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Anne Savarese
Executive Editor -
Ben Tate
Senior Editor, Europe
Literature at Princeton University Press encompasses literary criticism, history, biography, and reference; primary works by notable writers; poetry, in English and in translation; and occasional works on writing, research, and teaching. The list includes studies of literature in English and in other languages around the world, and puts literary research and ideas in conversation with other disciplines, from philosophy to the arts.
From landmark works of criticism to new translations of classic works, literary biographies to folk and fairy tales, the list represents enduring contributions to literary study and promotes knowledge and understanding of literature in all its forms.
New & Noteworthy
Featured Audiobooks
Series
Ideas
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Seamus Heaney, pseudonym ‘Incertus’
When he first began to publish poems, Seamus Heaney’s chosen pseudonym was ‘Incertus’, meaning ‘not sure of himself’. Characteristically, this was a subtle irony.
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Why I hoard words
I took an Old English module on a whim during my first year at university. I came across it at a foreign language informational session, and having never seen or heard Old English before, I was astonished to learn that my own mother tongue could be considered ‘foreign’ to me.
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The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English
Old English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern readers.
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Jhumpa Lahiri: Where I find myself
Having written my novel Dove mi trovo in Italian, I was the first to doubt that it could transform into English. Naturally it could be translated; any text can, with greater or lesser degrees of success.
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Beyond The Dragon Daughter and Other Lin Lan Fairy Tales
The lack of Chinese fairy tales in English translation has been a reality that hinders not only academic studies of the fairy tale, but also the cross-cultural understanding of Chinese traditions in general.
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A Vertical Art: On Poetry
In A Vertical Art, acclaimed poet Simon Armitage takes a refreshingly common-sense approach to an art form that can easily lend itself to grand statements and hollow gestures.