Kathryn Davis on the novels of Jean Stafford: “She never sentimentalized anything”
Shadow Archives: Scholar experiences “the thrill of literary detective work” in collections of Ellison, Petry, and others
“One backward glance” — Daniel H. Weiss on Michael O’Donnell and the tragic era of Vietnam
Love unknown: Thomas Travisano on the life and worlds of Elizabeth Bishop
Nicholas Kristof shifts his focus to the crisis at home: “Attention does make a difference”
The children’s literature of Frances Hodgson Burnett: “values that we need and can relate to” today
David L. Ulin on the early Joan Didion: Dread, disruption, and “a writer responding to her moment”
“Humor at first sight” as James Thurber’s art is celebrated for his 125th birthday
Gary K. Wolfe: Reinvention and revolution in 1960s science fiction
Andrew Blauner: The humanity, humility, and humor of Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts
Harold Bloom’s The American Canon: “He is speaking directly to you about his passions”
Thomas Jefferson’s Education: Alan Taylor on the troubled origins of “Mr. Jefferson’s University”
Listen: Lauren Groff introduces the “wickedly smart” Nancy Hale
“A project of self-transformation”—Benjamin Moser on the life and work of Susan Sontag
Mary Berry: Extending Wendell Berry’s legacy is “the most hopeful work I can think of”
LOA celebrates Herman Melville’s 200th birthday with his Complete Poems