Obama’s Absurd Gay Marriage Position

Staff / Truthdig Aug 24, 2010 Why President Obama's gay marriage position has gotten completely absurd, why the DEA is after ebonics linguists and why Jane Austen just couldn't hack it in today's publishing world. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

André Naffis-Sahely on Mahmoud Darwish

BLANK Jun 19, 2010 André Naffis-Sahely looks at three volumes -- “A River Dies of Thirst,” “Mural” and “If I Were Another” -- that helped make poet/author Mahmoud Darwish a pillar of Palestinian literature.André Naffis-Sahely looks at three volumes that helped make poet/author Mahmoud Darwish a pillar of Palestinian literature. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Where Neuroscience Meets Literature

Staff / Truthdig Apr 1, 2010 How about a little cognitive psychology with your English literature? Professors who normally spend their time thinking about Virginia Woolf's characters and story structures are taking a page from scientific texts to add a new dimension to their exploration of fiction. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Larry’s List: Higher-Education Edition (Updated)

Staff / Truthdig Dec 29, 2009 Today on the list: Does the English department have a Jewish problem? Plus: How to make change actually happen, and more. Updated Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Jane Ciabattari on Kurt Vonnegut

BLANK Dec 25, 2009 A wondrous new collection of previously unpublished vintage Vonnegut confirms his enduring and subversive ear for the absurd and the tragicomic. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Are We Too Wired to Read?

Staff / Truthdig Aug 14, 2009 With multiple gadgets and screens constantly running, and perhaps even a different sense of time than our forebears had, it's no surprise that powering down long enough to curl up with a book is becoming an endangered activity -- although, as David L. Ulin argues in the Los Angeles Times, it's still a very vital contemplative practice to pursue. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Vive Le Clézio!

Staff / Truthdig Oct 10, 2008 French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio was named this year's winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday. Le Clézio, whom the Swedish Academy fancifully described as an "author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilisation," has written more than 20 novels since the early age of 23. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Carla Kaplan on ‘The Mitfords’

Carla Kaplan / Truthdig Dec 28, 2007 A new collection of letters between the fascinating Mitford sisters offers unparalleled insight into one of the 20th century's most famous families. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

Goodbye to All That

Steve Wasserman / Truthdig Sep 8, 2007 Although coverage of books in major newspapers may seem to have taken a precipitous downturn in recent months, this decline has been in the works for a while, says longtime writer, literary editor and book aficionado Steve Wasserman, who opines in this CJR article about the high costs of this lamentable cultural sea change. Dig deeper ( 37 Min. Read )

The Tale of Sir Salman and the Bard of Espionage

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Jun 22, 2007 Back when the renowned author was in hiding because of a death threat from the Ayatollah Khomeini, he felt that John le Carre was no help to his cause. "The Satanic Verses" had sparked a spat between two literary lions. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

We Must Learn Again

Paul Cummins / Truthdig Apr 4, 2007 The author takes aim at the shortcomings of the contemporary American educational system, laments the current state of arts education, and wonders what exactly schools are preparing younger generations to do -- and become. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Famed Historian Schlesinger Dead at 89

Staff / Truthdig Mar 2, 2007 Arthur M. Schlesinger died Wednesday from a heart attack at the age of 89. A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Kennedy White House fixture, Schlesinger wrote or edited more than 25 books and once referred to George W. Bush's post-9/11 policy as "a ghastly mess." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )