LITERATURE
11 Facts About Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"
“It was not my first published story, nor my last,” the writer recounted in a 1960 lecture, “but I have been assured over and over that if it had been the only story I ever wrote and published, there would still be people who would not forget my name.”
The Long and Difficult Publication History of James Joyce’s Dubliners
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of author James Joyce’s Dubliners, a collection of short stories depicting the everyday trials and tribulations of the residents of his hometown. But getting the book on shelves was painful nine-ye
11 Modern Retellings of Classic Novels
19 Rare Recordings of Famous Authors
Twenty years ago, it was impossible for most of us to listen to JRR Tolkien read Elvish or see Zelda Fitzgerald grin at a camera or hear an inebriated Hemingway shout about pigeons. But today, these and other rare recordings of famous authors are just a m
101 Masterpieces: Moby-Dick
Herman Melville had everything a young author could dream of. Then he wrote Moby-Dick and ruined everything.
5 DIY Projects to Defend Your Home From Invaders
In Defending Your Castle: Build Catapults, Crossbows, Moats, Bulletproof Shields, and more Defensive Devices, William Gurstelle poses the question: Using modern materials and construction techniques, could you successfully defend your home from history's
E.B. White's Advice for Aspiring Authors
As a successful writer of works for both children and adults, E.B. White received fan mail often. But even though he seemed to hate it, that didn't stop him from writing back.
10 Famous Literary Characters Based on Real People
Like Charles Dickens and JK Rowling, countless authors have based their famous literary characters on friends, family members, and mean teachers.
18 Famous Literary First Lines Perfectly Paired With Rap Lyrics
We entered a bunch of famous first lines from literature and asked RapPad to give us back some gems.
Brutal Early Reviews of 20 Classic 20th-Century Novels
While these books are adored with the benefit of time and hindsight, they weren't universally loved when they were first published.
12 Post-Potter Revelations J.K. Rowling Has Shared
In the years since the final book was published, J.K. Rowling has talked a lot about what happened to Harry and his friends.
Listen to James Joyce Read Ulysses
Sylvia Beach convinced the author to record passages of his most famous books.
10 Tempestuous Writerly Romances
For famous writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, turbulent real-life relationships rivaled the dramas that played out on the page.
5 Writers Who Took Romantic Revenge in Print
Rather than forgive and forget, these wordsmiths used their poison pens to deliver a healthy dose of literary revenge.
The Bogus Bard: 5 Stories About Shakespeare We Wish Were True
Shakespeare’s life is as full of fiction as his plays are.
The Incredible Eccentricities of 20 Great Writers
When it comes to cranking out literary treasures, celebrated authors have turned to some strange strategies to find their muse.
3 Interesting Articles from Ernest Hemingway’s Newspaper Career
Before Ernest Hemingway was a literary giant, he was a cub reporter. When Hem graduated high school at 18, he moved to Kansas City and started a six-month stint with the Kansas City Star—a job that molded his trademark punchy, staccato style.
10 Things You Might Not Know About A Christmas Carol
Don't be a Scrooge—read up on these fascinating facts about Charles Dickens's classic novella, 'A Christmas Carol.'
11 Nintendo Games Based on Classic Works of Literature
You don't have to invent a family of mustachioed plumbers to create a video game. Here are some classic works of literature that got the Nintendo treatment in the 1980s and 1990s.
10 Things You Might Not Know About the Nobel Prize
It's an exciting time: Nobel Prizes are being announced this week for achievements in medicine, literature, and more. Here are a few surprising facts about this annual honor.
9 Epic Literary Burns
"Every time I read Pride and Prejudice, I want to dig Jane Austen up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone.”
11 Literary Fart Jokes
Throughout history, the chance to make an occasional fart joke has often proven irresistible, even to such influential authors as Aristophanes, Shakespeare, and Mark Twain.
The Bad Quartos: What Shakespeare Could’ve Been
Just as today pirates walk into cinemas around the world and record movies from the screen to sell as knock-off DVDs before a major release, so back in the 1600s unscrupulous businessmen would walk into the pit at plays and commit an equivalent act of pir