Literature

Sort by
Filter by Category
Filter by Subject
Glad to the Brink of Fear Glad to the Brink of Fear: A Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson James Marcus

An engaging reassessment of the celebrated essayist and his relevance to contemporary readers

The Deorhord The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary Hana Videen

An entertaining tour of Old English words for animals, from the author of The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English, which Neil Gaiman called “a marvelous book”

The Wordhord The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English Hana Videen

An entertaining and illuminating collection of weird, wonderful, and downright baffling words from the origins of English—and what they reveal about the lives of the earliest English speakers

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti: Writer and Humanist Martin McLaughlin

The first book in English to examine Leon Battista Alberti’s major literary works in Latin and Italian, which are often overshadowed by his achievements in architecture

Natural Magic Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science Renée Bergland

A captivating portrait of the poet and the scientist who shared an enchanted view of nature

On Czeslaw Milosz On Czeslaw Milosz: Visions from the Other Europe Eva Hoffman

A compelling personal introduction to the life and work of Nobel Prizewinning writer Czesław Miłosz from his fellow Polish exile and acclaimed writer Eva Hoffman

One Soul We Divided One Soul We Divided: A Critical Edition of the Diary of Michael Field Michael Field

The first book-length selection from the extraordinary unpublished diary of the late-Victorian writer “Michael Field”—the pen name of two female coauthors and romantic partners

The Chapter The Chapter: A Segmented History from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century Nicholas Dames

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism

A history of the chapter from its origins in antiquity to today

Surreal Spaces Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington Joanna Moorhead

An illustrated biography of the pioneering British artist and writer, tracing her life and work through the many places around the world where she lived

Fool Fool: In Search of Henry VIII's Closest Man Peter K. Andersson

The first biography of Henry VIII’s court fool William Somer, a legendary entertainer and one of the most intriguing figures of the Tudor age

American Classicist American Classicist: The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton Victoria Houseman

A biography of the remarkable woman whose bestselling Mythology has introduced millions of readers to the classical world

Henry at Work Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living John Kaag and Jonathan van Belle

What Thoreau can teach us about working—why we do it, what it does to us, and how we can make it more meaningful

Rescuing Socrates Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation Roosevelt Montás

A Dominican-born academic tells the story of how the Great Books transformed his life—and why they have the power to speak to people of all backgrounds

Dweller in Shadows Dweller in Shadows: A Life of Ivor Gurney Kate Kennedy

The first comprehensive biography of an extraordinary English poet and composer whose life was haunted by fighting in the First World War and, later, confinement in a mental asylum

Nathalie Sarraute Nathalie Sarraute: A Life Between Ann Jefferson

The definitive biography of a leading twentieth-century French writer

Three Roads Back Three Roads Back: How Emerson, Thoreau, and William James Responded to the Greatest Losses of Their Lives Robert D. Richardson

From their acclaimed biographer, a final, powerful book about how Emerson, Thoreau, and William James forged resilience from devastating loss, changing the course of American thought

What Makes an Apple? What Makes an Apple?: Six Conversations about Writing, Love, Guilt, and Other Pleasures Amos Oz

Revelatory talks about art and life with internationally acclaimed Israeli novelist Amos Oz

The Mind in Exile The Mind in Exile: Thomas Mann in Princeton Stanley Corngold

A unique look at Thomas Mann’s intellectual and political transformation during the crucial years of his exile in the United States

On Seamus Heaney On Seamus Heaney Roy Foster

A vivid and original account of one of Ireland’s greatest poets by an acclaimed Irish historian and literary biographer

Old Truths and New Clichés Old Truths and New Clichés: Essays by Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer

From the Nobel Prizewinning writer, a new collection of literary and personal essays

Up from the Depths Up from the Depths: Herman Melville, Lewis Mumford, and Rediscovery in Dark Times Aaron Sachs

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography

A double portrait of two of America’s most influential writers that reveals the surprising connections between them—and their uncanny relevance to our age of crisis

The Passion Projects The Passion Projects: Modernist Women, Intimate Archives, Unfinished Lives Melanie Micir

How modernist women writers used biographical writing to resist their exclusion from literary history

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird Gene Andrew Jarrett

The definitive biography of a pivotal figure in American literary history

American Insecurity and the Origins of Vulnerability American Insecurity and the Origins of Vulnerability Russ Castronovo

An incisive critique that examines the origins of contemporary American ideas about surveillance, terrorism, and white supremacy

Reading It Wrong Reading It Wrong: An Alternative History of Early Eighteenth-Century Literature Abigail Williams

How eighteenth-century literature depended on misinterpretation—and how this still shapes the way we read

Soul and Substance Soul and Substance: A Poet's Examination Papers Jay Wright

A collection of new and startlingly original essays from an acclaimed poet, essayist, and playwright

