Literature

One of the more than 200 bouquiniste stalls along the Seine in Paris

Parisian Booksellers Have Lined the Seine for Centuries. Now, They're Fighting to Stay

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, city officials are trying to relocate the bouquinistes for security reasons

The cast of The Outsiders during the musical's world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego earlier this year

'The Outsiders' Musical Is Coming to Broadway

The greasers and Socs from S.E. Hinton's popular novel will spar on stage this spring

Taylor Swift performs during the Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on August 7. 

Swifties Can Now Study Literature (Taylor's Version)

At a Belgian university, Taylor Swift fans can expect intertextual analysis beyond their wildest dreams

George Herbert’s pictures aren’t just decorative. They reinforce the meanings of his poems.

These 17th-Century Poems Painted Pictures on the Page—and Defied the Church of England's Rejection of Religious Images

George Herbert's shaped poetry subtly pushed back against the iconoclasm of the English Reformation

The new app provides access to banned titles based on readers' locations.

Readers Can Now Access Books Banned in Their Area for Free With New App

Based on users' locations, the Banned Book Club provides e-book editions of titles banned in nearby libraries

This first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was once in circulation at a library in England.

Bought for 38 Cents, Rare Harry Potter Book Could Sell for Thousands

This first-edition copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is one of only 500 hardback copies printed

The three-inch-long pottery shard contains only parts of a passage from Virgil's Georgics.

Virgil Quotation Found Etched on 1,800-Year-Old Roman Jar

Researchers say the ancient inscription is the first of its kind ever discovered

Sunrise near the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie. Cather “made the outside world know Nebraska as no one else has done,” Sinclair Lewis once said.

Explore the World of Willa Cather in Her Nebraska Hometown

Maybe the author of “O Pioneers!” is no longer the height of literary chic. But a century later she’s still a superstar in her small prairie community

Cormac McCarthy attending the premiere of the film adaptation of The Road in 2009

Behind the Bleak, Beautiful Stories of Cormac McCarthy

The writer, who died this week at age 89, was an unflinching chronicler of humanity's brutality

In the Heege manuscript, an English tutor may have copied the text of a medieval minstrel’s repertoire book.

Medieval Manuscript Reveals 15th-Century Comedy Routine

Written to be performed live, a medieval minstrel's jokes poked fun at the powerful

Their shared German language helped Anne Frank, left, and Hannah Goslar forge a friendship as refugees in Amsterdam.

Anne Frank's Childhood Friend Recalls Their Years Before the Holocaust

After fleeing her native Germany, a young Jew found companionship and community as the Nazis approached

The exhibition "Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures," (above, right: A scene from the 2014 Ghanian short film "Afronauts") is on view through March 24, 2024, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History.

What Is Afrofuturism?

A new exhibition defines how artistry and activism over decades gave rise to the idea and promise of a future that could advance Black life

Saurona triangula, one of the newly described butterfly species named for the evil Lord Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy

Butterfly Group With Fiery 'Eyes' Is Named After 'Lord of the Rings' Villain Sauron

Beyond their eye-like wing pattern, the two new species don't seem to show any signs of evil that would link them to Mordor

The sale is by far the largest, and certainly most significant, auction of Hawthorne papers in history.

You Could Own Nathaniel Hawthorne's Handwritten Notes on 'The Scarlet Letter'

Enjoy an exclusive preview of an auction of the novelist's papers, which feature rarely seen edits and atrocious penmanship

Deeply interested in the natural world, Potter would carefully collect and draw specimens.

Beatrix Potter Was a Keen Observer of the Natural World

Famous for "Peter Rabbit," the children's author was also a devoted scientist and conservationist

L to R: Abby Ryder Fortson, Amari Price, Elle Graham and Katherine Kupferer in the film adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

How Judy Blume Redefined Girlhood

The first movie adaptation of "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret" arrives in theaters today

Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer was the most challenged book in 2022, according to the American Library Association.

American Library Association Names 2022’s Most Banned Books

As book censorship soared, titles with LGBTQ themes were the most targeted

Of the roughly 750 First Folios printed, at least 235 known copies survive today.

Without the First Folio, Half of Shakespeare's Plays Would Have Been Lost to History

The 400-year-old text presented the Bard's plays as serious literature, muddling the boundaries between popular culture and high art

Elyn Zimmerman's Sudama in its new location at American University in Washington, D.C.

How to Move a 450,000-Pound Sculpture

After a tumultuous six years, 'Sudama' has settled into its new home at American University in Washington, D.C.

Austen lived at Steventon House in Hampshire, England, until she was 26.

You Can Now Buy the Estate Where Jane Austen Wrote 'Pride and Prejudice'

The writer spent more than half her life on the property, where she drafted some of her most famous novels

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