Literature

Who “Owns” Literature? Printing, Publishing and Copyright

Who owns a book? Does it belong solely to the person who bought that copy, or to the author? And how does the publisher come into the picture? In this excerpt from A Little History of Literature, John Sutherland explains the various people and processes involved in the production of

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Q & A with the Authors of Before the Door of God: An Anthology of Devotional Poetry

Follow @yaleRELIbooks With the holiday season in full-swing, Christmas carols are playing every where you go. These hymns are part of a much larger tradition of devotional poetry extensively laid out in Before the Door of God, an anthology edited by Jay Hopler and Kimberly Johnson. We spoke with Hopler and

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For the Troubled Writer: Swann’s Way and Proust’s Publishing Problems

In continuing the centennial celebration of Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way, it is sometimes difficult to remember that this work was not always considered worthy of such fanfare. When Proust first attempted to find a publisher for his first volume of In Search of Lost Time, he was met with rejection

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What Is Literature?

John Sutherland’s A Little History of Literature tackles a very big subject: the glorious span of literature from Greek myth to graphic novels, from The Epic of Gilgamesh to Harry Potter. In this excerpt from the book, Sutherland addresses a fundamental question: what exactly is literature? Most of us encounter

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In Conversation with Susan Sontag: Art Through Metaphor

“Being intelligent isn’t, for me, like doing something ‘better.’ It’s the only way I exist…. I know I’m afraid of passivity (and dependence). Using my mind, something makes me feel active (autonomous). That’s good.” –Susan Sontag, As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh Susan Sontag viewed the world as metaphors. In

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Celebrating the Centennial of Swann’s Way, by Marcel Proust

Visit the Proust-Ink website for more centennial news and events from Bill Carter! William C. Carter — With today’s centennial date, November 14, of the original publication of Swann’s Way, I thought I would share some of my thoughts about this important literary event. What we are celebrating, of course, is

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To London, with Love: A Little History of Literature

Follow @LittleHistoryOf Ivan Lett— What is the action a book nerd uses to signal his kin? Once it might have been a casual nod over horned-rim glasses; or, perhaps a deliberate and pretentious turn of the jacket, even the kindness to let a curious stranger read harmlessly over your shoulder.

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Before the Door of God: 3000 Years of Devotional Lyric Poetry

Follow @yaleRELIbooks In Before the Door of God: An Anthology of Devotional Poetry, editors Jay Hopler and Kimberly Johnson present a thoughtfully selected collection of devotional lyric poetry. From its origins in ancient hymnody to its twenty-first century incarnations, devotional poetry in the English language has undergone many changes in

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Sneak Preview: Comics Art, by Paul Gravett

Follow @yaleARTbooks In February of 2014, Yale University Press will release an exciting new book on the history of comics: Comics Art, by Paul Gravett, the man the Times of London called, “the greatest historian of the comics and graphic novel form in this country.”  The book will explore the varied

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Mexico’s Revolutionary Avant-Gardes: An Interview with Tatiana Flores

  Published earlier this year, Tatiana Flores’s groundbreaking new book Mexico’s Revolutionary Avant-Gardes: From Estridentismo to ¡30-30! offers an insightful narrative about the early-20th-century movement that came to be known as the Mexican Renaissance.  Thanks to her extensive research in previously unpublished archival materials, she is able to paint a

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