Impermanent Blackness Impermanent Blackness: The Making and Unmaking of Interracial Literary Culture in Modern America Korey Garibaldi

Revisiting an almost-forgotten American interracial literary culture that advanced racial pluralism in the decades before the 1960s

Pleasure and Efficacy Pleasure and Efficacy: Of Pen Names, Cover Versions, and Other Trans Techniques Grace Elisabeth Lavery

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism

A leading trans scholar and activist explores cultural representations of gender transition in the modern period

Before Modernism Before Modernism: Inventing American Lyric Virginia Jackson

How Black poets have charted the direction of American poetics for the past two centuries

Coral Lives Coral Lives: Literature, Labor, and the Making of America Michele Currie Navakas

A literary and cultural history of coral—as an essential element of the marine ecosystem, a personal ornament, a global commodity, and a powerful political metaphor

The Forest The Forest: A Fable of America in the 1830s Alexander Nemerov

A vivid historical imagining of life in the early United States

“One of the richest books ever to come my way.”—Annie Proulx, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Shipping News

The Wife of Bath The Wife of Bath: A Biography Marion Turner

From the award-winning biographer of Chaucer, the story of his most popular and scandalous character, from the Middle Ages to #MeToo

Thoreau's Axe Thoreau's Axe: Distraction and Discipline in American Culture Caleb Smith

How nineteenth-century “disciplines of attention” anticipated the contemporary concern with mindfulness and being “spiritual but not religious”

A Vertical Art A Vertical Art: On Poetry Simon Armitage

From the UK Poet Laureate and bestselling translator, a spirited book that demystifies and celebrates the art of poetry today

Chains of Love and Beauty Chains of Love and Beauty: The Diary of Michael Field Carolyn Dever

Why a monumental diary by an aunt and niece who published poetry together as “Michael Field”—and who were partners and lovers for decades—is one of the great unknown works of late-Victorian and early modernist literature

Celestial Aspirations Celestial Aspirations: Classical Impulses in British Poetry and Art Philip Hardie

A unique look at how classical notions of ascent and flight preoccupied early modern British writers and artists

Overwhelmed Overwhelmed: Literature, Aesthetics, and the Nineteenth-Century Information Revolution Maurice S. Lee

An engaging look at how debates over the fate of literature in our digital age are powerfully conditioned by the nineteenth century's information revolution

Vernacular English Vernacular English: Reading the Anglophone in Postcolonial India Akshya Saxena

How English has become a language of the people in India—one that enables the state but also empowers protests against it

On the Couch On the Couch: Writers Analyze Sigmund Freud Edited by Andrew Blauner

A collection of colorful and candid essays and other pieces about Freud and his legacy today, featuring twenty-five leading writers

With original contributions by André Aciman • Sarah Boxer • Jennifer Finney Boylan • Susie Boyt • Gerald Early • Esther Freud •...

Reading the Odyssey Reading the Odyssey: A Guide to Homer’s Narrative Jonas Grethlein

A fresh and original introduction to the Odyssey—and how it continues to shape literature, film, art and even the ways we make sense of our lives

A Politics of Melancholia A Politics of Melancholia: From Plato to Arendt George Edmondson and Klaus Mladek

Why melancholia is a vital form of social critique and a catalyst for political renewal

The Midnight Washerwoman and Other Tales of Lower Brittany The Midnight Washerwoman and Other Tales of Lower Brittany Francois-Marie Luzel

Twenty-nine Breton tales, as told over a series of long winter nights, featuring an ingenious miller, a Jerusalem-bound ant, a mad dash at midnight, and more

The Activist Humanist The Activist Humanist: Form and Method in the Climate Crisis Caroline Levine

An argument that humanists have the tools—and the responsibility—to mobilize political power to tackle climate change

Sacred Language, Vernacular Difference Sacred Language, Vernacular Difference: Global Arabic and Counter-Imperial Literatures Annette Damayanti Lienau

How Arabic influenced the evolution of vernacular literatures and anticolonial thought in Egypt, Indonesia, and Senegal

How Women Became Poets How Women Became Poets: A Gender History of Greek Literature Emily Hauser

How the idea of the author was born in the battleground of gender

Gods and Mortals Gods and Mortals: Ancient Greek Myths for Modern Readers Sarah Iles Johnston

An entrancing new telling of ancient Greek myths

“This book is a triumph! . . . [A] magnificent retelling of the Greek myths.”—Alexander McCall Smith, author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series

Buried Treasures Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales Jack Zipes

Fascinating profiles of modern writers and artists who tapped the political potential of fairy tales

Deep Time Deep Time: A Literary History Noah Heringman

How the concept of “deep time” began as a metaphor used by philosophers, poets, and naturalists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

The Aesthetic Cold War The Aesthetic Cold War: Decolonization and Global Literature Peter J. Kalliney

