-by-city breakdown uncovered some surprises

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