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Literary Criticism
"I will not reason and compare: my business is to create."
Jan Morris's biographer confronts the limits of storytelling while trying to capture a life defined by contradiction and reinvention.
Skim or scan this. No need to deep-read.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
1hr 18mins
“Everyone's image of [Ancient Rome] is based on modern movies. In some ways, I think those were rather impressive, but they got some things terribly wrong.”
In "That Book Is Dangerous," author Adam Szetela examines the rise of the “Sensitivity Era” in publishing and how outrage campaigns try to control what books authors can write and readers can read.
These short books offer insights and meditations on timeless themes, without the time commitment.
Kathryn Harkup, chemist and author of V Is for Venom, joins Big Think to discuss why Christie isn’t just a brilliant writer but a unique science communicator.
Experts and Big Think writers recommend their favorite reads for diving deeper into the history and perspectives found in the Book of Books.
According to Tolkien, fantasy requires a deep imagination known as "sub-creation." And the genre reflects a fundamental truth of being human.
The award-winning nature writer, Robert Macfarlane, talks with Big Think about how to reacquaint ourselves with the rivers in our lives.
Barthes is dead — long live the artist.
From acclaimed novels to heretical treatises, sometimes a writer just doesn't want to put their name on the cover.
For J.R.R. Tolkien, the single most important element of a fairy tale was the dramatic reversal of misfortune in the story's ending.
Many beloved fantasy adventures take place in worlds that bear a striking resemblance to our own.
From Nick Carraway to Charles Marlow, these side characters offered truths their scene-stealing protagonists couldn't.
The fellowship's journey through Middle-earth mirrors the modernization of the English countryside.
Cognitive psychologist and poet Keith Holyoak explores whether artificial intelligence could ever achieve poetic authenticity.
How to say, "In many ways, Proust is similar to Joyce" and get away with it.
These hard-to-finish books are still worth the effort.
Narnia and early Middle-earth were pancake-esque — but their creators took differing views on de-globalization.
You've certainly seen the paintings — but they don't depict what you think they do. Benjamin Moser discusses with Big Think.
See the world through the eyes of a horse — or a cake pan.
The history of hell doesn't begin with the Old Testament. Instead, hell took shape in the 2nd century from Mediterranean cultural exchange.
Humanity is never fully in control of its creations. This lesson from Mary Shelley has remained relevant for over 200 years.
John Templeton Foundation
Six authors, six monumental legacies, and a unique thread connecting them: a solitary novel that shines brightly.
The author of Frankenstein had an obsession with the cemetery and saw love and death as connected.
Voyage into the lawless world of experimental literature.
These initially sympathetic characters take readers down a dark path.
Great writing can unveil the criminal psyche better than any other artistic medium.