How decolonization and the cold war influenced literature from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean

The Return of Proserpina The Return of Proserpina: Cultural Poetics of Sicily from Cicero to Dante Sarah Spence

Sicily and the strategies of empire in the poetic imagination of classical and medieval Europe

How to Tell a Story How to Tell a Story: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Storytelling for Writers and Readers Aristotle

An inviting and highly readable new translation of Aristotle’s complete Poetics—the first and best introduction to the art of writing and understanding stories

The Dragon Daughter and Other Lin Lan Fairy Tales The Dragon Daughter and Other Lin Lan Fairy Tales Edited by Juwen Zhang

A delightful collection of modern Chinese tales

On Belonging and Not Belonging On Belonging and Not Belonging: Translation, Migration, Displacement Mary Jacobus

A look at how ideas of translation, migration, and displacement are embedded in the works of prominent artists, from Ovid to Tacita Dean

The Making of Barbarians The Making of Barbarians: Chinese Literature and Multilingual Asia Haun Saussy

A groundbreaking account of translation and identity in the Chinese literary tradition before 1850—with important ramifications for today

The Original Bambi The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest Felix Salten

A new, beautifully illustrated translation of Felix Salten’s celebrated novel Bambi—the original source of the beloved story

Literature for a Changing Planet Literature for a Changing Planet Martin Puchner

Why we must learn to tell new stories about our relationship with the earth if we are to avoid climate catastrophe

The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: The Complete English Translation Edited by Robert P. Goldman

The definitive English translation of the classic Sanskrit epic poem—now available in a one-volume paperback

The Underwater Eye The Underwater Eye: How the Movie Camera Opened the Depths and Unleashed New Realms of Fantasy Margaret Cohen

A rich history of underwater filmmaking and how it has profoundly influenced the aesthetics of movies and public perception of the oceans

Translating Myself and Others Translating Myself and Others Jhumpa Lahiri

Luminous essays on translation and self-translation by an award-winning writer and literary translator

The Aphorisms of Franz Kafka The Aphorisms of Franz Kafka Franz Kafka

A splendid new translation of an extraordinary work of modern literature—featuring facing-page commentary by Kafka’s acclaimed biographer

The Lives of Literature The Lives of Literature: Reading, Teaching, Knowing Arnold Weinstein

A passionate, wry, and personal book about how the greatest works of literature illuminate our lives

The Shield of Achilles The Shield of Achilles W. H. Auden

Back in print for the first time in decades, Auden’s National Book Award–winning poetry collection, in a critical edition that introduces it to a new generation of readers

The Complete Works of W. H. Auden: Poems, Volume I The Complete Works of W. H. Auden: Poems, Volume I: 1927–1939 W. H. Auden

The first of two volumes of the eagerly anticipated first complete edition of Auden’s poems—including some that have never been published before

The Complete Works of W. H. Auden: Poems, Volume II The Complete Works of W. H. Auden: Poems, Volume II: 1940–1973 W. H. Auden

The second of two volumes of the eagerly anticipated first complete edition of Auden’s poems—including some that have never been published before

Brief Homage to Pluto and Other Poems Brief Homage to Pluto and Other Poems Fabio Pusterla

Award-winning new translations of a major contemporary Italian poet

The Owl and the Nightingale The Owl and the Nightingale: A New Verse Translation Simon Armitage

From the UK Poet Laureate and bestselling translator of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a complete verse translation of a spirited and humorous medieval English poem

Cantigas Cantigas: Galician-Portuguese Troubadour Poems

A bilingual volume that reveals an intriguing world of courtly love and satire in medieval Portugal and Spain

After Callimachus After Callimachus: Poems Stephanie Burt

Contemporary translations and adaptations of ancient Greek poet Callimachus by noted writer and critic Stephanie Burt

Aurora Americana Aurora Americana: Poems Myronn Hardy

From an award-winning poet, an exciting new collection that explores exile and return, from North Africa to North America

Prickly Moses Prickly Moses: Poems Simon West

Compelling poems that celebrate language as it encounters the nameless variety of the natural world, from Australia to Italy

I entered without words I entered without words: Poems Jody Gladding

An innovative and inviting book of poems about the places where language and landscape converge

Please make me pretty, I don't want to die Please make me pretty, I don't want to die: Poems Tawanda Mulalu

The debut collection of an exciting new voice in poetry

Stellar English Stellar English: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Grammar and Style Frank L. Cioffi

An indispensable guide to essential principles of English grammar and usage

The Pocket Instructor: Writing The Pocket Instructor: Writing: 50 Exercises for the College Classroom Edited by Amanda Irwin Wilkins and Keith Shaw

Fifty easy-to-deploy active learning exercises for teaching academic writing in any field

Writing with Pleasure Writing with Pleasure Helen Sword

An essential guide to cultivating joy in your professional and personal writing

The Grant Writing Guide The Grant Writing Guide: A Road Map for Scholars Betty Lai

A practical guide to effective grant writing for researchers at all stages of their academic careers

Super Courses Super Courses: The Future of Teaching and Learning Ken Bain

From the bestselling author of What the Best College Teachers Do, the story of a new breed of amazingly innovative courses that inspire students and improve learning

You Are What You Read You Are What You Read: A Practical Guide to Reading Well Robert DiYanni

How you can enrich your life by becoming a more skillful and engaged reader of literature

Syllabus Syllabus: The Remarkable, Unremarkable Document That Changes Everything William Germano and Kit Nicholls

How redesigning your syllabus can transform your teaching, your classroom, and the way your students learn

Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

An authoritative English translation of one of the most important works in the history of the novel

Eros the Bittersweet Eros the Bittersweet: An Essay Anne Carson

Named one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time by the Modern Library

Anne Carson’s remarkable first book about the paradoxical nature of romantic love

Screening Fears Screening Fears: On Protective Media Francesco Casetti

A historical and theoretical investigation of the unexpected ways screen-based media protect and excite viewers’ fears and anxieties of the world

Civic Storytelling Civic Storytelling: The Rise of Short Forms and the Agency of Literature Florian Fuchs

A deep history of storytelling as a civic agency, recalibrating literature’s political role for the twenty-first century

Preexisting Conditions Preexisting Conditions: Recounting the Plague Samuel Weber

A stunning philosophical and literary account of canonical plague tales

Love in the Time of Self-Publishing Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success Christine M. Larson

Lessons in creative labor, solidarity, and inclusion under precarious economic conditions

Ulises Carrión Ulises Carrión: Bookworks and Beyond Edited by Sal Hamerman and Javier Rivero Ramos

A richly illustrated account of the life and work of the twentieth-century Mexican artist and writer who reimagined what the book could look like, mean, and do

Words for the Heart Words for the Heart: A Treasury of Emotions from Classical India Maria Heim

A richly diverse collection of classical Indian terms for expressing the many moods and subtleties of emotional experience

Write like a Man Write like a Man: Jewish Masculinity and the New York Intellectuals Ronnie Grinberg

How virility and Jewishness became hallmarks of postwar New York’s combative intellectual scene

The Good-Enough Life The Good-Enough Life Avram Alpert

How an acceptance of our limitations can lead to a more fulfilling life and a more harmonious society

The Politics of Language The Politics of Language David Beaver and Jason Stanley

A provocative case for the inherently political nature of language

Talking Cure Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation Paula Marantz Cohen

An invigorating exploration of the pleasures and social benefits of conversation

In Praise of Good Bookstores In Praise of Good Bookstores Jeff Deutsch

From a devoted reader and lifelong bookseller, an eloquent and charming reflection on the singular importance of bookstores

Semi-Detached Semi-Detached: The Aesthetics of Virtual Experience since Dickens John Plotz

A critical look at the aesthetic encounter with semi-detachment through literature and art

Now Comes Good Sailing Now Comes Good Sailing: Writers Reflect on Henry David Thoreau Edited by Andrew Blauner

From twenty-seven of today’s leading writers, an anthology of original pieces on the author of Walden

Features essays by Jennifer Finney Boylan • Kristen Case • George Howe Colt • Gerald Early • Paul Elie • Will Eno • Adam Gopnik • Lauren Groff • Celeste...

The Man of the Crowd The Man of the Crowd: Edgar Allan Poe and the City Scott Peeples

How four American cities shaped Poe's life and writings

Jane Austen, Early and Late Jane Austen, Early and Late Freya Johnston

A reexamination of Austen’s unpublished writings that uncovers their continuity with her celebrated novels—and that challenges distinctions between her “early” and “late” work

What the Thunder Said What the Thunder Said: How The Waste Land Made Poetry Modern Jed Rasula

On the 100th anniversary of T. S. Eliot’s modernist masterpiece, a rich cultural history of The Waste Land’s creation, explosive impact, and enduring influence

Dinner with Joseph Johnson Dinner with Joseph Johnson: Books and Friendship in a Revolutionary Age Daisy Hay

A fascinating portrait of a radical age through the writers associated with a London publisher and bookseller—from William Wordsworth and Mary Wollstonecraft to Benjamin Franklin

The Closet The Closet: The Eighteenth-Century Architecture of Intimacy Danielle Bobker

A literary and cultural history of the intimate space of the eighteenth-century closet—and how it fired the imaginations of Pepys, Sterne, Swift, and so many other writers

Shakespeare Shakespeare Johann Gottfried Herder

Without Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), we simply would not understand Shakespeare in the way we do. In fact, much literature and art besides Shakespeare would neither look the same nor be the same without the influence of...